Busby, Sir Matthew

▪ 1995

      ("MATT"), Scottish footballer (b. May 26, 1909, Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland—d. Jan. 20, 1994, Manchester, England), was the revered manager (1945-69), general manager (1969-71), director (1971-83), and president (1980-93) of the Manchester United association football (soccer) team; as manager he steered that club to win two Football Association (FA) Cup titles (1948 and 1963), five English Football League championships (1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, and 1967), and the 1968 European Cup. Perhaps his greatest challenge came in February 1958 when the plane in which the club was traveling crashed on takeoff near Munich, Germany. Busby was critically injured, and eight first-string players of the young team that had come to be known as the "Busby Babes" were among the 23 people killed. By the end of that season, however, the surviving players and their hastily recruited reinforcements had reached the FA Cup semifinals, and within 10 years the rebuilt side had captured the European Cup. Busby, the son of a Lanarkshire coal miner who died in World War I, briefly worked in the mines until he won a place with Manchester City in 1929. He was a moderately successful player with City and then with Liverpool (1936-39) and was selected to play for Scotland in 1934. After serving as a physical training instructor in the British army during World War II, he accepted the post of manager at Manchester United, which at that time was languishing in obscurity and near bankruptcy. Busby was particularly known for his skill at recruiting young talent and for introducing a fast-moving, attacking style of play. He was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1958 and was knighted in 1968.

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▪ British athlete and coach

born May 26, 1909, Orbiston, Lanarkshire, Scotland

died January 20, 1994, Manchester, England

      British football (football (soccer)) (soccer) player who achieved acclaim as manager (1945–71), director (1971–82), and president (1980) of the Manchester United football team.

      Busby enjoyed a fine career as a midfielder with Manchester City (1926–36) and Liverpool (1936–39), reaching the Football Association (FA) Cup final twice (1933 and 1934), but it was as manager of Manchester United that he made his mark. He guided the team to five championships in the first division of the English Football League (1952, 1956, 1957, 1965, and 1967), two victories in the FA Challenge Cup finals (1948 and 1963), and one triumph, the first for an English club, in the European Champions Clubs' Cup finals (1968). As manager of Manchester United, he successfully introduced a style of attacking play that depended on a highly mobile centre forward. He was also noted for developing many talented young players, including Jackie Blanchflower, Duncan Edwards, and Bobby Charlton (Charlton, Sir Bobby), who collectively became known as “Busby Babes.”

      On February 6, 1958, an airliner carrying the Manchester United team crashed near Munich, West Germany, killing eight first-string players. Busby, who survived, then performed what was probably his greatest coaching feat by guiding a patchwork team to the FA Cup final match. (They lost to the Bolton Wanderers.) He was knighted in 1968.

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