ON THIS DAY in 1958, a plane crash in Munich all but wiped out Manchester United’s famous Busby Babes.
Eight of Matt Busby’s young league champions lost their lives when their plane crashed while attempting to take off from Munich airport. In all, 23 people were killed.
The team were on their way back from successful European Cup quarter-final tie in Belgrade when the plane stopped for re-fuelling in Germany. Busby would eventually recover and again take his seat on the bench.
The Scot then led the club on a decade-long quest for the European title, culminating in a final defeat of Benfica in 1968. Fellow survivor Bobby Charlton would score a goal at Wembley.
Today, as always, the disaster will be remembered under the ‘Munich clock’ at Old Trafford.
Here’s some archive pictures from the Press Association:
To mark the 50-year anniversary in 2008, Sky Sports produced this video tribute featuring Old Trafford legends like Denis Law, Nobby Stiles, Eric Cantona and Ryan Giggs.
YouTube credit: dotsy129