The word legend is often misused. But Sir Robert “Bobby” Charlton is one of those who deserve it. In Manchester United’s history, he stands in golden letters. In English national team history, he is also a legend. “It is with great sadness that we share the news that Sir Bobby died peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning,” said a statement from his family, as reported by Sky Sports. Charlton lived to be 86 years old. Relax to work in the mines Bobby Charlton was born on 11 October 1937 in the mining town of Ashington in Northumberland, in the far north of England. But he escaped mining in his earliest youth, as his older brother Jack had to. That the brothers should become football players was in the genes, at least on the mother’s side. Mum Cissie was called Milburn before she married, and had professional players such as Jack, George, Jim, Stan and Jackie in her close family – all with the surname Milburn. World Cup: Bobby Charlton played in three World Cups. Here he is visited by a dog when he is about to take a corner kick during the WC in Chile in 1962 Photo: AP Still, Cissie did not want Bobby to become a professional footballer. She thought it was too insecure a future. That’s why he started as an electrical engineer apprentice. But it didn’t take long before he went to football anyway. Bobby Charlton was discovered by a United talent scout when he was 15 and playing school football. He impressed enough to get a contract with United fairly quickly, and was enrolled in what were called the Busby Babes. It was the program manager Matt Busby had established for recruitment in the late 40s, and which became the backbone of the team that was successful beyond the 50s. Charlton made his debut with two goals against Charlton He distinguished himself early on both with scoring, game overview and good passes, and scored steadily in the club’s age-restricted team. In October 1956, he made his league debut, and scored twice. Oddly enough, the opponents were Charlton, against whom he also scored three times in the return match later in the season. He thus scored five of his 12 league goals in his debut season against the team he shared his last name with. United were good, and Bobby Charlton was already one of the key players. They became league champions in 1956 and 1957, and also reached the cup final in 1957. In the 1957/58 season, United were the first team from England to take part in the European Cup. And it was in that context that the accident happened, Thursday 6 February 1958. Change seat and survive flying TRAGEDY: Eight United players died in the snow in Munich Photo: – / AFP United were in Belgrade to meet Raude Stjerne. Trailing 2–1 from the home game, they took a 3–0 lead. Charlton scored two of the goals. The home team managed to equalize at 3-3, but United won overall and embarked on the journey home happy and jubilant. The plane stopped in Munich to refuel, in winter weather that was getting worse by the minute. Twice the plane had to cancel takeoff, before the players were sent back into the terminal while waiting for lighter weather. Just ten minutes later, the air traffic controllers found the conditions good enough, and the players had to go out again. Tommy Taylor and David Pegg felt it was safer to sit at the back of the plane, and asked Bobby Charlton and Dennis Violet to switch seats. They got that. The plane was unable to take off quickly enough. It touched a fence at the end of the runway, one wing came across a house which caught fire. The wing and part of the tail were worn off. The plane hit a tip and was split in two before the wreckage was still in the snowdrifts. Eight players died INJURED: Bobby Charlton in the hospital in Munich after the accident, but only with minor injuries Photo: Intercontinental / AFP Goalkeeper Harry Gregg was thrown out a hole in the hull and came out unharmed. He pulled out Charlton and Violet, who were still firmly in their seat belts, but who did not have life-threatening injuries. But eight of Charlton’s teammates lost their lives. Between them were Pegg and Taylor, who had switched places before the last attempt to take off. Charlton was in hospital for a few days, but was back on the track three or four weeks later. Manager Matt Busby was also among the survivors, but suffered life-threatening injuries and spent a long time in hospital in Munich before he was out of danger and allowed to return home. When he started rebuilding the team, it was with Bobby Charlton as the centerpiece, even though Charlton was still only 20 years old. The build-up took time, but it paid off. Somewhat surprisingly, they reached the cup final as early as 1958, just three months after the Munich tragedy. Later there were cup victories in 1963 and league championships in 1965 and 1967. Emotional Wembley evening EMOTIONAL: Charlton with the trophy after United’s victory in the European Cup ten years after the Munich accident Photo: AP Then came May 1968, ten years after the accident. Manchester United had managed to reach the European Cup final, and even at home at Wembley. The day was highly emotional, not just for Bobby Charlton, but for the whole club, city and nation. Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes – two of those who had survived the plane crash – were still on the team. Manager Matt Busby was still on the bench as manager. Opponents were Benfica, with the feared Eusebio in the team. Eusebio had become top scorer in the World Cup two years earlier. But it was United and Charlton who scored first. United goalkeeper Alex Stepney blocked two Eusebio shots so well that Eusebio himself applauded. Ten minutes before the end it was still 1-1. But in extra time there was no doubt. Three goals in seven minutes, including one by Bobby Charlton, gave United 4–1 in the end. The feelings and tears were allowed to flow freely. National team goals galore GOALS: Bobby Charlton scored 49 times for the national team. Here against Mexico at Wembley during the World Cup in 1966 Photo: AP Throughout this period he was also central to the national team. He made his debut against Scotland in April 1958, and scored in the 4-0 victory. That gave him a