Duncan Edwards (1936 - 1958)

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Full Name [glow=red,2,300]Duncan Edwards [/glow]
Date of Birth 1st Oct 1936
Place of Birth Dudley,
Worcestershire
Position Midfield
Height 6ft 3
United debut 4/4/1953
vs Cardiff (H)
.....
Edwards's United Record 1952-1958

Appearances Goals
League 151 20
FA Cup 12 1
League Cup n/a n/a
Europe 12 0
Other games 2 0
Total 177 21


Edwards's International Record
1955-1958

18 Caps for England - 5 Goals


Honours with United

1st Div League Championship 1957
1st Div League Championship 1956

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LEGEND !!!!!

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Could he have been the greatest red ever? The prodigious talent of Duncan Edwards was cruelly snatched away from the footballing world in 1958 when he was killed in the Munich air crash. However, not before he had established a reputation as one of the greatest players of his generation.

That he is rated above the likes of Charlton, Best and Law by many of the era is all the more amazing for he was just 21 years old when he died. Virtually anyone who saw him play rates him as their all-time number one. Edwards had immense physical strength coupled with superb ball control and touch. In his youth he had forced his way into his local Dudley boys team aged just 11 when all the other boys were aged 15. At Old Trafford, his team mates would warm up by doing 4 laps of the pitch, Duncan would do 10.

His passing and tackling was perfect and his shooting was awe inspiring, in both power and accuracy. He could beat players and go past defenders with ease. Midfield was his speciality but Duncan was incredibly versatile and could play anywhere on the pitch. He once scored 6 goals in an England under 23 match playing as a centre forward. And when it came to aerial battles he was fantastic at winning headers both defending and attacking. In short, Duncan Edwards was the complete player.
Not only did the big Midlander possess the physical skills but his mental attitude was first class as well. Duncan had a fanatical practice regime which gave he used to maintain mastery of his technique. He had great awareness, was brave, committed and determined, yet always composed and sportsmanlike.

The great Bobby Charlton said "Duncan Edwards was the only player that made me feel inferior". Sir Matt Busby is once to have said that he believed Edwards was "the best player in the world", but he would never tell Edwards in case it unsettled him. He was world class when United had the ball and their best player when the opponents had it. At his favoured wing-half position in midfield Duncan lent steel to the defence and given half a chance would rampage into the attack with an unstoppable surging run.



Sir Matt Busby first heard of the "man-boy" playing for his Dudley boys team in 1949. Later he was seen in a schoolboy international in 1950 by scout Joe Armstrong who wholeheartedly recommended him to Sir Matt. In June 1952 Edwards joined United and within a year was playing in the first team at the then unheard-of age of 16. Making his debut on 4th April 1953, he became the youngest ever player to play in the 1st Division.

Within two years he was playing for England. At 18 he was the youngest ever to play for England (a record held until 1998) and managed to win 18 caps in a short space of time. Duncan helped United win two consecutive League titles in 1956 and 1957, a great achievement in an era were teams were evenly balanced and champions rarely regained their crown.

Edwards led United's charge into Europe in 1956 and they stood on the verge of being the first British team to lift the European Cup and surely would, have had it not been for the tragedy at Munich. He was expected to live at first after the crash but his condition worsened. Yet as he lay dying in the Munich Rechts der Isar Hospital, even then the doctors were amazed at how he fought for life for two long weeks.
His death on 21st February 1958 was a crushing blow to all connected with Manchester United. He was buried at Dudley Cemetery five days later. In his home town he has since been commemorated with two stained-glass windows in St Francis's Church and in October 1999 a statue of Edwards, resplendent in his England kit, was unveiled in the town centre.

The question will always remain, what would have happened had Edwards not lost his life at only 21? He probably would have went on to be the most capped England player ever. At times a team in himself, this ultimate all-round player would have no doubt been up there with greats such as Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Best. The fact that he never did, and the world was so cruelly robbed of such a talent remains the saddest legacy of Munich. Today, in a different world to the 1950s, Giggs, Beckham, Rooney and co are the modern legends but anyone who saw Duncan Edwards play will tell you, he was better than them all.

