Matt Busby

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Sir Matt Busby
Personal information
Full name Sir Alexander Matthew Busby
Date of birth 26 May 1909
Place of birth Orbiston (now part of Bellshill), Scotland
Date of death 20 January 1994
Nickname Sir Matt
Position Manager
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1929-1936
1936-40		 Manchester City
Liverpool		 226(14)
118(3)
Teams managed
1945-1969
1970-1971		 Manchester United
Manchester United

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
Statue of Sir Matt Busby
Enlarge
Statue of Sir Matt Busby

Sir Alexander Matthew Busby, CBE (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for his management of Manchester United F.C. during the 1950s and 1960s.

Contents

[edit] Career

Born in a two-roomed pitman’s cottage in the mining village of Orbiston (now part of Bellshill), North Lanarkshire; he was raised a practicing Roman Catholic. His family was also of Askenazic Jewish origin.

The young Matthew Busby was no stranger to loss. His father and all his uncles were killed in World War I. Luckily, Busby had the ability to play football well.

As a player, Busby began his career at Manchester City where he won an FA Cup Winner's medal in 1934, this following the cup runners-up medal he got the season before. [[Liverpool F.C.|Liverpool]howard] manager George Patterson then signed the experienced Busby for £8000 in the March of 1936, he made his debut for the Reds on the 14th of the same month away to Huddersfield, a game that ended in a 1-0 defeat for Liverpool, he opened his account a month later, his 47th minute strike helped the Reds to a 2-2 draw with Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Busby, almost, immediately made the number 4 shirt his own ousting Robert Savage in the process, he hardly missed a game over the following 3 campaigns thus was his consistency. This consistency earned Busby the Liverpool captaincy and he lead the club with great distinction.

Busby started out as an inside-forward but was switched to the right-half berth early in his career, this turned out to be a wise move as Busby's graceful and stylish play, plus his outstanding passing ability made him a cut above the rest. Busby, along with Jimmy McDougall and Tom Bradshaw, made up, what was probably, the best half-back line Liverpool had ever had.

A young man by the name of Bob Paisley joined Liverpool from Bishop Auckland and it was Matt who took him under his wing and showed him the ropes at Anfield, this led to a lifelong friendship between two of the most successful managers in English football history.

The Second World War brought a premature end to Matt's playing days, the likelyhood is that he would have gone on to make 300+ appearances for the Reds. Matt, like many of the Liverpool playing staff, signed on for national service in the King's Liverpool Regiment.

Busby carried on playing during the World War ll making three war-time appearances for Chelsea, he also turned out for Middlesbrough, Reading, Brentford, Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic and Hibs

Busby made his first 'official' international appearance for Scotland, it came on the 4th October 1933 at Ninian Park, Cardiff in a 3-2 British Championship defeat to Wales. Matt also made 7 'unofficial' appearances for the Scots during the 1939/1945 war.

After peace was declared in 1945, the 36-year-old Busby was offered a job on the coaching staff at Anfield, but being the gentleman he was, Matt had already shaken hands on a deal that would make him Manchester United manager, a deal Matt wouldn't break. Billy McConnell, the Liverpool Chairman at the time, eventually persuaded the board of directors at Anfield to let Busby leave and the rest, as they say, is history.

Busby took over the reins at Man United at the beginning of October 1946. He immediately put his mark on the side leading them to the runners-up spot, ironically behind his former employers Liverpool, by the end of the 46/47 season. He then followed this up by being runners-up in the league 4 more times in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951 before finally, and deservedly, winning the championship in 1952, not bad for a man who had no experience in managing a club.

During this time, the team picked up the affectionate nickname the Busby Babes, due to the youthfulness of some of the players he signed. Notable members of the team at this time included Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. They won the league in both 1956 and 1957, and were beaten FA Cup finalists in 1957.

In 1958, tragedy struck the Busby Babes as the Munich air disaster took the lives of eight members of the team. Busby himself was severely injured and was twice given last rites.

Busby had been appointed as manager of Scotland in January 1958 for the World Cup that summer in Sweden, but Trainer Dawson Walker was forced to take over. Busby did take charge of the team for two games later that year against Wales and Northern Ireland, giving Denis Law his first cap. He resigned in December.

In the 1960s, Busby rebuilt the Manchester United team, with famous players including Denis Law, Bobby Charlton, and George Best. The biggest success of his career came in 1968 when the team won the European Cup. He retired as manager in 1969, and remained at the club as a director until 1982, when he became president of the club.

Busby was awarded the CBE in 1958 and knighted following the European Cup victory in 1968. He died in January 1994, at the age of 84, as a result of cancer. Busby was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game.

[edit] Trivia

He was mentioned in the Beatles song "Dig It".

During a census, when asked for his occupation, he replied "footballer". The census-taker, misinterpreting his accent, wrote "fruit boiler."

[edit] Statistics

Club Performance
Club Season League FA Cup --------- --------- Others Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Liverpool FC 1939/40 3 0 0 0 - - - - 0 0 3 0
1938/39 42 1 3 0 - - - - 0 0 45 1
1937/38 33 0 3 0 - - - - 0 0 36 0
1936/37 29 1 1 0 - - - - 0 0 30 1
1935/36 11 1 0 0 - - - - 0 0 11 1
Total 118 3 7 0 - - - - 0 0 125 3

[edit] Career details

As a Player

  • Manchester City F.C (1929 - 1936) - ? appearances, ? goals - F.A Cup winners medal (1934), F.A Cup runners-up medal (1933)
  • Liverpool F.C (1936 - 1939) - 125 appearances, 3 goals
  • Scotland (1933) 1 cap

Honours As Manager

Football League First Division|League Championship (old Div. 1) runners-up 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1959, 1964 and 1968), FA Cup runners-up (1957 and 1958), Charity Shield runners-up (1948 and 1963), Intercontinental Cup runners-up (1968/69)

[edit] External links

Preceded by:
Jock Stein		 European Cup Winning Coach
1967-68		 Succeeded by:
Nereo Rocco
Preceded by:
Walter Crickmer		 Manchester United F.C. manager
1945-1969		 Succeeded by:
Wilf McGuinness
Preceded by:
Dawson Walker		 Scotland national football team manager
1958		 Succeeded by:
Andy Beattie
Preceded by:
Wilf McGuinness		 Manchester United F.C. manager
1970-1971		 Succeeded by:
Frank O'Farrell
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