Never forget.... Scum.
Manchester United & Munich ’58 – Forgetting the Past?
There is however one aspect of the crash that is often airbrushed out of memory, namely United’s treatment of those players seriously injured in the crash. In 2002, Harry Greggs, United’s goalkeeper at the time of the crash published his autobiography entitled ‘Harry’s Game’. Harry had played hero the night of the crash, saving many lives when he bravely decided to risk his own life in pulling survivors from the wreckage.
One of the lucky survivors, Harry returned playing after Munich and was part of the Busby revival in the 1960s. Greggs was a United man through and through. He even acted as a coach and scout for the Red Devils in his retirement. Despite his allegiances to the club, Greggs revealed some uncomfortable truths about the aftermath of Munich.
Jackie Blanchflower, the Northern Ireland defender, was the first to suffer from United’s ill treatment. When it became clear to the club that Blanchflower would never play football again, the club soon cut ties with the man from Belfast. First they withdrew his taxi rights, a crippling blow for a man who struggled to walk after Munich.
Next, Blanchflower was evicted from his club accommodation despite his wife being heavily pregnant at the time. The Reds were quick to cut away those players who were no longer of use. Blanchflower wasn’t the only victim of such ill-treatment either. The Reds withdrew rented accommodation for all the survivors who couldn’t play football again.
Johnny Berry was evicted from his club house and was later fired by United through a letter. Albert Scanlon, another survivor badly affected by the disaster played with United for a short time in the aftermath of Munich before being transferred to Newcastle. Busby allegedly told Scanlon that if he ever fell on hard times Busby would help him out. When Scanlon did turn to Busby, his pleas seemingly fell on deaf ears. Anger at Scanlon’s treatment still affects Albert’s family.