Sir Matt Busby's assistant Jimmy Murphy summed him up perfectly: "When I used to hear Muhammad Ali proclaim to the world he was the greatest, I used to smile. You see, the greatest of them all was an English footballer named Duncan Edwards. If I shut my eyes now I can see him. Those pants hitched up, the wild leaps of boyish enthusiasm as he came running out of the tunnel, the tremendous power of his tackling, always fair but fearsome, the immense power on the ball. The number of times he was robbed of the ball once he had it at his feet could be counted on one hand. He was a players player. The greatest? There was only one and that was Duncan Edwards".

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Duncan Edwards Article from The Times - Monday, September 30 1996

It would have been Duncan Edwards' 60th birthday tomorrow.

Manchester United and England's young colossus died in Munich's Rechts der Isar hospital 15 days after the team's BEA twin-engined Elizabethan failed to get airborne from the icy slush of a German runway on February 6, 1958.

He was 21. Edwards is buried in a cemetery at his home town of Dudley in the West Midlands. This week, as there usually are, a fresh bunch of red and white carnations fill the black granite vase below the 6ft-high headstone on his grave. The other granite vase is in the shape of a football. A red United replica shirt, brand new, has also been left there. John Phillips, Dudley borough council's assistant cemeteries and crematorium manager, said: "Visitors come to the grave all through the year. It is still a shrine. It is hard to put a figure on the numbers who come here each year. It's not only individuals who come to stand in silent respect at the grave, but whole parties, as if on a pilgrimage." Edwards is buried with his sister, Carol Anne, who was 10 years his junior and died after only 14 weeks of life. Their parents, Gladstone and Sarah, had no other children.

After his son's death, Gladstone gave up his job as a factory metal-polisher and became gardening assistant and general factotum at the cemetery. He died in 1978, aged 70, and is buried in the same row as his son. Not far from the cemetery is St Francis' Church where above the font, a stained glass window is dedicated to Edwards. It shows the athletic manchild in football kit, genuflecting, with a scrolled caption saying "God Is With Us For Our Captain."



He, not Bobby Moore would probably have been England's captain in the World Cup of 1966. He would have been only 30. He captained Worcestershire Boys, Birmingham Boys, and England Schoolboys - having first played for the national team at only 13. He signed for United on October 2, 1952, the day after his 16th birthday. The boy was already 6ft tall and weighed 12st 6lb. By the following spring he was blooded in the league side. Two Aprils later, at Wembley against Scotland, he was picked for England at left half. He was 18 years and six months, England's youngest ever. England won 7-2.

Less than three years of Edwards' life remained, during which heady time he won 17 more England caps. He played 151 matches for United, won two League Championship medals and a losers' medal in the 1957 FA Cup Final. But it was not so much what he did, but how he did it. He played like a gayle, but a gale garlanded with wispy skills and fearlessly daring originality. He could play anywhere.

When England picked him at inside left, in 1957, his heroes, Matthews and Finney, were on each wing. They admit it was they who were awestruck. After MAtt Busby had tearfully unveiled Edwards' graveyard headstone in 1961, he spoke of his "grand, great boy who breathed goodness and who had no side, no swagger, no airs nor graces." Then the secretaryof the PFA, Cliff Lloyd, spoke for the still grieving confraternity of footballers. He said: " When any group of colleagues get together and say 'Matthews and Finney are the greatest English players of all time,' someone will always interject 'yes, but...' Short as his career was, you never hear a peep of dissent if you begin 'Duncan was the greatest of them all..'."

When the Elizabethan attempted to take off from the Munich slush at the third time of asking, Edwards was in the back two rows, three seats by three, facing each other, preparing to play cards with Mark Jones, Tommy Taylor, Eddie Colman and David Pegg. They were all to die along with seven others from the club, although Edwards hung on for fully 15 days. At first it seemed he would pull through. After six days he was put on an artificial kidney machine.

He began to slip in and out of consciousness. United's assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who had not been on the flight, sat for hours at the bedside, soothing his restless giant.

On February 20, Duncan woke from his delirium and for a fleeting moment recognised Murphy. He smiled. "What time's kick-off against Wolves on Saturday?" he asked. "Two thirty as usual," said Murphy. "Get stuck in, lads," whispered Edwards in a soft, contented reverie, and then his eyes flickered, and closed for the final time.

