Albert Scanlon

[Numquam Moribimur]

Albert Scanlon is a distant relative of mine and last year I asked Tom to write up a piece on him, at the time I didn’t know much about him expect he was still alive living in Manchester, I wasn’t going to share this bc it’s a sad story in regards to the way he is living but with this new part of our board thought it would be a good read ..well enjoy :)



Albert Scanlon is alive and lives in Pendleton which is part of Salford. Unfortunately, he lives in relative povery these days as he lives on State benefits. He'll be 72 in October of this year.

As a player he had blistering pace and a lethal shot in his left foot. He vied for the left wing position with David Pegg who was pure class. However, at the time of the tragedy, Albert had forced himself into the team at David's expense, and was playing well.

He recovered from his physical injuries after the crash fairly quickly. But back then, as for all the other people involved at Munich, there was no trauma counselling available. So I don't think that you have to be a rocket scientist to realise that there must have been a lot of mental damage.

The 1958/59 season was probably his best at united and he was on fire. So much so that he was on the verge of being called up for the full England team. I think that he also scored 16 goals that year and a couple of them in a match at Turf Moor, Burnley, I can recall quite vividly. Both absolute blockbusters from around 25 - 30 yards out from goal.

Albert was a character in more ways than one - in fact I think that it would be true to say that he was a bit of a "jack the lad." He was brought up in an area pretty similar to the one I was brought up in, and not too far away - Hulme. In reality, it was what we would call a "slum" area - terrible housing conditions. You had to be on your metal to survive in those areas and Albert learned quickly. He attended St. Wilfrid's catholic school and was the star player in their schools teams, graduating to the Manchester City Schoolboys team where he came under the eye of Joe Armstrong, United's chief scout. Once at United he did very well in the youth teams and played at inside left with Pegg on the outside.

At the end of the 1959/60 season, he got himself in a little bit of trouble outside of football in that although he was married, he fathered a child to a barmaid, and back in those days, things like that didn't go down to well at all. Today, nobody would blink an eye. But once Busby became aware of it, you could say that Albert's days at United were numbered. It wasn't long afterwards that he was transferred to Newcastle United but he didn't have much luck there. After only a handful of games he suffered a complicated broken leg and his career went downhill after that. He played few games for the Geordies when he had recovered and was transferred to Mansfield, where he spent a few seasons before falling into non-league football.

His career finished in the late 60's and he took a job as a docker on the Manchester Docks, but again he was unlucky. Containerization had started and the Docks in manchester went into decline before finally becoming a redundant port. He suffered some lean times, and I can recall that he even took a job as a steward on match days at Old Trafford. It must have been pretty bad for him to have to do that and I can just understand how he must have felt.

As I said, Albert was a harum'-scarum' and lived for today without any thought for tomorrow. He wasted what money came his way and one of his addictions was horse racing. He blew what he had and his life slipped into decline.

He is a little bitter with the club, and feels that they should have looked after him more. He's got a point I have to admit, but the club were really over a barrel back then and were in a Catch 22 situation. Times were very different and there was a lot of rigid legislation around then regarding Insurance and charity payments. In my opinion, Albert never did a lot to help himself.

The book "The Lost Babes" contains a lot about him from the interview that he gave to the author. I have to say that Albert tends to embroider things a little and is less than honest at times in some of the things he is alleged to have said during the interview. I talked to Wilf McGuinness last year about that book, and he was telling me that a good number of the players that were interviewed for that book, were quite upset about it when it was eventually published. They said the author twisted and embroidered a lot of what was said.

[BusbyBabes]

The book that you are taking about was really written to be negative about the club. It does sound like Albert hit on bad times but I suppose that untill recently the life of a footballer after football was not really thought about. Not of course like now with the testimonials raised to give some money although it must have been bad when he was stewarding at the club he used to play for. That is why the PFA was started to help footballers. It was a bit harsh that due to a dallyiance with a barmaid that he was transferred but that era was very bad for that type of thing ie Magdeline sisters in Ireland.

[TomClare]

I was pleased to see that he was one of the party that brought the Premiership Trophy into the stadium at the last game of last season against WHU. Back in his era, players were given a "benefit" payment of 750 pounds for 7 years service at first team level which I think Albert qualified for. Dread to think what he did with it! I have heard that he has now moved into better accommodation and that his life is a little easier. I hope so.

