Bobby Charlton, 1937-2023

One of sport's greatest living legends lives no more. And most Americans have never heard of him.

Robert Charlton (no middle name) was born on October 11, 1937 in Ashington, Northumberland, in the North-East of England. A cousin of Newcastle United legend Jackie Milburn, it was Manchester United that took an interest in the young forward.

He became one of manager Matt Busby's "Busby Babes" that won the English Football League in 1957. They also won the League in 1956, but Charlton did not make his senior debut until the 1956-57 season, specifically on October 6, 1956. In that game, he scored 2 goals in a 4-2 United win over, ironically, the South London team known as Charlton Athletic. United nearly became the 1st team in the 20th Century to "do The Double," but they lost the 1957 FA Cup Final in controversial fashion to Birmingham club Aston Villa.

In 1958, they advanced to the Semifinal of the European Cup, beating Red Star Belgrade in the Quarterfinal. But on their way back, their plane crashed after takeoff following a refueling stop in Munich, Germany, ending the would-be dynasty. Of the 44 people on board, 23 died. There were 17 people connected with the club on board, and 8 players died, while 2 others were so badly hurt that they never played again.

Busby himself was badly hurt, and would not return to the team until the next season started. Bobby survived with minor injuries, and recovered in time to play in the FA Cup Final, which a weakened United lost to Bolton Wanderers.

By 1963, United were still not doing well in he League, but they won the FA Cup, beating Leicester City in the Final. In 1965, Bobby, Scotsman Denis Law and Northern Irishman George Best had become "United's Holy Trinity," and they won the League title. They won it again in 1967, and became the 1st English team to win the European Cup, defeating Benfica of Lisbon, Portugal in the Final, 4-1. (Celtic, of Glasgow, Scotland, were the 1st British team to win it, the year before.)

Left to right: Charlton, Best, Busby, Law

He was selected for England in the 1958 World Cup, but didn't play. Many Englishmen believe that the Munich Air Disaster prevented England from winning the World Cup in 1958 and 1962, forgetting that Brazil would have wrecked them as they wrecked everybody else. Bobby did play in 1962, and in 1966 was joined by his brother Jack, who starred for Leeds United (and later famously managed the Republic of Ireland national team), and his Man United teammate Nobby Stiles. England won on home soil, with Bobby scoring twice in the Semifinal against Portugal, and then winning the Final over West Germany.

Bobby won 2 Golden Balls in 1966: As outstanding player of the World Cup, and the Ballon d'Or as world player of the year. He continued to play for Man United through 1973, scoring 249 goals. His receding hairline earned him the nickname "Captain Combover," before he finally accepted reality and went fully bald. He played for England again in the 1970 World Cup, and became the national side's all-time leading scorer, a record recently broken by later Man United player (and fellow victim of hair loss) Wayne Rooney, and recently surpassed again by Tottenham Hotspur player Harry Kane (now with Bayern Munich, and still with all his hair).

Bobby was knighted for his service to sport and country, and was one of the most beloved figures in the history of soccer, possibly England's greatest player ever -- or, at least, one of the top two, alongside his 1966 Captain, West Ham United defender Bobby Moore. For fans not old enough to have seen Milburn, or 1930s Everton star Dixie Dean, he remains England's definitive Number 9. And, unlike many other attacking players for Man U, he was never once accused of diving to win a penalty.

He met his wife, Norma Ball (no relation to England teammate Alan Ball) at an ice rink in Manchester in 1959, and they married in 1961. They had two daughters, Suzanne and Andrea. Suzanne was a weather forecaster for the BBC. They went on to have grandchildren, including Suzanne's son Robert, who was named in honor of his grandfather.

A statue of Charlton, Law and Best, United's "Trinity," was unveiled outside their stadium, Old Trafford, in 2008, on the 40th Anniversary of their European Cup triumph. In 2016, Old Trafford's south stand was renamed the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. (The north stand is the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, the west stand is the Stretford End, and the east stand is the Scoreboard End.)

Unfortunately, the heavy balls of his era meant that, like several of his contemporaries, Sir Bobby Charlton was diagnosed with dementia as he got older. He died today, October 21, 2023, at the age of 86.

With his death:

* There are no more survivors from the Manchester United players in the Munich Air Disaster, and only 4 surviving passengers: Stewardess Rosemary Cheverton; Eleanor Miklos, wife of travel agent Bela Miklos, who was killed; Vera Lukić, the wife of a Yugoslav diplomat; and her daughter, Vesna Lukić.

* There are 4 surviving players from Manchester United's 1963 FA Cup winners: Dennis Law, Pat Crerand, Johnn Giles and David Gaskell.

* There are 4 surviving players from United's 1965 Football League Champions: Law, Crerand, John Aston and Willie Anderson.

* There are 5 surviving players from United's 1967 Football League Champions: Those preceding 4, and Alex Stepney.

* There are 5 surviving players from United's 1968 European Cup winners: Crerand, Aston, Stepney, Brian Kidd and David Sadler. Law was injured and did not play.

* Sir Geoff Hurst is the last player from the 1966 England World Cup squad to have played in the Final. Terry Paine, Ian Callaghan and George Eastham are also still alive from the roster, making 4. (Bobby's brother Jack had died in 2020.)

* And there are 5 English players left from the end-of-the-20th Century selections for the 100 Greatest Players of All Time: Kevin Keegan, Gary Lineker, Michael Owen and David Beckham.