Manchester United history is the world’s finest football club history, with a long history stretching back to 1878. We at the American Red Devils are Manchester United history students and wanted to share our findings for all fans to see.
Manchester United history is divided into eras; stay here to dig deeper and learn more about this famous football club.
Manchester United History
The Beginning of Club Football (Newton Heath LYR in 1878–1901)
According to Wikipedia, Newton Heath LYR Football Club was created in 1878 by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway’s (LYR) carriage and Wagon department in Newton Heath.
The football club borrowed the railway company’s colours, resulting in the renowned green and gold uniforms.
Initially, the Football Club played friendly matches against other departments of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, as well as competitor enterprises in Manchester.
Their first known encounter took place on November 20th, 1880, when Newton Heath was defeated 0-6 by the Bolton Wanderers reserve squad.
Despite its poor beginnings, the new club grew as football became more popular in England. In the 1882–1883 season, the Newton Heath LYR Football Club played 26 friendly matches.
In 1888, the team was a founding member of The Combination, a regional football league.
The Establishment of Manchester United (1902–1915).
The club received a winding-up order in January 1902, with debts of £2,670. That was until four local merchants, including John Henry Davies, each put in £500 to preserve the club.
After purchasing Newton Heath, they altered the name, and Manchester United was formally established on April 24, 1902.
Manchester United was promoted to the First Division of English Football in 1906, and the club won its first league title in 1908.
The following season, Manchester United won the first Charity Shield and finished with their first FA Cup trophy. Manchester United, who was already one of England’s premier clubs, won the First Division for the second time in 1911.
Football’s Lost Years, World at War (1916–1944)
When World War I was declared in 1914, England banned competitive football from 1915 to 1919.
Many players volunteered to participate in the war, and many of them died; Bradford City, for example, lost nine players.
Manchester United was relegated to the Second Division in 1922, three years after football had resumed.
The club was promoted in 1925 but was relegated again in 1931, and its fall continued until it reached its all-time low of 20th place in the Second Division in 1934.
In December 1931, James W. Gibson invested £2,000 and took control of the club.
The Busby Babes (1945–1969)
Matt Busby was appointed manager of Manchester United in October 1945, following the resumption of football after World War II.
Busby guided the team to three straight second-place league finishes (1947–1949) and an FA Cup victory in 1948.
Manchester United won the First Division League title in 1952, the first time in 41 years. Matt Busby believed in youth and fielded a side called “The Busby Babes” with an average age of 22. Matt and his Babes went on to win two consecutive league titles in 1956 and 1957.
Munich Air Disaster (1958)
On February 6, 1958, while returning home from a European Cup quarter-final victory against Red Star Belgrade, the aeroplane carrying Manchester United players, officials, and journalists crashed while attempting to take off after refuelling in Munich, Germany.
The Munich plane disaster killed 23 people, including eight Manchester United players: Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards, Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor, and Billy Whelan, and injured many more.
The Munich air disaster is a pivotal occasion in Manchester United history, commemorated annually on February 6th at Old Trafford.
The Rebirth of Manchester United, Sir Matt Busby (1959–1969)
Busby amazingly rebounded from the Munich plane catastrophe, rebuilding the team during the 1960s. Manchester United signed Denis Law and Pat Crerand, who, along with the club’s following group of junior players, notably George Best, won the FA Cup in 1963 and the League Title in 1965 and 1967.
Ten years after the Munich aviation disaster, Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup, defeating Benfica 4-1 in the final.
The Dark Ages (1969 – 1986)
Manchester United recruited and fired managers, as the club struggled in the First Division following Sir Matt Busby’s departure.
Tommy Docherty was appointed manager of Manchester United in December 1972, but the club was relegated again in 1974.
The team fought back and gained promotion on its first try in 1975. The club’s biggest triumph in the 1970s was a victory over Liverpool in the 1977 FA Cup Final.
Even when Dave Sexton took over as manager in the summer of 1977, the team’s misfortune persisted.
After Sexton’s dismissal in 1981, Ron Atkinson took over and immediately broke the British transfer record by acquiring Bryan Robson. Two years in a row, in 1983 and 1985, Manchester United were FA Cup winners.
The Impossible Dream, Sir Alex Ferguson 1986–2013
In November 1986, with the club on the verge of relegation, Ron Atkinson was fired and replaced by Alex Ferguson.
During his first three years in charge, the club finished 11th, second, and eleventh in the First Division.
He was supposedly on the chopping block coming into the FA Cup Final Replay, but a Manchester United victory over Crystal Palace saved the manager’s job, and the rest is history.
Manchester United made history in 1998-99 by being the first team to win the Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League – known as “The Treble.”
The club also won the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Palmeiras 1-0 in Tokyo. Ferguson was later honored for his football achievements, earning the title Sir Alex Ferguson.
Before retiring in 2013, Sir Alex and Manchester United had won 13 League crowns, 5 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, and three Champions Leagues.
Glazers & Woodward: Unhinged, No Direction, No Director of Football 2014 – 2020
Sir Alex hand-picked David Moyes to follow him as manager at Old Trafford. Moyesy was fired after one season in 2014, after finishing seventh in the English Premier League.
The summer after Louis Van Gaal, one of the Dutch total football architects, was appointed and supported by summer signings such as Memphis, Blind, Schniederlen, and Darmian. Unfortunately for LVG, his tenure was limited, as he was fired after lifting the FA Cup in 2016.
The musical chairs continued on the board as Jose Mourinho was named manager to begin the 2016–2017 season.
In his debut season, the squad finished sixth in the EPL but won the League Cup and Europa League titles.
The following season, Jose led Manchester United to their greatest finish since Sir Alex departed the club, finishing second behind their loud neighbors.
The relationship began to deteriorate after the board decided not to support Jose during the 2018 summer transfer window. José Mourinho was fired on December 18, 2018, after winning only seven of his first 17 league games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed interim manager, and his first match was against his previous club, Cardiff City, on December 22, 2018.
On March 28, 2019, after winning 14 of his 19 matches in command, Solskjaer signed a three-year contract to become Manchester United’s permanent manager.
Ole would just miss out on the top four, finishing sixth—a disappointing finish given how he had started.
In the 2019–2020 season, Ole led Manchester United to third place after defeating Leicester City on the final day of the campaign.
Conclusion
In 1909, John Henry Davies provided cash for the construction of a new stadium. After examining Manchester for the ideal location for a stadium, he chose a plot of land adjacent to the Bridgewater Canal, just off the north end of Warwick Road in Old Trafford.
The ground, designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, was initially intended to hold 100,000 people and featured covered seating in the south stand, but the remaining stands were left as terraces and uncovered.
Manchester United stadium was originally called United Football Ground but was renamed Old Trafford Football Ground in early 1936.
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