He died that night.
The gravestone inscription reads: "A Day of Memory, Sad to Recall. Without Farewell, He Left Us All"

RIP to the great LEGEND!!!Gone but never Forgotten!!!

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Duncan Edwards was born in Dudley on 1st October 1936 and throughout his short life professed his pride at being an ambassador for the town wherever his football career took him.

From his earliest days his love for kicking a football around the streets signified a special feeling and enthusiasm for the sport. By the time he was playing for his junior school his footballing skill was already being noticed. One schoolmaster watching the 11-year-old Duncan noted that the youngster 'told all the other 21 players what to do and where to go and that included the referee and linesmen!'

That same schoolmaster later wrote to a friend 'I have just seen a boy of 11 who will one day play for England'. How right he was! Two years later the lad wrote an essay in his classroom in which he mused about 'playing at Wembley' and his wish came true that same year as he stood on the 'hallowed turf' wearing a white England shirt playing against Wales in a schoolboy international. That day in April 1951 his footwork on the field dazzled everyone and one talent scout was heard to remark 'by God, they've got a good 'un there!'

The name Duncan Edwards will forever be associated with Manchester United and the so-called 'Busby Babes', a concept developed by United's Manager Matt Busby in the late 1940's when the club was badly in debt and unable to afford to buy 'expensive' players. Busby and his trainer Jimmy Murphy decided to employ a radical youth policy developing their own young players, creating the stars of the future.

Duncan was pivotal in that scheme and he made his debut for the first team on 4th April 1953 against Cardiff City - the team lost 4-0! The lad from Dudley was a mere 16 years and 185 days old. Three and a half years later Duncan celebrated his 100th appearance for United and the 'Busby Babes' were beginning to create the sensational legend that took the footballing world by storm.

In this age of footballing megastars who become international millionaires, it must be mentioned that Duncan Edwards was the rising star in a most promising firmament. His contract with Manchester United can still be examined and reveals that this 'solid gold' prospect earned a paltry £15 a week during the season reducing to £12 a week during the non-playing summer months.

Of course even in the 1950's there were other ways to bolster a superstar's income and Duncan became one of the first footballers to earn money endorsing products. He promoted Dextrosol Glucose Tablets, which his adverts said 'were a natural source of energy which you could rely on anytime, anywhere'. Whether Duncan actually ever took any of the tablets, of course, remains unrecorded!

Following the Munich crash, Duncan's body was flown home and was buried in Dudley's Borough Cemetery. Over 5,000 people stood in silence outside the cemetery and lining the streets in tribute "to the lad from Elm Road on the Priory Estate.

Three years later, hundreds more turned out for the unveiling by Sir Matt Busby of two stained glass windows at St. Francis' Church in Dudley commemorating the life of Duncan Edwards who died tragically aged just 21. As Sir Matt said that August day in 1961 'there will only be one Duncan Edwards and any boy who strives to emulate Duncan or take him as his model, won't go far wrong'.

At the time of his death, Duncan Edwards had the world at his feet. His footballing skill far outpaced his rivals and young supporters the world over idolised this big lad with the sure feet. Off the field too, things were going well and a few days before he flew to Belgrade, the manuscript of his book 'Tackle Soccer This Way' was handed to his publishers and later printed word for word as he wrote it. In the book he offers youngsters hundreds of soccer tips such as 'always respect the referee and be reasonable at all times'.

Today we are left to wonder what this towering figure (in every sense of the word) would have achieved had there been no Munich. Perhaps the question was answered by soccer supremo Tommy Docherty who said of him 'You can keep all your Bests, Peles and Maradonas, Duncan Edwards was the greatest of them all!'

Dudley was and still is very proud of its own soccer hero and even now, more than thirty years after that horrific air crash at Munich, visitors in their hundreds enquire about Duncan Edwards. His grave in the Borough's cemetery is still a shrine for pilgrimage by soccer supporters and often bunches of red and white flowers appear there, especially if Manchester United has a Midlands fixture.

