The Plane Crash That Claimed a Generation of Football Talent

The Plane Crash That Claimed a Generation of Football Talent

At 3:04 p.m. on Feb. 6, 1958, a disaster occurred that still ranks among the greatest disasters in sports. As the Manchester United team was returning from a game in Yugoslavia, their plane crashed, killing 23 people. Manchester United is an English football team (soccer for you Yanks). They were making their mark in 1958 and were famous as the Busby Babes. Their manager, Matt Busby, was making headlines because he was in favor of signing young players and developing them rather than recruiting older, more seasoned players. The average age of the Babes was only 22. They were doing well that year, and their record before the accident was 15 wins, 7 losses, and 6 draws. The day before the accident, Manchester United had been in Yugoslavia to play Red Star Belgrade. They tied the game, but had enough points on aggregate to advance to the semifinals of the European Cup. They were headed home to England from Yugoslavia with a stop in Munich to refuel. The weather in Munich that day was cold and snowy. After refueling, the plane was cleared for takeoff. However, both the first and second attempts were aborted. The aircraft, an Airspeed Ambassador, was prone to boost surging in the engines, which caused issues on the first two takeoff attempts. They returned to the terminal and had the plane looked at. The engineers concluded that the engines were working, but the surging was being caused by the fuel mixture and the conditions at the Munich airport. To fix the problem, the crew was to open the throttle more slowly on the next attempt. The passengers were all in the terminal, and some had even sent messages home saying that flights were canceled and they would not be home that evening. Everyone was surprised, and a little hesitant, when they were told to get back on the plane. To prevent another surge with the engines, the crew opened the throttles more slowly. In the time since their first attempt, it had been snowing continuously, and though the crew checked the wings for icing, they did not factor in the snow and slush on the runway. The official reports do not blame the decreased engine throttle, but the snow for what happened next. The plane barreled down the runway for a third time, passing the speed to abort takeoff but still not airborne. In fact, the plane never left the ground. At 3:04 p.m., the plane slammed through a fence at the end of the runway. It crossed a road, struck trees, and collided with a nearby house. One wing was torn away. The tail section separated, and the fuselage slammed into a building that contained a truck loaded with tires and fuel, which erupted into flames. Twenty people were killed instantly. The crew was afraid the fuel would explode and shouted for people to run from the wreckage. Many did, but not the hero of the hour, Harry Gregg. He helped pull teammates Bobby Charlton, Jackie Blanchflower, and Dennis Viollet from the aircraft. He also rescued Vera Lukić, the pregnant wife of a Yugoslav diplomat, and her young daughter. He also helped his badly injured manager, Matt Busby. Gregg would always downplay his actions, but many regard him as one of the true heroes of Munich. Of the forty-four people aboard the aircraft, 23 ultimately died. Twenty of those died at the crash site. Former England goalkeeper and journalist Frank Swift died while being transported to the hospital. Kenneth Rayment, the co-pilot on this flight, survived the initial crash but was severely injured. He died in the hospital 28 days later as a result of a brain injury. Duncan Edwards also survived the initial accident but died 15 days later in the hospital. Many considered Edwards one of the most gifted footballers England had ever produced. Even today, historians of the sport often wonder what might have been had he lived. Eight Manchester United players were among the dead: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, Billy Whelan, and Duncan Edwards. The disaster also claimed Manchester United club secretary Walter Crickmer, trainer Tom Curry, chief coach Bert Whalley, airline steward Tommy Cable, and several journalists covering the team. A woman and her three children were in the house that was hit, but luckily all escaped and survived. Nine other Manchester United players were on board but survived. Two of those players, Johnny Berry and Jackie Blanchflower, sustained injuries serious enough that they never played again. Manager Matt Busby ultimately survived, but was in the hospital for two months. He was in very critical condition and was administered the Last Rites on two separate occasions. After the disaster, the Manchester team was devastated both mentally and physically. Their coach, Jimmy Murphy, was instrumental in rebuilding the team. He had actually stayed behind on this trip because he was coaching Wales in a World Cup qualifier, and after the accident he stepped up and helped put the team back together. The football world responded with an outpouring of support. Manchester City, United’s local rival, held a moment of silence at their game and even took up a collection for the victims. Maybe more importantly on an emotional level, Manchester City declined to take Manchester United’s spot in the European Cup. Other clubs offered players so that United could field a team. In the club’s first