Busby Babes

The Busby Babes was a nickname given to a group of association football players that played for Manchester United. The players with this nickname were recruited by Manchester United's chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, and would be progressed to the first team by manager Matt Busby. The term was commonly used for players who joined the Manchester United academy during the 1940s and 1950s.

History

Manchester United in 1957

The term was first used in 1951 by Manchester Evening News journalist Tom Jackson.^[1][2] The term was commonly used to refer to the players that won the 1955–56 and the 1956–57 Football League First Division titles.

Eight of the players, being Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), Duncan Edwards (21), Billy Whelan (22), Tommy Taylor (26), David Pegg (22), and Geoff Bent (25) would die in the Munich air disaster. Jackie Blanchflower (24 at the time of the crash), and Johnny Berry (31 at the time of the crash) would survive the disaster, but they would be unable to play again.

Two players have been called "The last of the Busby Babes". The first player was Sammy McIlroy, who was the last player that Matt Busby signed for Manchester United. The other player was Jeff Whitefoot, who was one of the last living players of the team before his death in 2024.^[3]

In media

The Busby Babes were first shown in media in the television movie United, which was released in 2011. The movie focuses on the relationship between Jimmy Murphy (played by David Tennant) and Bobby Charlton (played by Jack O'Connell) after the Munich air disaster.