The two stained glass windows in Laurel Road and a display case (containing some of Duncan's shirts, international caps and other memorabilia) can be found at the Dudley Museum and Art Gallery in St James Road - the exhibition moved there from Dudley Leisure Centre in July 2006.

A statue has recently been erected in the main shopping square in Dudley. The Borough's Archive & Local History Department at Mount Pleasant Street, Coseley, has an interesting file of press cuttings featuring Duncan and you can see there also copies of three rare books about Duncan plus his own book of footballing hints. The three main biographies are:

Duncan Edwards a Biography' by lain McCartney and Roy Cavanagh, published by Temple Nostalgia

Duncan Edwards' by Derek Dougan, Hugh Jamieson & Frank Taylor, published by The Duncan Edwards Sports Medicine Centre Appeal.

Duncan Edwards - Manchester United and England' by Geoff Warburton, published by The Dulston Press

Duncan's own book is called 'Tackle Soccer This Way' published by Stanley Paul. A rare chance to understand the man, appreciate his total feel for the game and sense the great man's kindness and modesty.

As Frank Taylor (the only pressman to survive the Munich aircrash) said 'So Long Dunc! It was great while it lasted!'

Contact | About

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England Caps : 18


Goals : 5


Player : 1955 - 1958



As there’s little surviving footage of Duncan Edwards playing it’s difficult to assess him objectively but if the words of his contemporaries are anything to go on he was destined to be one of the world’s greatest players. And those words aren’t all eulogies delivered after his untimely death at the age of 21, even on his England debut the press suggested that he may well be the future replacement for Billy Wright, the veteran captain.


Record Breaking Discovery
Two years after becoming the youngest player to appear in a First Division game (when it was the top division), Duncan Edwards became the youngest England debutant at 18 years and 183 days old, a record that stood until Michael Owen came along. He settled in well, playing at left half, in a 7-2 victory in a Home Championship game against Scotland in April 1955.

The press reviews of the game considered him a great success who looked destined for a long career as an England player. One reviewer said: "Powerfully built, he showed strength and determination in defence and the ability to open up the game with long, accurate passes."


Versatility
Though primarily employed for England as a left half, Edwards versatility was such that he seemed able to play effectively at centre half, inside forward and even centre forward. He was tall, muscular and good in the air but surprising agile and quick, and his strength and accurate passing, coupled with the ability to take on and beat players, made him a valuable asset. He was a key factor in the back-to-back championship wins of ‘Busby’s Babes’, Sir Matt Busby’s new young Manchester United team.

In 18 caps for England he scored 5 goals, impressive for someone playing in what would today be a defensive midfield position. His finest is largely considered to be that against West Germany in Berlin, on a tour of a trio of friendlies that also took in Sweden and Finland. Taking the ball close to the England penalty area, he began a forceful run that took him past a total of five West German players, then unleashed a 30 yard pile-driver with his left foot (his ‘wrong’ foot).

He went on to play in four matches of the successful 1958 World Cup qualifying campaign, although of course, he would never see the tournament itself, and players of the time considered that his game simply did not have a weakness. Many contemporaries consider that had Edwards survived, he would have been in his prime, at 29, during the 1966 World Cup and he would have been lifting the cup rather than Bobby Moore.


Munich
The end came, of course, on a slush-covered Munich Airport runway on 6th February 1958, when a third attempt to take off saw the aeroplane carrying the Manchester United team, staff and members of the press, slither through the airfield’s fence and into a field, tearing off the tail and one of the wings. They had been making a refuelling stop while returning from the second leg of a European Cup quarter-final against Red Star Belgrade, which had ended in a 3-3 draw. This resulted in an aggregate win which ensured United’s progression to the European Cup semi-final for the second year running.

Duncan Edwards was one of seven team members to lose their lives.


Tributes for a Great Loss
Edwards fought for his life for 15 days, and early on doctors considered that he might survive, though he would be unlikely to play again, such was the extent of the bone damage. But complications set in and he finally lost the battle.

Bobby Charlton famously said "The only player who made me feel inferior was Duncan Edwards, if I had to play for my life and could take one man with me, it would be him." In a church close to his birthplace, St. Francis' in Dudley, a pair of stained glass windows commemorate his short life.