match after the disaster, a makeshift Manchester United side defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3–0, but the match program was heartbreaking. Where the players’ names should have appeared, there were just blank spaces. Despite the victory, their season collapsed. After the disaster, they won only one more league match and finished ninth. They reached the FA Cup Final, but lost 2–0 to the Bolton Wanderers. Today, the victims of the disaster are remembered in multiple countries. Probably the most famous memorial is the Munich Clock at Old Trafford, Manchester United’s home stadium. The clock is forever paused at 3:04. Manchester Cathedral contains a stained-glass window honoring those who died, and near the site of the crash in Munich stands Manchesterplatz, a memorial square featuring inscriptions in both English and German. Even the Majestic Hotel in Belgrade has a small memorial. The team was believed to have stayed in this hotel before leaving Yugoslavia, and the hotel displays a menu card signed by 14 of the players, including the eight who were killed. They also have a photograph taken at the meal, a match ticket, and a piano played by Mark Jones the night before the incident. The club continued to rebuild, and ten years later, in 1968, defeated Benfica to win the European Cup. Manchester United is one of the most famous clubs in the world now and has had players recognized the world over. Even non-football fans will recognize names like David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, George Best, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Many people say that without Jimmy Murphy, the team may not have survived, but luckily for soccer fans, it came through one of the worst sports disasters ever and is even stronger today. Sources: https://gjfootballarchive.com/2025/02/06/the-munich-air-disaster-a-long-read-2/ https://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/munich_58/munich.html https://www.theguardian.com/football/from-the-archive-blog/2018/feb/05/munich-air-disaster-crash-manchester-united-busby-1958 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5187460/2024/02/06/munich-air-disaster-manchester-united-crash/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1957%E2%80%9358_Manchester_United_F.C._season https://www.mancity.com/features/acityunited/ Podcasts: Disaster Area: British European Airways Flight 609 History Daily: The Munich Air Disaster Newspaper: Liverpool Daily Post (Merseyside ed.), Fri, Feb 07, 1958, page 1 The Birmingham Post, Fri, Feb 07, 1958, page 13 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fantasticfootnotes.substack.com [https://fantasticfootnotes.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Greatest Women's Soccer Team You've Never Heard Of

During WWI, as men left for the front, women stepped up to do all the things that needed to be done on the home front. They took care of the family, worked the farm, built the bombs, and some of them played soccer. As men left to go fight the war, many women started working in factories. During breaks, they were encouraged to socialize and even play sports. One popular pastime was soccer. Many munitions factories had teams of women, “Munitionettes”, that would play pick up games at the factory on breaks against other teams of men and women, and would also play against teams from other factories. Many of these inter-factory games were arranged to raise money for charity. Historically, The Dick, Kerr Company manufactured rail and tram equipment and during the war they started making munitions, airplanes, and locomotives for the war department. Like other companies, the women working at Dick, Kerr started playing soccer. According to an excerpt from DickKerrLadies.com, it started like this: It was October 1917 and the lads football team had been having a run of bad results, losing several of their recent games. They had suffered quite a heavy defeat that weekend and the girls were giving the lads some stick in the works canteen saying that they could play better than them. The lads were having none of it so they challenged the girls to prove their skills in a proper match. Grace accepted immediately and said, 'come on girls, let's give it a go, it'll be a laugh', and the arrangements were made for it to take place in the Penwortham area, not too far from the factory. The result of the game is not known but the girls were soon to continue with their newly formed football team. Shortly after that first game, the ladies were approached and asked to help with a fundraiser to help wounded soldiers. Originally they were asked to perform a choir concert, but the ladies decided it would be a better idea to hold a charity soccer match. On Christmas Day 1917 the Dick, Kerr Ladies football team played the Arundel Coulthard Foundry. Over 10,000 people came to watch and they raised over $65K (in today’s money) for wounded soldiers. The Dick, Kerr team won 4-0. As impressive as that was, their 1920 Boxing Day game was even bigger. The Dick, Kerr Ladies took on the St. Helen’s Ladies in Goodison Park. Over 50,000 fans attended the game, and it is estimated that another 10,000 - 15,000 were turned away at the gate. To put that in perspective: CPKC (The Kansas City Current) stadium holds 11,500 people The Sporting KC stadium holds 18,457 people And Arrowhead (home of the CHIEFS!) holds 76,416 people. In 1920, this team could have almost filled Arrowhead. The attendance at this game set a record for the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s soccer game anywhere in the world. That record would hold for 92 years, only being beaten in 2012 when Team Great Britain defeated Brazil at the London Olympics. 