The 1957–58 season was Manchester United's 56th in the Football League, and their 13th consecutive season in the top division of English football.
The season marked the biggest tragedy in the club's history as eight players, three club officials and ten other passengers died as a result of their injuries in the Munich air disaster on 6 February 1958 on their way back from a European Cup quarter-final away to Red Star Belgrade. Centre-half Mark Jones, captain Roger Byrne, full-back Geoff Bent, winger David Pegg, right-half Eddie Colman, inside-right Bill Whelan and centre-forward Tommy Taylor were all killed instantly. Left-half Duncan Edwards was in hospital for two weeks before he too died on 21 February.
Winger Johnny Berry and centre-half Jackie Blanchflower were both injured to such an extent that they never played again, while several of the surviving players were unavailable for a considerable amount of time as they recovered from their injuries.
Manager Matt Busby was badly injured, and his assistant Jimmy Murphy (who was not on that fateful flight) took charge of the first team until the end of the season as Busby recovered from his injuries. Club secretary Walter Crickmer and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Whalley were all killed in the crash, which claimed a total of 23 lives.
Despite the decimation of their squad, a makeshift United side still managed to reach the FA Cup final that season, where they lost to Bolton Wanderers. They also reached the semi-finals of the European Cup. However, their league form suffered after the crash and their title challenge faded as they finished ninth in the final table.
With the United squad decimated by death and injuries in the aftermath of the Munich tragedy, a number of younger players broke through into the first team. These included winger Shay Brennan and forward Mark Pearson. Another notable new member of the side was goalkeeper Harry Gregg, signed in December 1957 a few weeks before the Munich crash, and who was hailed a hero for his rescue efforts in the crash.
United's top scorer for the season was Dennis Viollet, who found the net 23 times in all competitions and 16 times in the league despite being out of action for some two months as he recovered from injuries sustained in the Munich crash.
FA Charity Shield
DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance22 October 1957Aston VillaH4–0T. Taylor (3), Berry27,293
First Division DateOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance24 August 1957Leicester CityA3–0Whelan (3)40,21428 August 1957EvertonH3–0T. Taylor, Viollet, own goal59,10331 August 1957Manchester CityH4–1Berry, Edwards, T. Taylor, Viollet63,3474 September 1957EvertonA3–3Berry, Viollet, Whelan72,0777 September 1957Leeds UnitedH5–0Berry (2), T. Taylor (2), Viollet50,8429 September 1957BlackpoolA4–1Viollet (2), Whelan (2)34,18114 September 1957Bolton WanderersA0–448,00318 September 1957BlackpoolH1–2Edwards40,76321 September 1957ArsenalH4–2Whelan (2), Pegg, T. Taylor47,14228 September 1957Wolverhampton WanderersA1–3Doherty48,8255 October 1957Aston VillaH4–1T. Taylor (2), Pegg, own goal43,10212 October 1957Nottingham ForestA2–1Viollet, Whelan47,65419 October 1957PortsmouthH0–338,25326 October 1957West Bromwich AlbionA3–4T. Taylor (2), Whelan52,1602 November 1957BurnleyH1–0T. Taylor49,4499 November 1957Preston North EndA1–1Whelan39,06316 November 1957Sheffield WednesdayH2–1Webster (2)40,36623 November 1957Newcastle UnitedA2–1Edwards, T. Taylor53,89030 November 1957Tottenham HotspurH3–4Pegg (2), Whelan43,0777 December 1957Birmingham CityH3–3Viollet (2), T. Taylor35,79114 December 1957ChelseaH0–136,85321 December 1957Leicester CityH4–0Viollet (2), Charlton, Scanlon41,63125 December 1957Luton TownH3–0Charlton, Edwards, T. Taylor39,44426 December 1957Luton TownA2–2Scanlon, T. Taylor26,45828 December 1957Manchester CityA2–2Charlton, Viollet70,48311 January 1958Leeds UnitedA1–1Viollet39,40118 January 1958Bolton WanderersH7–2Charlton (3), Viollet (2), Edwards, Scanlon41,1411 February 1958ArsenalA5–4T. Taylor (2), Charlton, Edwards, Viollet63,57822 February 1958Nottingham ForestH1–1Dawson66,1248 March 1958West Bromwich AlbionH0–463,27815 March 1958BurnleyA0–337,24729 March 1958Sheffield WednesdayA0–135,60831 March 1958Aston VillaA2–3Dawson, Webster16,6314 April 1958SunderlandH2–2Charlton, Dawson47,4215 April 1958Preston North EndH0–047,8167 April 1958SunderlandA2–1Webster (2)51,30212 April 1958Tottenham HotspurA0–159,83616 April 1958PortsmouthA3–3Dawson, E. Taylor, Webster39,97519 April 1958Birmingham CityH0–238,99121 April 1958Wolverhampton WanderersH0–433,26723 April 1958Newcastle UnitedH1–1Dawson28,39326 April 1958ChelseaA1–2E. Taylor45,011
