The great and opulent Manchester United was born, believe it or not, out of suffering. The multi-million dollar worldwide enterprise arose out of the ashes like a magnificent phoenix from two wars and a plane crash that killed eight key players.

The original United wasn’t called Manchester at all, they were Newton Heath LYR. The year was 1878 and Newton Heath were carriage workers at Lancashire and Yorkshire railway sheds. They had a green and gold strip and changed at the Three Crowns inn at Oldham road. They would walk to the pitch at North road.

It was from these humble beginnings that the first stars began to emerge, Sam Black being the first. They also attracted overseas opposition which was an early hint of what was to come.

Newton Heath entered the extended first division of the football league and got a new ground at Bank Street. Unfortunately, they were soon relegated but managed to win the Lancashire cup in 1898. They faced bankruptcy in 1902 but the then club captain Harry Stafford found a brewer named John H. Davis who rescued the team.

The name of Newton Heath was not liked by all, and following the reorganisation of the Club many called for a name change. Manchester Central was suggested, but it was decided that it sounded too much like a railway station. Also suggested and rejected was Manchester Celtic, then a Mr Louis Rocca hit upon the name Manchester United. On 26th April 1902 Newton Heath became Manchester United.

The then chairman Davis injected capital into the team and signed Billy Meredith ,the Welsh wizard from Manchester City. In 1906, two years later, United were first division champions. In 1909 they won the F.A. cup against Bristol when Turnball scored the winner.

In 1909 Trafford Park was purchased with the help of a grant. United played their last game at Clayton’s Bank street ground on Jan 10th 1910 defeating Spurs 5-0. Shortly after United officially left the old ground a gale swept across Manchester and blew down the Bank Street stand, causing damage to houses in the surrounding area. The new ground was opened on Feb 19th and named ‘Old Trafford’.

In 1911 they won the championship again. JJ Bentley took over as secretary. In 1928 they made it to the F.A. cup sixth round against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park and this was when they changed their green and gold for the now famous red, white and black. Incidentally, Blackburn won 2-0.

In 1931 they were relegated and a Mr. Gibson who owned a clothing firm saved them this time. They also got a new manager, Scott Duncan. In 1934 they fell to the third division and just at the same time a young Matt Busby was playing for Manchester City. He also played for Liverpool and captained Scotland during wartime. In 1938 United returned to the first division with a new wing-half, Walter Winterbottom.

The Second World War then broke out and in 1941 Old Trafford was hit by a German bomb. It also marked the signing of a new manager, Sir Matt Busby.

Sir Matt was to spend 25 years as manager. United had to play in Manchester City’s ground due to the bombing. They were runners-up in the first division three years running. Busby signed Stan Pearson and Stanley Matthews. In 1948 at a game with 100,000 people in attendance, United won the F.A. cup against Blackpool.

Pictured above is the Munich Disaster plaque.