70,584 fans attended that game. In fact, the 1920 Boxing Day game still holds the record for the largest crowd at a women’s domestic game in England with second place having 38,262 people in attendance. That game was Arsenal v Tottenham in 2019. While still working their full-time factory jobs, the ladies played over 60 games in 1921. In February of that year, comedian Harry Weldon invited the Dick, Kerr Ladies to play a match against “the best of the rest”, a team of All-Stars from all over the UK. Over 25,000 people came to Liverpool's Anfield ground to watch the Dick, Kerr Ladies dominate 9-1. Unfortunately on December 5, 1921, England’s Football Association banned women’s teams from using the men’s fields. This put quite a damper on their ability to play, but the women continued in parks and cricket fields. The ban would not be lifted until 50 years later, six years after the Ladies played their final game. Why were they banned? The reasons are many, and not very convincing. Unofficially, people think that the women’s games were bringing in money for charity and the F.A. was upset that they had no control over which charities were supported. Officially, the F.A. expressed their concerns that the money was not being correctly accounted for, and of course, the fragility of women. Apparently it was “their strong opinion that the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and should not be encouraged.” But, yeah, cool. Women can still build bombs, and locomotives, and work the farm… This move encouraged the Ladies to travel to Canada to play matches in that country. Unfortunately, they didn’t realize until they arrived that Canada had also banned women playing on their fields. They then came to America to play, but America had no established women’s teams at the time, so the Ladies took on the men. They played nine games. They won three, drew three, and lost three. Pretty even odds. It is estimated that in their 48 years they raised around $13 million for charity (in today’s money). Over those 48 years they played 828 matches, lost only 24, and drew 46. Many of the women who played for the Dick, Kerr Ladies and other “Munitionette” teams accomplished amazing things. Three of the most well known were: Joan Whalley - Debuted at 15 years old. She was described as one of the two greatest right wingers in the world, the other being Tom Finney. She also made history in 1996 when she became the first British female soccer player to feature in a national ad campaign (for Nike) at the age of 74! Val Walsh (Robinson) - Val was a gifted player and was once spotted by Manchester United’s Matt Busby. Busby said that she was the best player he had seen in his life and that, had she have been a man, he would have signed her on the spot. As good as she was at soccer, Val actually preferred a different sport and went on to quit soccer in favor or field hockey. As a field hockey star she played in 5 world championships and was the first Englishwoman to win 100 caps. Lily Parr - Debuted at 14 years old. She played left wing and reportedly once broke the arm of a male keeper during a penalty shot. She scored 43 goals in her first season, and over 900 goals in her career. She was the only woman included in the inaugural class of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. The Dick, Kerr Ladies played 828 matches and lost only 24. They raised millions for charity, filled some of the largest stadiums in Britain, and set attendance records that stood for decades. But if you ask the average sports fan about them today you will probably get a blank stare. A hundred years later, women’s soccer is finally receiving the attention it deserves. And while the players on the field today have earned every bit of that success, they didn’t start the story. We owe part of that story to the ladies of the Dick, Kerr Company. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick,_Kerr_%26_Co. https://www.dickkerrladies.com/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Val_Robinson_(field_hockey) https://www.thefa.com/womens-girls-football/heritage/kicking-down-barriers https://www.sportingheritage.org.uk/content/news/features/dick-kerrs-ladies-2 https://www.history.com/articles/the-ww-i-era-womens-soccer-team-who-could-beat-the-men https://spartacus-educational.com/Fdickkerrs.htm https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/jun/13/how-the-fa-banned-womens-football-in-1921-and-tried-to-justify-it https://heswall.nub.news/news/local-features/rewind-a-strange-centenary-of-the-year-womens-football-was-banned This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fantasticfootnotes.substack.com [https://fantasticfootnotes.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Note Stack: 5.26.26