FA Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance4 January 1958Round 3WorkingtonA3–1Viollet (3)21,00025 January 1958Round 4Ipswich TownH2–0Charlton (2)53,55019 February 1958Round 5Sheffield WednesdayH3–0Brennan (2), Dawson59,8481 March 1958Round 6West Bromwich AlbionA2–2Dawson, E. Taylor58,2505 March 1958Round 6ReplayWest Bromwich AlbionH1–0Webster60,00022 March 1958Semi-finalFulhamN2–2Charlton (2)69,74526 March 1958Semi-finalReplayFulhamN5–3Dawson (3), Brennan, Charlton38,0003 May 1958FinalBolton WanderersN0–2100,000
European Cup DateRoundOpponentsH / AResultF–AScorersAttendance25 September 1957Preliminary roundFirst legShamrock RoversA6–0T. Taylor (2), Whelan (2), Berry, Pegg45,0002 October 1957Preliminary roundSecond legShamrock RoversH3–2Viollet (2), Pegg33,75420 November 1957First roundFirst legDukla PragueH3–0Pegg, T. Taylor, Webster60,0004 December 1957First roundSecond legDukla PragueA0–135,00014 January 1958Quarter-finalFirst legRed Star BelgradeH2–1Charlton, Colman60,0005 February 1958Quarter-finalSecond legRed Star BelgradeA3–3Charlton (2), Viollet55,0008 May 1958Semi-finalFirst legMilanH2–1E. Taylor, Viollet44,88014 May 1958Semi-finalSecond legMilanA0–480,000
Squad statistics Pos.NameLeagueFA CupEuropean CupOtherTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsGK David Gaskell3000000030GK Harry Gregg190804010310GK Ray Wood200004010250FB Shay Brennan5023000073FB Roger Byrne260206010350FB Bill Foulkes420808010590FB Ian Greaves120602000200FB Bobby Harrop5010000060FB Tommy Heron1000000010FB Peter Jones1000000010HB Jackie Blanchflower180002010210HB Eddie Colman240205100311HB Ronnie Cope130602000210HB Stan Crowther110502000180HB Duncan Edwards266205010346HB Freddie Goodwin160603010260HB Mark Jones100204000160HB Wilf McGuinness7000100080FW Johnny Berry204003111246FW Bobby Charlton2187523003016FW Alex Dawson1256500001810FW John Doherty1100000011FW Kenny Morgans130204000190FW Mark Pearson80402000140FW David Pegg214004310267FW Albert Scanlon93203000143FW Ernie Taylor112612100194FW Tommy Taylor25162063133422FW Dennis Viollet22163364103223FW Colin Webster206615100318FW Billy Whelan20120032102414
Munich air disaster
On 5 February 1958, United played Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia, in the second leg of the European Cup quarter finals. The match ended in a 3–3 draw, but as United had already won the home leg 2–1, they won the tie 5–4 on aggregate and reached the semi-finals for the second year in succession.
The team's chartered plane, an Airspeed Ambassador owned by British European Airways, left Belgrade on 6 February and stopped at Munich to refuel. Takeoff had to be aborted twice because of boost surging, a common problem in the "Elizabethan". The problem was caused by the fuel mixture being too rich, which caused the engines to over-accelerate: this problem was exacerbated by the altitude of the Munich airport.
The pilots were able to control the surging on the third takeoff attempt, but as they reached the V1 "decision speed" (after which it is unsafe to abort takeoff), the airspeed suddenly dropped. The aircraft left the runway, crashed through a fence and into a house. The left wing and the tail were ripped off, while the starboard side of the fuselage hit a fuel tank and exploded. Officially, the cause of the accident was build-up of slush on the runway, which caused the aircraft to lose speed, preventing it from achieving takeoff.
Mark Jones, David Pegg, Roger Byrne (United's captain since 1953), Geoff Bent, Eddie Colman, Liam Whelan, and Tommy Taylor were killed outright, in addition to club secretary Walter Crickmer, and coaches Tom Curry and Bert Whalley. Duncan Edwards, Matt Busby, and Johnny Berry were critically injured; Edwards died fifteen days later. Berry and Jackie Blanchflower survived but never played again. Byrne, Taylor and Edwards were all regular members of the England team, with 70 caps and 21 goals between them, while Pegg, Whelan, Berry and Blanchflower had all received full international recognition for England, the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland.
A total of 23 people died as a result of their injuries; among them were four other passengers and two of the crew, as were eight sportswriters including former Manchester City and England goalkeeper Frank Swift. Among the survivors were goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who had only just joined the club from Doncaster Rovers, full-back Bill Foulkes and forward Bobby Charlton.
References