Sir Bobby Charlton
Central Midfielder / Attacking Midfielder ยท Manchester United ยท England
About Sir Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton spent 17 years at Manchester United, from his debut in October 1956 to 1973, and won 106 England caps. He died on 21 October 2023, aged 86.
Sir Bobby Charlton's story
Ashington Roots
Born on 11 October 1937 in the mining town of Ashington, Northumberland, the son of miner Bob and Elizabeth "Cissie" Charlton. United scout Joe Armstrong spotted him on 9 February 1953. His mother was reluctant to let him turn professional, so he began an electrical engineering apprenticeship before signing in October 1954.
A Football Family
Football ran through his mother's side: four of Cissie's brothers played professionally and Jackie Milburn was her cousin. Bobby credited Cissie and his grandfather Tanner for much of his early development. His 2007 autobiography recalls illegally obtained salmon and rabbit on the table, and a father who sold coal washed up on the beach.
A Prolific Start
He made his United debut in October 1956 and scored twice in a 4-2 win over Charlton Athletic. In February 1957 he added a hat-trick in a 5-1 win at the same club, as United won the league. In 1957-58 he scored 16 goals in 30 appearances, including two in the 3-3 draw at Red Star Belgrade, United's last match before the crash.
Munich
On 6 February 1958 the plane carrying United home from a European Cup tie crashed at Munich. Twenty-three of the 44 on board died, including eight of his team-mates. Charlton survived with head cuts and shock, spent a week in hospital, played a practice match on 25 February and returned for the FA Cup tie at West Bromwich Albion on 1 March. His friend Duncan Edwards died 15 days after the crash. In his 2007 autobiography he wrote of survivor's guilt.
Brothers Apart
The Charlton brothers never bonded as boys, and later barely spoke. A falling-out between Bobby's wife Norma and their mother Cissie divided the family. Bobby did not see his mother after 1992, and she died in 1996. He made the rift public in 2007, yet Jack still presented him with a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award in December 2008.
England and 1966
He made his England debut on 19 April 1958 and volleyed in a Tom Finney cross in a 4-0 win over Scotland at Hampden Park. At the 1966 World Cup he scored against Mexico, then both goals in the semi-final against Portugal, the second set up by Geoff Hurst. The final was a quieter game for him, but England won 4-2 after extra time and he took the Ballon d'Or that year.
Wembley Glory
United won the 1963 FA Cup final 3-1 against Leicester City, his first winners' medal in his third final. League titles followed in 1964-65 and 1966-67. In 1968, ten years after Munich, he captained United at Wembley and scored twice in a 4-1 extra-time win over Benfica to win the European Cup.
Farewell to Old Trafford
His last United goal came at Southampton on 31 March 1973, and his last match was a 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on 28 April. He left with 758 appearances and 249 goals, records that stood until Ryan Giggs in 2008 and Wayne Rooney in 2017. For England he captained the side and scored on his 100th cap against Northern Ireland on 21 April 1970. His final England appearance was the 3-2 extra-time defeat by West Germany in the 1970 World Cup quarter-final.
A Life in Service
Preston North End appointed him manager in 1973 and he signed Nobby Stiles as player-coach. They were relegated in his first season, and he left early in 1975-76 after a dispute over the sale of John Bird to Newcastle United. He joined the United board in 1984 and was knighted in 1994. He was in the first intake of the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002. He withdrew from public life after his dementia diagnosis was revealed in November 2020.
Did you know?
- ๐ Goalkeeper Harry Gregg found Charlton outside the wrecked plane and dragged him and Dennis Viollet clear by their waistbands.
- ๐ฏ Jimmy Murphy's shooting advice stayed with him for life. He recalled it to FourFourTwo in 2008: "Don't look at the goal, just hit the thing, and keep it low."
- ๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ He met Norma Ball at a Manchester ice rink in 1959 and married her in 1961. They had two daughters, Suzanne and Andrea, and Suzanne became a BBC weather forecaster in the 1990s.
- ๐ฉ Gary Neville recalled that after a rough tackle in a match against Bradford, Charlton told him: "We don't do that, we show class."
- ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ He scored 49 goals in 106 England appearances. Wayne Rooney passed his national scoring record in 2015 and Harry Kane in 2022. He was named in four World Cup squads, in 1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970.
- ๐จ He was booked only twice in his career, once against Argentina at the 1966 World Cup and once in a league match against Chelsea.
- ๐๏ธ He founded the landmine charity Find a Better Way in 2011, now the Sir Bobby Charlton Foundation, after seeing the damage mines cause on a visit to Cambodia as a Laureus ambassador. It funds landmine research at UK universities.
- ๐ค His elder brother Jack was in the same 1966 World Cup-winning squad. Of facing him when Jack played for Leeds, Bobby said: "my brother wasn't a dirty player and I was very proud of him."
- โญ Of Duncan Edwards, Charlton said he "was the only player to make me feel inadequate".
Honours
- FIFA World Cup: England (1966), scored 3 goals including both in the semi-final
- European Cup: Manchester United (1968), scored 2 in the final
- First Division x3: Manchester United (1956-57, 1964-65, 1966-67)
- FA Cup: Manchester United (1962-63)
- FA Charity Shield x4: Manchester United (two of them shared)
- European Championship: England (1968), third place
- Ballon d'Or: 1966 (runner-up in 1967 and 1968)
- Knighthood: 1994, for services to football
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