Last Sunday’s 3-0 victory over West Ham was an emotional day for Manchester United as they commemorated the 66th anniversary of the Munich Air disaster. United manager Erik ten Hag and former United manager David Moyes led their respective teams out of the tunnel with wreaths as Old Trafford remembered those who lost their lives in a tragedy that shook the world of football.
Jimmy Murphy was born in a small Welsh town called Pentre in 1910. He would play for West Brom and Swindon Town during his playing career before the start of World War Two. Murphy played as a wing half and made 15 appearances for Wales.
During the Second World War, Murphy made a speech to troops about football with Sir Matt Busby in attendance. Busby was so impressed with Murphy that he appointed him as a ‘chief scout’ upon Busby’s appointment as manager of Manchester United. Murphy was responsible for the young talent that was at the club. Both Busby and Murphy wanted to replace older and more experienced players in the team with young players from the academy as United won four FA Youth Cups in a row from 1953 to 1957.
Murphy trained the ‘Busby Babes’ from teenagers and scouted players like Bobby Charlton and Duncan Edwards. United would win the first Division in 1955/56 and 1956/57 and were touted to dominate Europe for years to come.
In 1958, the Busby Babes tragically lost their lives in the Munich Air disaster in which Duncan Edwards, Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Billy Whelan passed away as a result of the crash. Murphy, who was managing Wales at the time of the crash – would build a ‘substitute team’ and take United to the FA Cup final only four months after the crash, losing to Bolton Wanderers in the final. In that same year, Murphy also took Wales to the FIFA World Cup in 1958 – which was the first and only time Wales qualified for the World Cup finals until 2022 when Rob Page brought his Welsh side to Qatar.
After the crash, Murphy would help Busby rebuild Manchester United as he did in the early 50s. Murphy would play a huge part in United’s return to glory as United with players like Bobby Charlton, George Best, Brian Kidd and Bill Foulkes would win the FA Cup in 1963 and the First Division in 1965 and 1967. In 1968, United would become the first English team to win the European Cup as United beat Benfica 4-1 in the final at Wembley.
Murphy would work at Old Trafford in various roles until the end of the 1970s. His legacy will never be forgotten. His belief in youth is cemented in the DNA of the football club. In recognition for his work at the club, Manchester United renamed a training facility after Murphy and in June 2023 the club unveiled a statue commemorating his work before and after the Munich Air disaster.
Image by jcomp on Freepik