Housekeeping Thank you all so much! We are up to 1.28K downloads on the podcast so thanks to each and every one of you! Also, if you want to give us a little boost, we would love a review, rating, FB Share, restack, etc. Anything to help us get to the top of that algorithm! Also, June is WORLD CUP MONTH! My son Ethan is going to be helping me host the next three episodes in June and we are going to talk all about soccer history. Don’t let that scare you off, I promise they will still be chock full of interesting history!! News Roundup Revolutionary War Soldiers Reburied In 2019 construction in the Lake George Village of New York uncovered remains of an unmarked burial plot. Initially the plot was thought to be from the French/Indian War, but discovery of a button at the site determined that the site was from the Revolutionary War Era. In fact, scientists think it is associated with a hospital that was close to the site that treated victims of smallpox and other diseases. After painstaking sifting and analysis, scientists think the remains represented at least 44 individuals, two of which were children. On May 20th, those remains were transported from the New York State Museum to the Lake George Battlefield State Park where a newly dedicated memorial called the “Repose of the Fallen” will serve as their final burial ground. The two original articles I found were here [https://nysm.nysed.gov/research-collections/archaeology/bioarchaeology/news/hallowing-this-ground-courtland-street-burials?utm_source=chatgpt.com] and here. [https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/news/2026/05/20/fallen-revolutionary-war-soliders-laid-to-rest] Dingo burial in Australia The remains of a dingo buried 916-963 years ago were studied in Australia. The dingo was male and showed evidence of injuries caused by being kicked by a kangaroo. The dingo had not only lived with and was taken care of by humans, but the burial site had evidence of ritual “feeding” for the next 500 years. The dingo was important enough to this group of people that the tradition of honoring it lasted another half century. Articles here [https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/likely-kicked-by-a-kangaroo-this-dingo-healed-a-millennium-ago-thanks-to-help-from-an-aboriginal-community-that-continued-to-honor-it-for-500-years-180988768/] and here [https://australian.museum/about/organisation/media-centre/millennium-old-dingo-burial-baaka-darling-river/]. Also an article about dingo domestication here [https://www.uwa.edu.au/news/article/2023/october/did-australias-first-peoples-domesticate-dingoes]. Tombstone found in New Orleans A New Orleans couple clearing brush in their backyard made an astonishing discovery: a nearly 2,000-year-old Roman tombstone inscribed in Latin. Experts eventually identified it as the grave marker of Sextus Congenius Verus, a Roman sailor from the second century C.E. who had served in the imperial fleet. Researchers traced the stone to a museum in Civitavecchia, Italy, where it had apparently disappeared during the chaos of World War II bombings. The mystery deepened when the FBI’s Art Crime Team became involved, helping investigate how the artifact crossed the Atlantic and arranging for its repatriation. The most likely explanation came from the family of a former homeowner, who believed a relative stationed in Italy during WWII had unknowingly brought the tombstone home as a souvenir, where it later sat forgotten in a New Orleans garden for decades. Original article is here [https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a70289155/roman-tombstone-new-orleans-fbi/]. And in weird news- More records from the UAP files were released including this transcript [https://www.war.gov/medialink/ufo/release_1/nasa-uap-d3-gemini-7-transcript-1965.pdf. find recording] from the Gemini 7 spaceflight where the the astronauts saw something unexplained in space. Hear the audio here [https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=946394774676129]. Listener Comments No listener comments that needed a deep dive this week, but I did post a note that is worth some thought, and we discussed the responses and our takes on the question- “Today is Star Wars Day. If people find evidence of that 2,000 years in the future, what will they assume? Was Star Wars a religion? (LOL, it is for some people). Was Darth Vader a god? They will have lost so much of the context for what it is and why it exists. And what ancient holidays do we have completely wrong because we are missing the context?” Featured Substacks Tina’s Pick: Snakes and Stories [https://substack.com/@snakesandstories] And, as promised, a pic of Titan Chris’ Pick: Jason Ives [https://substack.com/@futurecomputer] Watching/Reading List (Just FYI, these are affiliate links, so as an Amazon Affiliate I earn from qualifying links) Chris is watching: Micheal (the movie) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zOLzsbOleM] Diary of a CEO (YouTube) [https://www.youtube.com/@TheDiaryOfACEO] Tina is reading: First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James Hansen [https://amzn.to/4fHr0lj] On Assignment: Memoir of a National Geographic Filmmaker by James R. Larison [https://amzn.to/3RxZHzW] Dead Man’s Hand by James J. Butcher [https://amzn.to/49oh24x] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fantasticfootnotes.substack.com [https://fantasticfootnotes.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Accident that Nearly Killed Mark Twain

