Busby Babe Bill Foulkes

Former Manchester United captain Bill Foulkes, who survived the 1958 Munich air crash, has died aged 81.

Only Sir Bobby Charlton, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have played more times for United than the Busby Babe, who made 688 appearances.

Sir Bobby Charlton said the defender was a "marvellous man" and United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward added "he will never be forgotten".

St Helens-born Foulkes played for United in their 1968 European Cup win. Foulkes was a key member of Sir Matt Busby's team of talented young players, who were nicknamed the Busby Babes. On 6 February 1958, the plane that was carrying the team back from Belgrade crashed in a blizzard after re-fuelling at Munich airport. Twenty-three people died - eight players, eight newspaper journalists and seven members of backroom staff.

Speaking about the disaster in 2008, Foulkes said he had been "put in a bad way" by the crash. "The back end came up and I saw it came up and down again and this meant all the stuff came out of the back and hit me in the back of the head." However, he managed to escape from the plane and ran to safety before returning to help the survivors. "I ran over to Matt and we put an overcoat underneath him and he just turned over, groaned and passed out," he said.

After the Munich tragedy, Foulkes took over the captaincy and became a pillar of some of United's most successful teams. Foulkes was a four-time league champion and a FA Cup winner. He also won the European Cup at Wembley with United, when the team beat Portuguese side Benfica 4-1 in 1968.

Flowers of the Stretford End

Manchester United - The Flowers of Manchester - Munich Air Disaster Memorial


The Flowers of Manchester banner on the Stretford End. A tribute to the Munich air disaster (February 6, 1958), in which eight Man Utd players died. The Flowers of Manchester was the title of a tribute song by the group The Spinners.

The Busby Era

The Busby Era is a wonderful DVD that chronicles the period which made Manchester United a household name. It includes previously unseen footage, including amateur film in colour from the 1950s and scenes from the Wembley dressing room following the 1968 European Cup triumph. Watch all the great teams that Sir Matt Busby built and admire those amazing games and goals that took Manchester United to the top of world football. In my opinion, this is essential viewing for all true Manchester United supporters, especially those not old enough to remember the period which made the club great.