Sir Matt Busby Era

Lore & Background

Busby was born in a two-roomed pitman's cottage in Orbiston, Bellshill, Lanarkshire. His father was killed in the First World War. He was raised Catholic and later made a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great in 1972. Before management, he played for Manchester City and Liverpool, winning one FA Cup with City. He took the manager's job at Manchester United after Liverpool would not give him control over the first team. He built the Busby Babes, who won successive First Division titles. Eight of those players died in the Munich air disaster. Busby rebuilt the team and won two more First Division titles, domestic cups, and the European Cup a decade later. In 25 years with United, he won five league championships, two FA Cups, and the European Cup.

In Their Own Story

The rain at Wembley on May 29, 1968, felt different than the cold drizzle of Munich years prior. Sir Matt Busby stood on the touchline, his face lined with the weight of two decades of hope and heartbreak. As Bobby Charlton lifted the European Cup high above his head, the roar of the crowd drowned out the ghosts of the past. It was a moment where the 'Babes' who were lost seemed to stand alongside those who survived, united in a triumph that proved football could heal even the deepest wounds.

Reader's Guide

Busby's managerial career at Manchester United spanned from 1945 to 1969, with a brief return for the second half of the 1970–71 season. He is noted for rebuilding the team after the Munich air disaster and leading them to European Cup glory. He was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Did You Know?

• Busby made only one official international appearance for Scotland, in a 3–2 loss to Wales in 1933.
• He was appointed Knight Bachelor in 1968 and a Knight of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great in 1972.
• Busby's mother planned to emigrate to the United States in the late 1920s, but the nine-month processing time allowed him to pursue football instead.