Duncan Edwards

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Lore & Background

Duncan Edwards was born on 1 October 1936 at 23 Malvern Crescent in the Woodside district of Dudley. He was the first child of Gladstone and Sarah Ann Edwards and their only child to survive to adulthood, his younger sister Carol Anne dying in 1947 at the age of 14 weeks. His cousin, three years his senior, was Dennis Stevens, who also went on to become a professional footballer. Soon after Edwards was born, his family moved to 31 Elm Road on the Priory Estate, also in Dudley. Edwards attended Priory Infant and Junior Schools from 1941 to 1948, and Wolverhampton Street Secondary School from 1948 to 1952. He played football for his school as well as for Dudley Schools, Worcestershire and Birmingham and District teams, and also represented his school at morris dancing. He was selected to compete in the National Morris and Sword Dancing Festival, but was also offered a trial for the English Schools Football Association's under-14 team, which fell on the same day, and opted to attend the latter. Edwards impressed the selectors and was chosen to play for the English Schools XI, making his debut against the equivalent team from Wales at Wembley Stadium on 1 April 1950. He was soon appointed captain of the team, a position he held for two seasons. By this stage, he had already attracted the attention of major clubs, with Manchester United scout Jack O'Brien reporting back to manager Matt Busby in 1948 that he had 'today seen a 12-year-old schoolboy who merits special watching. His name is Duncan Edwards, of Dudley.' Joe Mercer, who was then coaching the England schools team, urged Busby to sign Edwards, who was also attracting interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa. Edwards signed for United as an amateur on 2 June 1952, but accounts of when he signed his first professional contract vary. Some reports state that it occurred on his 17th birthday in October 1953, but others contend that it took place a year earlier. Those accounts that favour the earlier date usually state that a club official, either Busby himself or coach Bert Whalley, arrived at the Edwards family home soon after midnight to secure the youngster's signature as early as possible, but other reports claim that this occurred when he signed his amateur contract. Wolves manager Stan Cullis was indignant at missing out on a highly touted local youngster and accused United of improperly off

In Their Own Story

Edwards' final days were marked by intense activity and looming tragedy. On 1 February 1958, he scored the opening goal in a thrilling 5–4 victory over Arsenal at Highbury, though some press critics noted he was at fault for conceding the fourth goal due to dallying on the ball. Five days later, he played his last match as United drew 3–3 away to Red Star Belgrade to reach the European Cup semi-finals. The Munich air disaster claimed the lives of eight players. Edwards survived the initial crash but succumbed to his injuries in a hospital two weeks later, on 21 February 1958. Before this tragedy, he had already completed compulsory national service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, stationed near Shrewsbury and Wales alongside teammates like Bobby Charlton. Even during military duty, he was granted leave to play for United, sometimes playing nearly 100 matches in a single season combining army and club fixtures.

Reader's Guide

Edwards began his Manchester United career in the youth team and made several appearances for the team that won the first ever FA Youth Cup in 1953, but by the time of the final had already made his debut for the first team. On 4 April 1953 he played in a Football League First Division match against Cardiff City, which United lost 4–1, aged just 16 years and 185 days. Mindful of the fact that his team contained a large number of ageing players, Busby was keen to bring new young players through the ranks. Edwards, along with the likes of Dennis Viollet and Jackie Blanchflower, was among a number of youngsters introduced to the team that season, and the new group of players came to be known collectively as the Busby Babes. Reviewing his performance on his first-team debut the Manchester Guardian newspaper commented that 'he showed promise of fine ability in passing and shooting, but will have to move faster as a wing half'. The 1953–54 season saw Edwards emerge as a semi-regular player in the United first team. After impressing in a friendly against Kilmarnock he replaced the injured Henry Cockburn for the away match against Huddersfield Town on 31 October 1953, and went on to appear in 24 league matches as well as United's FA Cup defeat to Burnley. Nonetheless he was also still an active part of the youth squad and played in the team which won the Youth Cup for the second consecutive season. He made his first appearance for the national under-23 team on 20 January 1954 in Italy, and was considered for inclusion in the full England team, but on the day when the selection committee watched him in action, against Arsenal on 27 March, he gave a poor performance and was not called up. The following season, he established himself as United's regular left-half, making 36 first-team appearances and scoring his first goals at senior level, finishing the season with six to his name. His performances revived calls for him to be selected for the senior England team, and a member of the selection committee was despatched to watch him play against Huddersfield Town on 18 September 1954, when he was just short of his 18th birthday, but nothing came of it in the short term, although he was selected for a Football League XI which played an exhibition match against a Scottish League team. In March he played for England B against an equivalent team from Germany and, despite bei

Did You Know?

• Edwards was the youngest player to appear in the Football League First Division since the Second World War, but not the youngest ever.
• He did not score in the historic 10–0 victory over Anderlecht in the European Cup.
• Edwards scored once, not twice, in the 5–2 World Cup qualifying win against Denmark on 5 December 1956.