[omar_mufc]

He was on MUTV a couple of days back an'all...

Bless him though, he didnt seem "sophisticated" enough for the telly - a proper Salford if ever there was one, and after reading the piece, I can see why he was "rough around the edges" - no offence (if taken) by the way...

[biro]

I remember him being on MUTV a few years back, think it was about 2000-2001 when our midfield was probably the best in Europe; Beckham, Scholes, Giggs & Keane. Albert was a guest on one of the phone-in shows and the guy on the phone was going mad about the way we were playing at the time and said we didn't have enough quality. His suggestion? We should buy Figo (still at Barca at the time). Albert said "so who are we going to drop then? Beckham? Giggs?"
"No" said the caller, "but he'd be a good option to have on the bench...."
I can't remember Albert's exact response but he basically called him an idiot! And that's something that never happens on MUTV despite there being ample opportunities!

Not surprisingly it was ages before he was back on and never on a phone in show again.

[Numquam Moribimur]

The book that you are taking about was really written to be negative about the club. It does sound like Albert hit on bad times but I suppose that untill recently the life of a footballer after football was not really thought about. Not of course like now with the testimonials raised to give some money although it must have been bad when he was stewarding at the club he used to play for. That is why the PFA was started to help footballers. It was a bit harsh that due to a dallyiance with a barmaid that he was transferred but that era was very bad for that type of thing ie Magdeline sisters in Ireland.



I just got done reading The lost babes and i had to stop it a couple times bc how sad it got me :(....I don't know how true all of it is...But if the players were treated like how they are desrcibed in the book, then shame on the club

[TomClare]

I wrote this review of "The Lost Babes" in March 2006.



I took the opportunity over the weekend to read Jeff Connor's recent publication entitled "The Lost Babes". As most of you probably know from pre-publication publicity, it is a book written about Munich, and the slant of it is, how badly those that were involved were treated by Manchester United Football Club in the immediate aftermath, and years after, the tragedy.

After reading the pre-publicity pieces in the newspapers during January and early February, I did expect, given some of the allegations that were made, to be reading of some new evidence that would support what was being said. It certainly turned out to be that this is NOT the case.

Jeff Connor is a professional journalist who was born and raised in Manchester and is my age. He and his family left Manchester shortly after the disaster, and during the period since that time, Mr. Connor openly admits in his introduction to the book, that he has been back to the City on no more than 4/5 occasions and to Old Trafford just once.

There is nothing revealing in the book, nor anything that hasn't been reported before. Also, there is nothing contained therein that you can't find in previous publications about Munich, and certainly on Mike and Elaine's site at www.munich58.co.uk.

The book itself revolves around interviews the writer had with Harry Gregg, Albert Scanlon, and John Doherty, the former two being survivors, and Doherty being a main member of the Committee which organised the Munich testimonial game in 1998.

In the early chapters the writer concentrates on pen portraits of the members of the United team at the time of the tragedy. There are lots of anecdotes given by family members of the survivors, friends, and the three ex-players that I have mentioned. To those that haven't read or heard them before, they will find them interesting. Again though, nothing new is revealed, and those same anecdotes have appeared in other publications and have been told so often down the years.

The middle part of the book deals with events on the day of the crash, and more than anything concentrate on Harry Gregg's recollections of what happened on that sad, fateful, February afternoon. That Harry did things above and beyond the call are indisputable, and he certainly was heroic in the actions that he took that grey, bleak, snowy day. What I did find distateful and have done throughout all the years since the tragedy, are the sniping remarks Harry continually makes about Bill Foulkes; especially the line "You should have seen the big ****er run!" Reading Harry's description of events (and I have just recently heard a full length interview that he gave to an Irish radio station where he graphically describes what happened that day) it makes me wonder, considering the things that he was doing, how he had the time to watch what Bill Foulkes was doing.

The latter part of the book deals with the alleged mistreatment by Manchester United Football Club of the victim's families, survivors and their families, and also castigates the people who are alleged to have made a lot of monies out of the Munich tragedy, and condemns the organization of the testimonial match in 1998 and the way that the monies from that event were distributed. Once more, there is NO fresh evidence of any wrongdoing regarding the testimonial in what has been written in this book. In fact, I find that Harry's comments in this book and what he says in the Irish radio interview that I have mentioned, regarding Eric Cantona's part in the testimonial, completely contradict each other.

The writer does no analysis whatsoever regarding how different things were back in 1958, as to what they were like on the 40th Anniversary in 1998. He makes a sweeping allegation that at the time of the tragedy, the players were vastly underinsured. I would take issue with what the writer says about this. He bases his fact on a Board meeting that took place in 1954 when Sir Matt told the Board that they had players on the books at that time that were worth a total of some 250,000 pounds. An astronomical figure during that time, but it related to everybody at the Club and not just the first team. The insurance figure involved for travel purposes was 100,000 pounds, and again, this would have been for the players that travelled, and once again, was a huge amount back then.

Albert Scanlon tells of his disappointment at his payout from the Lord Mayor of Manchester's Disaster Fund, which amounted to a sum of just over 300 pounds. What Mr. Connor fails to relate at any point in his book, is the stringent rules that were laid down at that time by not only the Charities Commission (of which the Lord Mayor's Fund was) but also the insurance companies regarding payout. If my memory is correct, and I don't think that I am far wrong, the families of those that perished, and those who could no longer continue their careers, were awarded 8,700 pounds by the insurance companies - that was still a huge figure in 1958 when the average yearly salary was around 650 pounds p.a. Those that were able to cintinue a career obviouly fared less well, and it's this contention that seems to stick in Harry and Albert's craw.

It may well have been that the Club could, and should have done better, and have found a way around the rules and regulations in order to help compensate everybody. But hindsight is always a wonderful thing, but if anything had come to light regarding any other payments from any other source, (and the authorities concerned at this time would have been watching events closely) then the very people affected by the tragedy would most certainly have had their insurance/charity awards minimised. In reality, the Club has always been in a catch 22 situiation regarding Munich - damed if they do, damned if they don't.

The book also reveals some unsavoury swipes at people like Bobby Charlton, Wilf McGuinness and the sports journalist, Frank Taylor. Gregg talks of the survivors reunion organized by EUFA, for them to attend the 1998 EC Final in Munich. He recalls the night before the Final when at a Dinner, Bobby was speaking and related the fact that there isn't a day goes by that he doesn't think of his friends who perished in 1958. Gregg says that he called down the table to Bobby; "Then why the **** haven't you done anything for them for all these years." I actually find that a little rich coming from a guy who isn't short of bob or two himself. Gregg also takes a swipe at Wilf McGuinness and his after dinner speaking, saying that Wilf continually pontificates that if it hadn't been for injury, he would have been more than likely on that plane. Harry says that he wouldn't have. He also swipes at Wilf saying that he was just a peripheral player at the time and as such wasn't really a Busby Babe. Nothing could be further from the truth. Wilf had travelled throughout both European campaigns of the time, and had played in quite a few games. He had experience of the competition and had he not been injured prior to Munich, then I am certain that it's a fair assumption that Matt would have included Wilf in the travelling party. As for him not being a Busby Babe, Wilf most certainly was and captained the very first youth team, came up through the ranks, and made many more appearances in the "babes" team than Harry did!

Let me nail a myth - Harry was signed on Decemeber 19th 1957 and made just 11 appearances with the "Babes" before the tragedy happened on February 6th 1958 - that's just 7 short weeks. He writes and talks about the players who perished as though he had known them all through his life - it's my opinion that although he certainly played alongside them, he didn't really know them as well as he thinks!

All three, Gregg, Scanlon, and Doherty take a swipe at Frank Taylor, and state that "he made thousands out of Munich." Maybe he did - he wrote a best selling book entitled "The Day A Team Died" It's a book that has sold well, especially to Manchester United fans since the day that it was published. Like all books, there are little inaccuracies in it, and Frank relates some things from what he was told afterwards. You have to remember that Frank was the last survivor to leave the hospital in Munich, almost 6 months after the tragedy - he was in a coma for two months I believe! He was also in demand in later life as an after dinner speaker, and obviously, Munich played a big part in his talks. Harry conveniently forgets that he has also written 2 books and has dwelt at times in them on Munich. What stopped Scanlon writing a book?

Albert Scanlon also has a huge swipe at Sir Matt and states that after Munich, he thinks Matt had it in his head to get rid of the majority of the survivors. I don't buy that at all. Yes players did move on - Kenny Morgans was nowhere near the player he was before the crash; Ray Wood would never have gotten back into the team due to Harry's own presence and young David Gaskell lurking in the background; Dennis Viollet was into his 30's by the time Matt let him go and it was some of his off-field activities that led to Matt releasing him; as was the case regarding Albert himself - he conveniently forgets the furore in his own private life that happened in 1960, and it was no surprise that weeks after that, he left for Newcastle!

The end of the book relates to the testimonial game in 1998. First of all, let me tell you that each family got in excess of 46,000 pounds as a result of that game. The Committee that organized that match (which included Doherty and PFA Chairman Gordon Taylor) worked and gave their time for nothing. What does relate in the book is the acrimony that that game caused. Gregg is condemning of the monies paid to and taken by, Eric Cantona - yet again, in the Radio interview I mentioned, he states he attaches no blame to Eric!

They (Scanlon and Gregg) criticise the Committe for a share being given to Bobby Charlton, and also the fact that Eddie Colman's share (he had no living descendents at the time the testimonial was played) was given to Salford (and Ordsall in particular where Eddie came from) children's charities. It really did irk me when I read this that they could say things like that. it's interesting to note that John Doherty says that the organizers of that testimonial match received just 4 letters of thanks for their efforts!

The bitterness of Harry and Albert really does show itself in this book, and it's no coincidence that members of other survivors do make note of it - and distance themselves from it.

Jeff Connor, in my opinion didn't really think too much in writing this book. As I said, most of what it contained could be gleaned from elsewhere and takes a massive swipe at Manchester United Football Club - the Club he is so quick to tell you in the introduction that he supports. Most of it is unjustified in my honest opinion. For a man that says he watched the "Babes" regularly as a boy - I would have much rather have read of his experiences back in those great days watching a wonderful set of young men, than to read the dreary same old stuff that has been brought up by writers before him, and in a more tasteful way.

[BusbyBabes]

NM this is an extract from Sir Bobby's autobiography. It describes the Arsenal game at Highbury (won by United 5-4) prior to the Red Star away game in February 1958.


"Albert was a quirky character, brilliant one day, indifferent the next, but this was one of the performances of his life. Invariably he would concern his marker with his pace, but it could be said that his last ball wasn't always his best. However this day he touched perfection. I could only feel sympathy for my namesake, Arsenal right-back Stan Charlton. The defender was tortured by Albert's speed and trickery. It was as though the boy from Salford, who spent so many hours watching the latest Hollywood offerings in the city-centre cinemas, had woken up with the conviction that this day he would be in a film of his own. It was classical wing play:quick, functional, and totally committed to the final act of supplying a deadly cross. After thirty-four minutes he laid on the second goal, passing the ball to me after a seventy-yard run down the wing. 'It's easy, Bobby, lad,' he said when I gave him a hug."

[TomClare]

Bobby's had a little bit of memory loss - Albert was from Hulme in Manchester, not Salford. He attended St. Wilfrid's Catholic School, Hulme.

[biro]

Maybe he lived in Salford when Bobby played with him....

[BusbyBabes]

Bobby's had a little bit of memory loss - Albert was from Hulme in Manchester, not Salford. He attended St. Wilfrid's Catholic School, Hulme.

To be fair to Bobby it is more than fifty years ago and a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.

[TomClare]

Albert lives in Salford now and has done for a number of years. It is a long time ago as you say and it's an easy thing to pick up on - I was just being pedantic.

[BusbyBabes]

Albert lives in Salford now and has done for a number of years. It is a long time ago as you say and it's an easy thing to pick up on - I was just being pedantic.

You have a good memory TomClaire but some others don't really..will you read Sir Bobby's autobiography TomClaire? I myself was most interested in the babes and the Munich chapters which made me very sad but of course it is a sad event to remember.

[TomClare]

I haven't read it yet - but read his first aurobiography which he published in the mid - 60's entitled "My Soccer Life". I have his new book on my wish list for Christmas and will no doubt read that then. Before Munich, Bobby was such a happy go lucky, carefree, cheerful young man. I have lots of memories of him away from football at that time. Munich changed his personality completely and when he returned to football just a few short weeks after the tragedy - he played like a man possessed. Some of the goals that he scored were unbelieveable. If anybody can get hold of film of him scoring his first international goal in his first game for England at hampden park Glasgow in April of 1958 - you'll see one of the greatest goals ever. That volley was probably the hardest hit shot that I have ever seen.