Barney Corkhill's "A Tribute To..." series once again looks at football. In this series I look at the greatest talents to grace various sports.
Today's tribute looks at a Manchester United and England legend, and a man who has experienced the very highest and very lowest feelings in football. He has scored more goals for Manchester United and England than any other player.
I speak, of course, of the great Sir Bobby Charlton.
Born October 11, 1937, Robert Charlton was born into a football mad family. He was destined for football stardom before he had even kicked a ball. His uncles were Jack Milburn, George Milburn, Jim Milburn, and Stan Milburn—all of whom were professional footballers. His mother's cousin was Jackie Milburn, one of the greatest players in the history of Newcastle Football Club.
His elder brother, Jack Charlton, would also go on to become a highly successful professional footballer.
At the tender age of 15, Bobby Charlton signed a pre-contract agreement with Manchester United. A year later he became a professional footballer, much to his delight and his mother's apprehension.
He had to fight it out in the youth team and reserves for two years, but finally made his much anticipated debut against Charlton in 1956.
His talent was clear from an early age, but he was surrounded by other great young talents that made up the Busby Babes. Despite the obvious competition from the established first team players and Charlton's young counterparts—including Duncan Edwards—he made 17 appearances for the first team that season, scoring 12 goals.
Sir Matt Busby led his young Manchester United team to the First Division title that season, giving Charlton an early taste of success, and outlining the potential of this young side.
The season also saw Bobby Charlton's first taste of the European Cup—a tournament that would give him much joy and despair in the future. He was selected for the second leg of the semifinal against Real Madrid.
Unsurprisingly, the young United were overcome by the great team who would go on to win five European Cups in a row, but Charlton, at just 19, had stepped on the field with players like Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, and managed to get on the score sheet.
The league success ensured European competition the following season as well.
The following season was a promising one for United, as they were pushing for a third consecutive First Division title, an FA Cup, and were making major strides once again in Europe.
After an aggregate win over Red Star Belgrade, which ensured United were in the semifinals once again, disaster struck.
On the flight back, the United plane stopped off in Munich to be refuelled. The weather was terrible, and the players and everyone else on the plane were nervous about the take-off, after several failed attempts.
The slush on the runway prevented a clean take-off, and the plane crashed into a fence and a house, ripping the plane in half.
As far as the United team was concerned, Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, and Liam Whelan died at the scene. Duncan Edwards died in hospital 15 days later.
There were 15 other fatalities including staff, journalists, and flight attendants.
Obviously, the tragedy shook Manchester United and the footballing world to the core. A team with unlimited potential had been torn apart, and United unsurprisingly fell off the pace in the league and went out of the European Cup.
The fact that they were able to continue at all shows great resilience and character, and the fact that they managed to reach the FA Cup final showed how strong they were. It was an ultimately unsuccessful final, but it saw Matt Busby's return to work after being read the Last Rites twice while lying in his hospital bed.
A month before that FA Cup final, Bobby Charlton was selected for England for the first time, in a match against Scotland in the British Home Championships. Charlton scored a breathtaking goal in a 4-0 win for the English.
He scored two goals against Portugal in his following match and, despite a poor performance on his return to Belgrade to face Yugoslavia, he was selected for the 1958 World Cup. Unfortunately for Charlton, however, he didn't get a game.
He went on to help England to Home Championship success in 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1961.
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