In today’s episode we talk about the explosion on board the Steamboat Pennsylvania and its connection to Mark Twain. If you are a frequent listener you know I generally go into more detail here, but time got away from us here this week, so I will post a longer article about the Pennsylvania in the next few days. Check out that article because it will have the show notes and sources. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fantasticfootnotes.substack.com [https://fantasticfootnotes.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Other Brown v. the Other Board - An earlier fight for school desegregation

The sleepy little suburb of Merriam, Kansas actually has quite a history. This little suburb of Kansas City has hosted two historic amusement parks (one was George Kessler’s first project), an early Quaker mission, was the site of a plane crash in WWII and a spur of the Santa Fe Trail in the 1800’s, and was on the leading edge in the fight for school desegregation. In the early 1860s, David Gee Campbell settled in the area and named the town, now Merriam, Campbellton. Many Shawnee Indians were already settled in the same area, having been given 200 acres of land each in a deal signed by President Cleveland. Unfortunately, by 1863 much of the land was being auctioned off for unpaid taxes, and Rufus Benson purchased about 400 acres of it which he used to build the community of South Park, just north of Merriam. (Later, parts of South Park were annexed by Merriam.) In 1888 the community of South Park built the Madame C.J. Walker School, named after Madam C. J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in America. If you want to know more about her, check out this episode from The History Chicks [https://thehistorychicks.com/episode-67-madam-cj-walker/]. The school was attended by both black and white students until around 1900, when white students started attending a separate school. In 1947 the school district opened South Park Elementary School, paid for by ALL taxpayers, but open only to white students. At this point, the C.J. Walker School was nearly 60 years old, had no running water, indoor restrooms, or electricity, and was starting to fall apart. The new South Park School had all of these amenities. Unsurprisingly, black families in the area were unhappy. They voiced their concerns to the school district, but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Helen Swan lived in South Park and worked for a family in Merriam. One afternoon, as her employer, Esther Brown, drove Helen home, Helen shared the problems black families were facing with the school district. As a Jewish woman living in the aftermath of WWII, Esther could not stand by and allow the injustice to continue. Esther, along with the Webb family and other community members, started organizing. They organized Walker’s Walkout, a boycott of the school district. During the walkout, Hazel McCray-Weddington and Corinthian Nutter taught Black students in people’s homes so the children could continue their education. The group also started an NAACP chapter and continued engaging with the school district in hopes of getting something done. And the school district did offer to help… either build a new school for the black students once the bond was paid off (at least 30 years later), or install a mailbox and stop sign at the Walker School. Not exactly helpful. Esther herself faced threats for helping black families. People at the grocery store would casually mention that the KKK was still active in the area, and she even had an FBI file opened on her during the McCarthy era. So, in May of 1948, Webb v. School District No. 90 was filed with the Kansas Supreme Court, and in June of 1949 the court ruled in favor of Webb. The district needed to provide equal facilities for all students, so black students were allowed to attend South Park School. The main lawyer in the case was Elisha Scott, though Thurgood Marshall helped write briefs for the case as well. After the ruling, Esther Brown stayed active in the movement and was sent first to Wichita and then Topeka, where she helped with the famous Brown v. Board of Education case that we all know today. Today, the old Walker School building is home to Philadelphia Missionary Baptist Church. Across the street sits Brown Park, named in honor of Esther Brown and designed by Alfonzo Webb Jr., the son of the plaintiff in the case, Alfonzo Webb. The church is currently working to renovate the historic school building and build a museum dedicated to this important history. If you would like to help, you can donate through the church’s fundraising page [https://www.givelify.com/donate/philadelphia-missionary-baptist-church-merriam-ks-2j7wy5MTUxMTA2NQ==/donation/amount]. After selecting your gift amount, choose “Project Revive and Restore” to ensure your donation goes to the C.J. Walker School Fund. You can also follow their progress on Facebook. [https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575767934529] Sources: https://aaregistry.org/story/webb-v-school-district-no-90-is-decided/ https://www.merriam.org/Residents/Our-Community/About-Merriam/History-of-Merriam https://www.humanitieskansas.org/get-involved/kansas-stories/places/before-brown-madam-c-j-walker-school-and-desegregation https://www.kcur.org/history/2024-05-15/brown-v-board-kansas-city-school-segregation-walker-walkout Book: Jenks, Myra F and Irene B. French, Historic Merriam: The History of Merriam, Kansas, Publishing Specialists, Inc, 2006 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fantasticfootnotes.substack.com [https://fantasticfootnotes.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]