50th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster (1958)

This week will be an important and memorable week for Manchester United as its the 50th anniversary of the Munich air crash disaster. Eight of the Busby Babes died in the disaster in 1958 including potentially the greatest of them all, Duncan Edwards. The last remaining player from the pre-Munich side, Sir Bobby Charlton, retired from playing in 1975.

The Munich air disaster took place on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at the Munich-Riem airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the Busby Babes, along with a number of supporters and journalists. Twenty-three of the 44 passengers on board the aircraft died in the disaster. The team was on the way back from from their European Cup match against the Yugoslavian team Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade), which ended in a 3-3 draw (United won the tie 5-4 on aggregate).

This mid-week Manchester United will be taking on Manchester City in an all-important derby in Old Trafford. The Red Devils will be donning a special jersey to commemorate this unfortunate accident.