Sir Robert Charlton, better-known to most simply as ‘Bobby’, is considered to be one off the best players of all time. Whilst the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will always have that tag with modern supporters, those of a certain vintage are more than aware of just how good Charlton was as a player. Even more remarkably, he did it all whilst being a fair and honest player, at least in terms of how such things were thought of at the time, only being cautioned by a referee twice. Given the fact that one of those cautions was on the way to England winning the World Cup, he probably didn’t mind.
Getting Started in Football
Robert Charlton was born in Ashington in Northumberland on the 11th of October 1937. His father, also called Robert, was a coal miner, whilst his mother, Elizabeth Ellen, was related to footballers through her mother’s side. Many of her uncles played football, with Jack Milburn playing for Leeds United and Bradford, whilst George Milburn also played for Leeds and Chesterfield. Jim Milburn was another who played for Leeds, also lining up for Bradford Park Avenue, with Stan Milburn playing in the colours of Chesterfield, Leicester City and Rochdale. It was Jackie Milburn who was arguably the best of the bunch, though.
Jackie was a Newcastle United legend and also played for England, so it was perhaps inevitable that Bobby would end up playing the game at some point. For his part, he credits his mum and his grandfather with being the main reason he developed his career, whilst his brother, Jack Charlton, was a miner before applying to join the police, only to end up becoming a professional footballer himself and following in his uncles’ footsteps by playing for Leeds United. Bobby was spotted playing for East Northumberland Schools on the ninth of February 1953.
Joining Manchester United
Bobby Charlton was a pupil at Bedlington Grammar School when Manchester United’s chief scout, Joe Armstrong spotted him on that fateful day. He went on to join up with England Schoolboys before signing amateur forms to play for the Red Devils, doing so at the same time as Wilf McGuinness. His mother was initially concerned about letting him commit his future to such an insecure career, which led to Charlton becoming an apprentice as an electrical engineer, but he was too good a player for United to let that happen, so he eventually became a professional in the October of 1954.
He was one of the group that became known as the ‘Busby Babes’, used by Matt Busby out of the Manchester United Academy in spite of his young age. He scored regularly at each age group, which led to Busby giving him his debut in the first-team against Charlton Athletic in the October of 1956. He scored a brace in the match that ended up in a 4-2 win. He was doing his National Service at the time, having applied to the Royal Army Ordinance Corps in Shrewsbury on the advice of Busby as it meant he was still able to play for the Red Devils at the weekends.
The Munich Air Disaster & What Followed
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Having played 17 times for Manchester United in that first season, scoring 12 goals, Charlton helped the Red Devils to win the First Division title, but lost the FA Cup final to Aston Villa. He had established himself as an important player, meaning that he was part of the United team that travelled to play in the European Cup during the 1957-1958 campaign, travelling to play against Red Star Belgrade. It was as the squad flew home that disaster struck, stopping in Munich to refuel in worsening weather. There had been two aborted takeoffs, resulting in the team being sent to the terminal.
Having been there for only around ten minutes when they were called back to the aircraft, which clipped the fence at the end of the runway during the next takeoff attempt. The result was that the plane was cut in half, with Charlton strapped into his seat which had fallen out of the cabin. The Manchester United goalkeeper, Harry Gregg, had somehow remained unscathed and began a one man rescue mission, initially thinking that Charlton was dead when he found him. In the end, 23 people lost their lives in the crash, eight of whom had been players for the Red Devils.
It understandably took Charlton some time to recover from the disaster. Although he was the first to leave the hospital, having lost several of his teammates, he convalesced with his family in Ashington and he slowly reintroduced himself to football by taking part in a kick about with local youths. He joined a practice session on the 25th of February, saying that he felt ‘slow as an old cart horse’, but gradually he began to return to playing regular football. Although United were knocked out of the European Cup and fell behind in the league, they made it to the FA Cup final, losing to Bolton Wanderers.
Winning the World Cup & the Ballon d’Or
🎂 Happy birthday to the 1966 Ballon d’Or winner, Bobby Charlton!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/aRWh0zcRh5
— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 11, 2023
Charlton did eventually get his hand on an FA Cup winners’ medal, with United defeating Leicester City in the final in 1963. Meanwhile, Busby’s post-Munich rebuilding of the Red Devils continued apace, seeing the side win two First Division championships in three seasons. The first came in 1965, with the second arriving two years later. For Charlton, it was what happened in the intervening years that will forever be remembered. As far as Manchester United were concerned, 1966 proved to be trophyless, but the same wasn’t the case with Charlton’s national side.
Charlton had first been called up the England squad in order to take part in the British Home Championship in 1958, merely months after surviving the Munich Air Disaster. The Three Lions won that game 4-0 against Scotland, whilst Charlton’s next match saw him score both goals in 2-1 win over Portugal. Slowly, he established himself as just as important a player to England as he was to Manchester United, scoring his first hat-trick against the USA in 1959. He remained part of the Three Lions side when Alf Ramsey took over as manager, who was looking to build a side for the 1966 World Cup.
We all know what happened next. Having drawn the first game, Charlton scored the opening goal in the second game, a 2-0 win over Mexico, with England beating France by the same score. This put the Three Lions in the quarter-finals, where a 1-0 win over Argentina resulted in a semi-final against Portugal. Charlton opened the scoring, then score a second with an assist from Geoff Hurst, setting up a final against West Germany. He worked hard to all but mark a young Franz Beckenbauer out of the game, which England won 4-2 after extra-time, winning the trophy for the first time.
On the 27th of December 1966, a panel of sports journalists from across the UEFA member countries voted on who should be the winner of the Ballon d’Or. Perhaps somewhat unsurprisingly, given their World Cup exploits, a number of England players were considered. Although there was obvious fear that the likes of Bobby Moore, who finished fourth, and Alan Ball, who came eighth, might take votes from Charlton, those fears proved to be fruitless. Charlton won the vote with 81 points, finishing one ahead of Portugal’s Eusébio. Charlton also came second in 1967 and 1968.
Life After Football
Sir Bobby Charlton CBE, 1937-2023.
Words will never be enough.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 21, 2023
In 1968, ten years after the Munich Air Disaster, Manchester United reached the European Cup final. In spite of the decade gap, it was still the first English side to make the final, with Charlton scoring twice on an emotional night at Wembley Stadium in which the Red Devils ran out 4-1 winners over Benfica in extra-time, with Charlton getting to lift the trophy as captain. In the years that followed, United’s success began to wane, with Charlton not on the greatest of terms with George Best and Denis Law, the club’s other stars. He left the club at the end of the 1972-1973 campaign.
He moved to Preston North End, a Third Division side, playing nearly 50 games for them before heading over to Ireland and playing for Waterford United. He then moved abroad, firstly playing for Newcastle KB United in the National Soccer League in Australia before moving to Perth Azzurri and ending his career with Blacktown City. Bobby Charlton died at Macclesfield District General Hospital on the 21st of October 2023, aged 86. He had suffered a fall at his nursing home and died from complications that resulted from it. Crowds lined the Manchester streets for his funeral on the 13th of November.