Today marks 59 years since Manchester United legend Sir Bobby Charlton made the first of his 758 appearances for the club.
Charlton’s debut came on October 6th, 1956, against Charlton Athletic, and England’s previous record goal scorer even scored a brace in the match.
Even more extraordinarily though, Charlton claims he was carrying an injury in the match, per the official Man United website .
Charlton said:
Mr Busby asked me if I was ok. I actually had a sprained ankle, but I wasn’t going to admit to it and I crossed my fingers and said ‘yes’
The game, which ended as a 4-2 win for United, was an 18-year-old Charlton’s first match at Old Trafford for the club. The youngster only made another thirteen league appearances that season, but the 10 goals he scored in those matches helped the team to win the 1956/57 First Division Title.
Charlton spent another 16 seasons at Old Trafford, becoming an important mainstay in a team which encountered some of the best and worst moments in the club’s history.
Little over a year after his debut, Charlton was one of the survivors of the Munich air disaster, but continued his career and, incredibly, won the European Cup with the team just over a decade later.
Aside from his extraordinary on-field achievements for United, the Englishman played a huge part in making the club what it is today. Old Trafford is often referred to as the Theatre of Dreams, and that appropriate nickname for the iconic ground came from Charlton, back in 1978.
Charlton, speaking about Old Trafford and the club’s fans in United’s centenary year, said:
As for the man on the street, the guys on the terraces, they’re everything. They’re not a part of the backroom politics and all the in-fighting that goes on. They don’t really understand that side of it. What they do understand is that they have their team and their whole lives revolve around coming down here to Old Trafford. They are a part of a never ending story. They are a Theatre of Dreams!
Charlton is a huge figure in Manchester United’s and England’s football history. He has the second most appearances for the club and is the highest ever goalscorer, whilst he has the joint 7th most caps for England and is the 2nd highest scorer- after recently seeing his tally overtaken by fellow United striker Wayne Rooney.
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