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A matchday programme for the Busby Babes game that never was, is set to fetch a large price at auction.
According to The Daily Express, a football programme for a match postponed in the wake of the Munich air disaster could be sold for up to £8,000.
The Munich air disaster was the darkest moment in the club’s history when on the 6th of February 1958, eight players were killed along with 15 other people in a plane accident in Munich, Germany.
The team was on its way back from Belgrade after playing a European Cup tie and Europe was in the midst of a terrible winter.
“After two aborted take-offs in near-blizzard conditions at Munich-Riem Airport, another attempt was made. However, the plane was unable to attain enough speed for takeoff and instead slid off the runway. After breaking through a fence, the aircraft struck a home and then a shed that contained fuel, causing an explosion. Of the 44 passengers, twenty-three lost their lives, including 8 players”.
Sir Matt Busby and Sir Bobby Charlton were two of the most famous survivors of the plane crash. The 1958 team was full of youth and vigour and had just booked their place in the semi-finals of the 1957-58 European Cup. Many people believe that the world was robbed of one of the youngest and most exciting teams world football has ever seen.
Naturally, “the fixture between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers on February 8, 1958 was called off following the tragedy which occurred two days earlier”. This meant that the 12-page magazine was “taken off the production line when news of the Busby Babes plane crash came through”.
Most were destroyed but one, that we know of, has been kept. It has been discovered by Hertfordshire auction house Hanson Ross and “is expected to sell for up to £8,000 when it goes under the hammer”.
Owner of the programme, Peter Jackson, who is 67 years old, kept the memorabilia in his bedside drawer with another from a fixture played against Nottingham Forest two weeks later.
Jackson stated, “they’re historically important. I hope they go to a Manchester United fan or keen collector who will look after them for years to come to honour the Busby Babes who lost their lives”.
The event is hugely ingrained in the club’s culture and you can visit the Munich tunnel at Old Trafford which provides information about the sad event.
In addition, the famous clock outside the stadium is permanently frozen at 3:04 p.m, marking the exact time of the crash.
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