From Tragedy to Triumph: Manchester United’s Enduring March

By Kunle Solaja.

Sixty-eight years on, football, this Friday, paused again to remember the Munich Air Disaster, the catastrophe that ripped through Manchester United and stunned the sporting world on February 6, 1958.

The tragedy claimed 23 lives when Manchester United’s aircraft crashed on take-off at Munich-Riem Airport following a refuelling stop on the journey home from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade.

Manchester United squad before the 1958 crash.

Among the dead were eight players from United’s celebrated Busby Babes side, alongside club officials, journalists and members of the flight crew.

Those killed included club captain Roger Byrne and the immensely gifted Duncan Edwards, widely tipped to become one of both United’s and England’s greatest-ever players. Also lost were Mark Jones, Tommy Taylor, Eddie Colman, Liam Whelan, David Pegg and Geoff Bent.

In all, the disaster took the lives of 11 members of the United travelling party, eight journalists, the co-pilot and several others connected to the flight.

Yet from the wreckage also emerged stories of survival and resilience. Manager Matt Busby, badly injured in the crash, would go on to rebuild United into European champions a decade later.

Bobby Charlton, who survived with relatively minor injuries, became the club’s record scorer for many years and a World Cup winner with England. Bill Foulkes, Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon and Dennis Viollet also resumed distinguished careers.

For two survivors, however, the crash marked the end of their playing days.

Jackie Blanchflower was just 25 when the plane crashed on the snow-covered runway. The Northern Ireland international, younger brother of Tottenham Hotspur great Danny Blanchflower, had already won two league titles with United and made 117 appearances for the club. Renowned for his versatility, he had played in defence, midfield and even in goal during his career.

Despite early hope that he might recover, Blanchflower’s injuries — including a fractured pelvis, multiple broken limbs and severe internal damage — proved career-ending. He was forced into early retirement and later rebuilt his life away from football, eventually finding success as a businessman and popular after-dinner speaker. He died of cancer in 1998.

Johnny Berry, United’s flying right winger and the club’s original wearer of the famous number seven shirt, also survived the crash but never played again. Signed from Birmingham City in 1951, Berry made 276 appearances and scored 45 goals, helping United to the league title in his first season.

Severe head injuries sustained in Munich ended his career at the age of 31. Berry later returned to his hometown of Aldershot to run a sportswear business and became the first surviving United player from the crash to pass away, dying in 1994 at the age of 68.

Those lost and those who lived on

The victims of the crash included United secretary Walter Crickmer and coaches Bert Whalley and Tom Curry, as well as eight journalists covering the team’s European adventure. The co-pilot Kenneth Rayment, a steward, a supporter and a travel agent were also among the dead.

Of the nine United players who survived, Bobby Charlton lived the longest, passing away in October 2023 at the age of 86. Goalkeeper Harry Gregg, whose heroics in rescuing survivors earned lasting admiration, died in 2022 aged 87.

Each year, the anniversary of Munich remains deeply embedded in the identity of Manchester United, serving as a reminder not only of loss but of the resilience that shaped the club’s history. Sixty-eight years on, the names of those who died — and those whose careers and lives were forever changed — continue to be remembered as an inseparable part of football’s collective memory.

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