In 1878 a team called Newton Heath FC was formed. The team was started by railway workers based in Manchester
and was funded by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. The men chose the title 'Newton Heath LYR'
(the LYR stood for Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway). They were given a pitch on a stretch of land in North Road,
close to the railway yard. There were many other clubs in the area and a Manchester Cup competition had been
launched, so Newton Heath LYR entered in 1885 and reached the final. The following year they competed again,
and this time won. Football at this time was attracting a great deal of interest, and the success of the team was
looked upon as bringing prestige to the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company by the executives, who were
quite prepared to make allowances for men to take time of work in order to prepare for important fixtures. (ABOVE) The first ever team for Newton Heath LYR In 1887 Newton Heath LYR reached the final of the Manchester Cup, and lost, but the club was now ready for a major step in its history, as football itself took a massive step forward. In 1888 the Football League was formed. In the first season Preston North End dominated the league, Newton Heath did not consider themselves strong enough to compete with the elite of the game but were proving too strong for local opposition. It wasn't until 1889 Newton Heath joined other clubs on the verge of the Football League to form the Football Alliance. In their first season they finished eighth. They also played in the first round of the FA Cup, but had the misfortune of being drawn against Preston North End, the holders, who beat them 6-1. In 1890 another major step came for Newton Heath. They began to sever their links with the railway company and the letters 'LYR' were dropped from their title. The club appointed its first full-time official, A H Albut. In their second season of Alliance football, Newton Heath did no better than in their first. Their biggest victory was against Crewe, 6-3 and biggest defeat was 8-2 at Nottingham Forest. Then in 1892 the Football League again decided to grow. It divided into two divisions, the League becoming the First Division, and growing to 16 clubs, whilst a Second Division was formed by other clubs from the Alliance. Newton Heath were invited to join the First Division, so the club which had struggled for those first two seasons had reached a pinnacle just at the right moment, and was now one of football's elite. Elite by status, but far from being one of the richest clubs. Newton Heath staggered from financial problem to financial problem. It wasn't until 1893 the club left North Road to venture to a new ground in Bank Street, Clayton. At this ground, the mud of North Road was replaced by toxic fumes of a chemical works nearby. The cost of renting the grounds at North Road drove them to move. Since they had severed links with the Railway Company, their arrangement for paying for the rent of the ground was ceased and the rent was increased. Football had now become very popular and newspapers had assigned correspondents to cover various games. When West Bromwich were beaten 4-1 by Newton Heath, the Observer published a match report that would put them into financial trouble. The article basically claimed that Newton Heath used brutal methods to win their matches and that the Football Association should deal with them sooner rather than later. Newton Heath's officials were furious and a court case soon followed. The following year, after a season of football that saw Newton Heath still fighting for survival, the Manchester Civil Court judge, granted Newton Heath one farthing damages, and ordered that both parties to pay their own costs. This was a massive set-back for the club. That year Newton Heath became the first team to be relegated. And they remained in the Second Division for the following twelve seasons. Early in 1902 Newton Heath had debts of £2,670 and was close to bankruptcy. Four businessmen were willing to invest £500 each, but in turn wanted to have some control in the running of the club. The Newton Heath directors agreed with this proposal. The four men were, J Brown, W Deakin, James Taylor and John Henry Davies. On 28th April 1902 Newton Heath FC was renamed to Manchester United Football Club. In the 1905-06 season, Ernest Mangnall, Manchester United's first 'real' manager in his third season with the club won promotion to the First Division. That year they also reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup but were beaten by Woolwich Arsenal 3-2. In the 1907-08 season, Manchester United won the League Championship for the first time. They won in terrific style, nine points ahead of Aston Villa and Manchester City, winning 23 of their 38 games. The following year Manchester United won the FA Cup, a game that ended 1-0 against Bristol. After the Cup final success John Henry Davies had once again shown that his heart, as well as his wealth, were dedicated to the club he had taken over by chance. He pledged to lend £60,000, and the move to Old Trafford was agreed.  (ABOVE) This is John Henry Davies, first chairman of Manchester United and the man who invested his own money into the building of Old Trafford The move to Old Trafford took place in midseason, and the opening match was against Liverpool, on 19th February 1910. United were now able to compete in the status league as well as on the football field and Old Trafford became a showpiece ground, eventually staging the 1915 FA Cup Final.  (ABOVE) Old Trafford after being bombed during the Second World War (11 March 1941) THE BUSBY YEARSThe Matt Busby era, the most successful in the history of Manchester United and also the most tragic. The 'Busby Babes' of Manchester United fired the imagination of the public as they came onto the scene after the Second World War. They were the creation of a manager with remarkable vision and genius who changed the face of English football. Tragically, the Busby Babes were destroyed in the Munich air disaster of 1958 before they had reached their prime, and Matt Busby came close to dying with them. Busby started all over again and produced more splendid teams, and as Bobby Charlton once put it, Old Trafford became a 'Theatre of Dreams'. Just ten years after the tragedy at Munich, United won the European Cup in 1968 just ten years which was an incredible achievement. In Busby's time, United won five League Championships, the FA Cup twice (from four finals), the FA Youth Cup six times, five of them in a row as he moulded the Busby Babes, and achieved crowning glory in 1968 with the winning of the European Cup. His great gift was as a leader and manager and he enjoyed the respect he got from his players. He was awarded the CBE in 1958, and was given the Freedom of Manchester in 1967. He was knighted the following year. Pope Paul conferred one of the highest civil awards in the Roman Catholic Church on him in 1972 by making him a Knight Commander of St Gregory the Great.  (ABOVE) Matt Busby with the European Cup (1968)  (ABOVE) Matt Busby leading his team out for the F.A Cup final 1957 The team Matt Busby had built from the club's successful youth policy seemed destined to dominate football for many years. The average age of the side which won the Championship in 1955-56 was just 22, the youngest ever to achieve such a feat. A year later, when they were champions yet again, nothing, it seemed, would prevent the young braves of Manchester United from reigning supreme for the next decade. United had taken their first steps into European football in defiance of the football authorities and it was on foreign soil that the final chapter in the story of the Babes was to be written. The aircraft carrying the United party back from a victorious visit to Yugoslavia crashed in the snow of Munich airport and the Babes were no more. Roger Byrne, Geoff Bent, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Liam Whelan, Eddie Colman and Tommy Taylor had been killed instantly. Club secretary Walter Crickmer had also died, along with the first team trainer, Tom Curry, and coach Bert Whalley. Duncan Edwards and Johnny Berry were critically injured and fighting for their lives, Matt Busby had suffered extensive injuries and was the only club official to survive the crash. Three weeks later Duncan Edwards and Kenneth Rayment lost their battle to live. 
(ABOVE) The last ever line-up for the Busby Babes  (ABOVE) The wreckage of the British European Airways plane which crashed in Munich on the 6th February 1958, while bringing home members of the Manchester United football team from a European Cup match
“Duncan Edwards was then, and has always remained to Anonymous Poem written in the late 60's
In the 1960's Matt Busby had a great side. Bobby Charlton a survivor of the Munich air disaster, was a very
influential player during this time. He was one of the Busby Babes when 'Munich' happened and developed
into a very mature and gifted player and showed this during his time at Old Trafford. Other players such as
Denis Law, Nobby Stiles, Pat Crerand and George Best arrived later in the 1960's and helped create a team
that had the same will to win as the Busby Babes.  (ABOVE) Manchester United were champions again, five years after Munich (1964-65 season) |
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ENGLISH PREMIERSHIPChampions: 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997,1999, 2000, 2001 Runners-up: 1995, 1998 FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 1Runners-up: 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1988, 1992 FOOTBALL LEAGUE DIVISION 2Runners-up: 1897, 1906, 1925, 1938 FA CHALLENGE CUPRunners-up: 1957, 1958, 1976, 1979, 1995 FOOTBALL LEAGUE CUPRunners-up: 1983, 1991, 1994 FA CHARITY SHIELDEUROPEAN CUPEUROPEAN CUP WINNER'S CUPEUROPEAN SUPER CUPWORLD CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP |
