Bill Foulkes

Manchester United

1950–1957 Foulkes was discovered by Manchester United while he was playing for the Whiston Boys club as an 18-year-old. He joined the club in March 1950 and played in junior ranks of the club before he turned professional in August 1951. He made his professional debut in the 1952–53 season in a First Division match against Liverpool on 13 December 1952 at the age of 20. United won the match 2–1. He also played 2 games for the England Under-23 team.

Foulkes scored his first of only nine goals for the club during the 1953–54 season against Newcastle United in a First Division match on 2 January 1954 at St James' Park. The goal was scored from near the halfway line,

United won the Championship in the 1955–56 season and thus became eligible to play in the European Cup in the following season, 1956–57. Despite objections from the Football League, United became England's first representatives in the European Cup. In the second match of the Cup, United demolished Anderlecht 10–0, although Foulkes did not score any goals. The result continues to be United's record victory in a European match. In that season, Foulkes helped United to the semi-finals of the European Cup, losing to Real Madrid 5–3 on aggregate after losing 3–1 at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium and drawing 2–2 in the return leg at Old Trafford. United also reached the FA Cup final, losing 2–1 to Aston Villa, and successfully defended their Championship title that season.

Munich air disaster

As winners of the Football League in 1956–57, United once again represented England in the European Cup in 1957–58. In the second leg of the quarter-finals against Red Star Belgrade in Yugoslavia, United drew 3–3, winning 5–4 on aggregate. After the match, the team had a reception, then travelled to the British Embassy where each player was given a bottle of gin.

On the return journey to Manchester on 6 February 1958, the British European Airways aircraft that the team was on stopped at Munich to refuel. Because of boost surging, takeoff was aborted twice. The pilot returned to the terminal, and after a while, it was announced that one more attempt to take off would be made. At that time, Foulkes had been running a card school with Kenny Morgans, David Pegg, Albert Scanlon, Roger Byrne and Liam Whelan in the middle of the plane. When he heard the announcement, he started to worry for his safety. In a 1998 interview with Carling-Net, he said of the announcement, "When they said that you didn't have to be a genius to know that this was going to be a bit dicey."

The 23 survivors were admitted to hospital, but Foulkes was discharged and spent the night in a hotel with Gregg. The next morning, Foulkes visited his teammates in the hospital. He visited Duncan Edwards, Johnny Berry, Jackie Blanchflower, Viollet, Scanlon, Charlton and Ray Wood. Then, he recalls, "I was just beginning to think it didn't look too bad when I asked where the rest were. The nurse simply shook her head and said: 'That's it, everybody else has died.'" In 1966–67, Foulkes helped United win the Championship again, completing his haul of four Championship medals, more than any other United player of his era, and indeed any other player at the club for the next 32 years. He had also made 3 appearances as a substitute in the 1968–69 season in the First Division. He also started in every single game United had played in the seasons 1957–58, 1959–60, 1963–64 and 1964–65. He served United in the First Division for 18 seasons, most of them as a regular player, and was the longest-serving player at the club at the time of his final game. He scored a total of nine goals for United, the first in a 2–1 league win at Newcastle United on 2 January 1954, and the last on 15 May 1968 in the victorious European Cup semi-final second leg tie in Madrid.

After retirement, he stayed at Old Trafford as a youth team coach from 1970 to 1975, when he finally left United after 25 years of unbroken service.

Post-Manchester United After his coaching stint at United, Foulkes managed several teams. First, he was manager of English non-League club Witney United, which was then known as Witney Town. In 1975, he went to USA where he managed Chicago Sting (1975–77), Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–79) and San Jose Earthquakes (1980). He then travelled to Norway in 1980 to 1988 where he had two managing stints with Steinkjer FK, and also managed IL Bryn, Lillestrøm SK and Viking FK.

In 1988, he went to Japan and managed F.C. Mazda in Hiroshima until 1991. Then, he finished his involvement with the game and returned to England in 1992.

In October 1992, he auctioned mementoes of his career at Christie's as he needed the money. Twenty items were auctioned, raising almost £35,000. All his medals were auctioned, and his European Cup medal raised £11,000, while the jersey he wore in the European Cup final raised £1,800. Foulkes' European Cup medal was resold at an auction at Sotheby's in London in November 2012 as part of a collection of sporting memorabilia; this time, it sold for almost four times as much, going for £40,000.

Later life and death Even in his late sixties, Foulkes was still coaching for the Manchester FA, and was frequently requested to show Japanese visitors around the stadium, because of his four-year coaching spell in Japan during which he learnt the Japanese language. He was in attendance along with the four remaining players who survived the Munich tragedy on 21 May 2008, when United beat Chelsea on penalties in the final of the European Cup in Moscow, Russia.

In April 2011, he was portrayed by actor James Callàs Ball in the BBC TV drama United, the storyline of which was centred around the Munich air disaster. However, the character of Foulkes had little significance in the film and was not listed in the film's credits, despite his major role in the escape from the crashed plane. Foulkes himself did not take any part in the filming of the drama due to an undisclosed long-term medical condition.

Foulkes died at the age of 81 in Manchester on 25 November 2013. He had reportedly been suffering from Alzheimer's disease during the final few years of his life. His last appearance in public was almost four years earlier at the funeral of Albert Scanlon, another United player who survived the Munich crash. He is not believed to have attended the funeral of Kenny Morgans, another survivor of the crash, in November 2012.

Career statistics + Manchester United careerSeasonFirst DivisionFA CupLeague Cup†Charity ShieldEuropeIntercontinental CupTotal Apps Goal Apps Goal Apps Goal Apps Goal Apps Goal Apps Goal Apps Goals1952–53 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 01953–54 32 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 11954–55 41 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 44 01955–56 26 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 01956–57 39 0 6 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 54 01957–58 42 0 8 0 1 0 8 0 0 0 59 01958–59 32 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 01959–60 42 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 01960–61 40 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 45 01961–62 40 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 01962–63 41 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 47 01963–64 41 1 7 0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 55 11964–65 42 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 0 0 60 01965–66 33 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 8 1 0 0 48 11966–67 33 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 35 41967–68 24 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 1 0 0 31 21968–69 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 20 01969–70 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 Total 566 7 61 0 3 0 4 0 52 2 2 0 688 9

†The League Cup began in 1960–61.

Honours Manchester United Football League First Division: 1955–56, 1956–57, 1964–65, 1966–67 FA Cup: 1962–63; runner-up: 1956–57, 1957–58 FA Charity Shield: 1956, 1957, 1967* (* joint winners) European Cup: 1967–68