place in the squad for the WC in Sweden a couple of months later, but without him being allowed to play. But in the following years he scored national team goals in buckets and buckets, and in the WC in 1962 he got playing time. There it was one goal, against Argentina, and England only made it to the quarter-finals. Then the national team got a new manager, Alf Ramsey. He also built the team around his star, but Charlton was drawn back more on the field. He was primarily supposed to be a facilitator, and therefore scored fewer goals. Even if he still got online recognition. Shine in the World Cup And the next World Cup was on home ground in 1966, with Charlton as the obvious centerpiece. It is told about a conversation between Ramsey and the recent national team player Alan Ball, a conversation that tells about Charlton’s status in the team: Ramsey: – Do you have a dog? Ball: – Yes, sir. Ramsey: – What does the dog do when you throw a ball? Ball: – The dog fetches the ball and gives it to me, sir. Ramsey: – Your task is to do what your dog does, and give the ball to Bobby. England made it through the opening group and met Argentina in the quarter-finals. It was to be the ugliest match in that championship, and Bobby Charlton ended up in the referee’s black book for the first time in his career. It corresponds to today’s yellow card. The second time was in a league match against Chelsea. Otherwise, football’s gentleman was never noted in the book. The semi-final against Portugal was probably Charlton’s best international game ever. He completely dominated the midfield and scored two fine goals. Feared Eusebio scored from a penalty at the end of the game, but England won 2–1. LEGENDARY: England won the World Cup on home soil in 1966. Captain Bobby Moore is lifted up, Charlton down to the right Photo: AP The final against West Germany was quieter for Charlton. According to the newspaper reports, he and Franz Beckenbauer neutralized each other completely, and “let the others do the work”. England won 4–2 after extra time. Bobby Charlton received the Ballon d’Or that year, because he was voted Europe’s best player. He could have been a hero in the European Championship in 1968 as well, with a post hit that could have decided the semi-final. Instead, Yugoslavia scored in the final minute, and England lost 1–0. Mexico World Cup with controversies Also in the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, Bobby Charlton became central, but perhaps not quite in the right way. First he was accused, together with Bobby Moore, of theft from a jeweler’s shop in Colombia, where England were on a training camp before the World Cup. It created uproar and headlines, but the debts turned out to be groundless. Then, in the quarter-final against West Germany, Charlton was sent off as England led 2–1 with 20 minutes left of regular time. Once again he had neutralized Beckenbauer out in the midfield. But Alf Ramsey thought the slightly aging Charlton had to be saved for the semi-final in the heat and thin air in Mexico, and he took off. This gave Beckenbauer free room to play, and his dominance was a significant reason why West Germany won 3–2 after extra time. RIVAL: Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Charlton were stars in their respective teams, but also good colleagues Photo: Diether Endlicher / AP It was to be Bobby Charlton’s last international match. On the flight home, he gave Ramsey the message. He made 106 international appearances and scored 49 goals, both English records which have since been broken. Bobby Charlton was past his best days as an active player. He played just enough for United for another six years. But the team was over the top, Matt Busby resigned as manager, and things went downhill. In 1973 he played his last match for the club, against Chelsea. He had 758 games and 249 goals behind him after 17 years at Manchester United. No managerial success He also tried his hand as a manager, but it didn’t go well. In 1973 he became playing manager for Preston in the 2nd division. But the club was relegated, and Charlton was sacked in 1975. On another level, he has made his mark in sports. In 1984, he became a board member of Manchester United, a position he held until 2018. Charlton was also a strong driving force in bringing the 2012 Olympics to London. He was ennobled in 1994, and is allowed to put “Sir” in front of his name. He is of course in the “Hall of Fame” at the national football museum. And in 2017, a stand section at Old Trafford was named after him. HEIDER: Bobby Charlton has had a large section of the stands at Old Trafford call after him Photo: Alex Livesey / Reuters The break with his brother Privately, he struggled with family controversies for a long time since then. Bobby’s wife Norma and his mother Cissie never got along. – I will never accept her as my daughter-in-law, Cissie is said to have said of Norma, whom Bobby Charlton married already in 1961. His brother Jack took the side of his mother. In his biography in 2007, Bobby Charlton said that he had not seen her since 1992. Cissie died in 1996, and on her deathbed had asked Bobby to visit her. It didn’t happen. RIFT: Personal conflicts in the family made Bobby Charlton’s relationship with his brother Jack difficult Photo: Phil Noble / Reuters The relationship between the brothers was therefore bad for a long time. But in 2008, Bobby was awarded the “BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award”. It was Jack who handed it over. – I was totally amazed to receive the award, and that it was from Jack, said Bobby Charlton. That incident bridged the gap that had existed between the brothers for so long. In 2020, at the age of 83, he was diagnosed with dementia. It is a diagnosis he shares with four now deceased others from the 1966 World Cup final team – Nobby Stiles (died 2020), Ray Wilson (2019), Martin Peters (2018) and his brother Jackie Charlton (2020). Now they have been joined by football’s gentleman – Sir Robert Charlton. Far better known as Bobby.
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Bobby Charlton – football’s giant and gentleman – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