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It is hard to describe just how good someone was, without having seen him play. All you can do is present the facts and leave the descriptions to people who know.

So when Bobby Charlton, World Cup and European Cup winner, describes someone as faultless then you start to get an idea of Duncan Edwards' greatness.

"He was my hero," Charlton told BBC Sport.

Charlton and Edwards were more than just members of the famed Busby Babes, they were best friends.

Edwards may have been just one year older than Charlton, but England's record goalscorer always felt in the shadow of his mate from Dudley.

Both were on a plane heading out of Munich on 6 February, 1958 along with the rest of the Manchester United squad following an earlier European fixture against Red Star in Belgrade.


606: DEBATE
Did you see Duncan Edwards play?

On its third attempt to take off from an ice-covered runway Flight 609 crashed killing 23 of the 44 passengers on board.

Charlton survived the Munich air disaster, Edwards did not and with his death English football lost a truly prestigious talent.

Those who saw Edwards play say that if he had not died young, he would have gone on to become one of the all-time footballing greats, a statement supported by Charlton.

Charlton's opinion counts more than most. He played against Pele and Franz Beckenbauer. He played with George Best, Denis Law and England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore. But to Charlton, Edwards was king.

"Duncan was incomparable," said Charlton.

"He was such a talent, I always felt inferior to him.

"I feel terrible trying to explain to people just how good he was, his death was the biggest single tragedy ever to happen to Manchester United and English football.

"I always felt I could compare well with any player - except Duncan. He didn't have a fault with his game."

Edwards was born in Dudley on 1 October 1936. On his 16th birthday he signed for Manchester United. It is said he impressed one scout so much that he needed just 10 minutes of watching the young wing-half (defensive midfielder) to recommend him to Manchester United manager Sir Matt Busby.

Duncan Edwards
Edwards won schoolboy honours before his England debut aged 18

He made his debut against Cardiff City 185 days later but at that stage he had already represented England school-boys and was being tipped for full honours.

At the age of 18 years and 183 days he became England's youngest post-war debutant, making his first appearance for his country against Scotland, and went on to win just 18 caps, scoring five goals.

By the time he reached his 21st birthday, he had won two League championships, an FA Cup finalists medals and three FA Youth Cup winners' medals.

Edwards was adored and respected all over the world, many say that had he not died on 6 February, 1958 it would have been him who went on to captain England to World Cup glory in 1966.

Instead that honour went to Bobby Moore who paid tribute to Edwards in his autobiography before his own death in 1993: "I once played truant from school to watch Duncan play at White Hart Lane. There will never be another player like him."


There will never be another player like him

Bobby Moore - 1966 World Cup winner

According to those who played alongside and against Duncan Edwards on a football field, he was the 'complete footballer'.

He had unrivalled stamina and could have run for hours. He could shoot powerfully with either foot, was dominant in the air, was strong in the tackle, and was a superb passer of the ball.

Think of Wayne Rooney's shot, Nemanja Vidic in the air, Roy Keane's tackle and Paul Scholes' pass and then you had Edwards.

"I totally believe he was the best player I ever saw or am likely to see," said Charlton.

His style as a player was often described as unique but it was his immense physical strength coupled with superb ball control and touch. Edwards was a man in a boy's body and when he spoke others listened, commanding respect despite his young age.

Edwards had a reputation as a quiet-mannered man who shunned publicity and the limelight, he just loved playing football.

Edwards died on 21 February in a Munich hospital, 15 days after the crash, unable to recover from the multiple injuries he suffered in the accident. He was only 21.

He became the eighth member of the Busby Babes to die as a result of the crash. Tommy Taylor, Roger Byrne, David Pegg, Eddie Colman, Liam Whelan, Geoff Bent, Mark Jones the other members of the Manchester United squad to die.


Duncan Edwards was the best player I ever played with

Bobby Charlton

Five days later his body returned home to England where he was buried at a Dudley cemetery.

While it is difficult to predict how good Edwards could have been his legacy will long be debated, testament to his greatness, but for Charlton there is no argument. Edwards will always be the best.

"Duncan Edwards I unhesitatingly say was the best player I ever played with," concluded Charlton.

"I never thought I could be as good as him. Never. Never."