The journalist from the Daily Mail, Peter Howard, somehow got hold of a phone and called the newsroom from his hospital bed:”Hello, it’s Pit, can you hear me? Write quickly, I’m calling from a hospital in Munich.”The stenographer carefully noted Howard’s words: “We tried to take off twice, and then the mechanics shut down the engines and thoroughly checked all the instruments. Finally, we got permission for a third attempt. We settled into our seats and felt the plane gliding over the icy runway. It couldn’t lift off in time, and we crashed into a house. The plane was split in half.”Pit paused, took a deep breath, and continued: “Fuel spilled. A lot of flames, many bodies…” There was silence again. The stenographer was losing patience: “Hello, Pit, are you still there? Dictate further…””Please, just tell my wife I’m alive,” was the last thing Howard managed to say before he fell into unconsciousness.His colleagues, Ted Elijard and Frank Taylor, didn’t call their newsrooms. They were much more seriously injured. All the other eight journalists were already dead. And not just them. Out of the 44 passengers, twenty lost their lives. And that was the Manchester United plane!We loved them then. We love them now.Today, and every day, we remember the Busby Babes: the #FlowersOfManchester 🌹 pic.twitter.com/eYz2DlV0hd— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 6, 2025 The plane that was carrying the famous Busby Babes! And where did that team come from?First of all, the mastermind and the man who practically created the team was Matt Busby. The man who had played for Manchester City and Liverpool, a man expected to build his coaching career there. However, he chose the red side of Manchester, deciding to become a legend. While, in 1945, gunshots could still be heard in the lull of World War II, and Old Trafford had been destroyed by the German Luftwaffe, Matt started building his team. He almost worked without money. All the players brought in were teenagers, kids whose pimples had just disappeared, and whose voices had just deepened into the “manly” tone. Naturally, the team that was completed in the mid-1950s got the nickname “Busby Babes”.Bunch of bouncing busby babes they deserve to be knightedWhen they’re playing in your town get yourself to that football groundTake a lesson you will see Football taught by Matt Busby🇾🇪🔰 pic.twitter.com/PfEcayBFyC— Numero Bruno ™ 🇾🇪 🔰 (@RuudAzz) February 5, 2025 The first match of the European Cup quarterfinal between Busby’s dream team, the squad that was supposed to win everything, and the team of Belgrade’s Red Star was played in January 1958. The Manchester United team: Harry Greg, Bill Foulkes, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Duncan Edwards, Kenny Morgans, Bobby Charlton, Tommy Taylor, Dennis Viollet, and Billy Whelan. It ended 1-1 at Old Trafford. Before the return leg in Belgrade, the Manchester club had played two matches, winning 7-2 against Bolton and 5-4 in a derby against Arsenal. However, Busby had already warned them about how good Red Star were.”It would not be good for us to play in snow and ice. Red Star did not play well in the first match, but believe me, they are a very good team, especially dangerous at home.”On this day in 1958, #mufc played Red Star Belgrade in what was, sadly, the last game before the Munich air crash. pic.twitter.com/FwawaXsEWD— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 5, 2014 And it seemed as though the legend foresaw what would follow after the game. And the match itself was worth every applause. A rain of goals, countless good actions, ending in a 3-3 draw. It remains recorded that, at that moment, the English were enjoying themselves like never before in their lives. And perhaps that’s where the tragedy of the whole story lies. It remains recorded that the then-captain of the Manchester team said: “Why didn’t you score one more, so we could meet again?”Zemun Airport, February 6th, 11:15 AM. Half of the group from Belgrade was still asleep when the air traffic controller made the official announcement: “The special BEA plane, ‘Elizabethen,’ has taken off successfully. The flight was completely normal over the airspace of Belgrade.” Three hours later, a reply came from Germany: “The ‘Elizabethen’ plane landed at Munich airport at 2:17 PM. It did not take off.”6 February 1958. 8 Manchester United players, known as the “Busby Babes”, were among the 23 people who were killed in the Munich Air Disaster. The British European Airways (BEA) plane caught fire shortly after take off, with 38 passengers and 6 crew on board. pic.twitter.com/7osNt2ky6Y— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) February 6, 2024 Montenegrin journalist and diplomat Bato Tomasevic was on that plane. In his book, he describes the tragedy in detail: “Big snow was falling all around. There were two attempts to take off, but without success. We returned to the building twice. Before the third attempt, the noise of the engines, which usually increases as speed rises, suddenly decreased as if the machines had lost power. Then the sound of the engines changed, and we started to crash. This crash, I later learned, lasted fifty-three seconds.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8684745##Epilogue – seven dead players: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, and Billy Whelan. The golden jewel of Busby’s Manchester, Duncan Edwards, endured the first blow. Between the second and third takeoff, he sent a telegram to his girlfriend Molly: “All flights are canceled. I’m coming tomorrow.”Those steel lungs, ready to endure up to three matches a day, resisted for 15 days in a Munich hospital. Molly arrived in Munich two days later, held his hand, and he asked her to ask the doctor what the chances were for him to play against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. Duncan didn’t survive; he died two days later in the hospital. Matt Busby, injured, was lying down in the hospital for three months without knowing of the death of his jewel.Duncan Edwards 🌹 pic.twitter.com/FZIx2HbYxT— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 6, 2025 The question remains: what would have happened to that team, the team that was supposed to conquer all of Europe? The question also remains of what would have become of Manchester, how would everything have reflected on the current state of the club, and football in general? Unfortunately, we will never know. However, we did find out about the greatness of Real Madrid. As one of the first teams to come with a grateful act of support, the Madrid club offered Manchester United their best player, or the world’s best players at the time, Alfredo Di Stefano, on a season-long loan.Man United 🤝 Real Madrid goes WAY back.After the Munich disaster, Real Madrid offered Man United their star player Alfredo Di Stefano on loan, for only 50% of his wages.The FA blocked the transfer because “it would prevent a British player to take that spot”… #MUFC #RMA pic.twitter.com/xuW6WQXeEH— Eliteserien (@EliteserienX) February 13, 2023 However, the FA didn’t allow this, saying he would take the place of a young English player. The Madrid club still found another way to help their Manchester friends. Accepting Red Star’s suggestion, Madrid sold memorial flags with the insignia “Honorary Champions,” and sent all the proceeds to Old Trafford. Several charity matches were also organized between the two clubs, with the proceeds also going to Manchester. Additionally, Los Blancos paid for the recovery and rehabilitation of the deceased and injured families in Spain for three years.The first match after the Munich tragedy United played on February 19 in the FA Cup. They defeated Sheffield Wednesday 3-0. Only Billy Foulkes featured from the Belgrade team. In the first league match, West Bromwich Albion won 4-0 at Old Trafford. That season, United finished ninth in the league. Milan eliminated them in the European Cup semi-finals. Exactly ten years later, some new boys in red jerseys would defeat the mighty Benfica (Eusebio, Simoes, Augusto, Torres…) in the battle for the European throne after extra time, 4-1. It was at Wembley.Wow, this is incredible. Sir Matt Busby from a hospital bed in Munich sends a message to fans Old Trafford after the Munich disaster. ♥️😭 pic.twitter.com/sZphUg4Svw— Paul Manc Bald and Bred (@MufcWonItAll2) February 5, 2025 Matt Busby, for the first and last time in his life, was bewildered when the referee blew the final whistle. He wandered the pitch, pushing through people… until he found Bobby Charlton. Foulkes somehow surfaced from the crowd. Head to head, a strong hug, a tear on the grass of this football sanctuary, and…”Boys, this is for Munich.”
