“Who?” You may ask. Today, this team is a global brand. They are the most successful and widely supported club on the planet. From America to China, Iran to Argentina, even those who do not follow the sport of football know about this team. However, this was not always the case.

 

Back in the 1880’s, this was a very unremarkable club indeed. Newton Heath was formed by workers from the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company. The Heathens were turned down by the Football Association in 1888, and as a consequence they joined the newly created Combination, their first competitive league. A further attempt to join the F.A. following the winding up of The Combination was also unsuccessful, so Heath along with eleven other clubs formed a rival association called the Football Alliance. In their first season as part of the Alliance, they finished in eighth place. They also took part in the F.A. Cup, but failed to get past the first round. They did, however, manage to win the Manchester and District Cup, which they traditionally entered each year.

 

On their third attempt to join the Football Association, they were finally granted membership when the League merged with the Alliance in 1892. Unfortunately for them, they finished dead last out of 16 teams in their first season in the competition, but they managed to remain in the top flight by defeating second division champions Small Heath (the future Birmingham City) in a playoff test match. In 1893, the team relocated to a pitch next to a chemical plant. Legend says that every time Heath was losing (which was often), the chemical plant would belch fumes in a bid to effect the opposing team. The pitch was regarded by opposing teams as “resembling a toxic waste dump”. Following a loss to Liverpool, Heath holds the dubious honour of being the first team to be relegated to the Second Division.

 

So why does this unspectacular, rag-tag team deserve a place in a book about Footballs Finest? Well, in January 1902, with debts of £2,670 (£260,000 in today’s money), the club was declared bankrupt and the gates to Bank St were locked. Something had to be done, so Heath’s captain Harry Stafford decided to hold a fund raising bazaar. Legend says that one of the attractions of the fundraiser was Stafford’s pet St. Bernard, Major. At the end of the bazzarrs fourth day, Major ran away with a collection tin containing the days takings that was attached to his collar. The dog found his way to a pub owned by a successful local brewer who found the tin, and on enquiring about the dogs origins, he saved the club. Just as Heath were served with a winding up order, the escape and recapturing of the dog led Stafford to meet four investors, including the brewer, each willing to invest £500 in return for a stake in the club.  To signify this fresh start, the club renamed themselves Manchester United, and changed their colours to red and white. This ushered in the era of Ernest Magnall, Charlie Roberts, Billy Meredith, a new home at Old Trafford and a 1909 FA Cup victory, and if it were not for this series of events and for Major the St Bernard, Manchester United, the world’s most famous and beloved football club, would not exist today.

Achievements: District Challenge Cup  - Winners x1
                        Manchester and District Challenge Cup – Finalists x4
Star player: Harry Stafford, DOB 1869, POB Nantwich, England

Manchester United’s first captain marvel, Stafford more than any other player cared deeply about the club, and it was he who organised the fundraising bazaar that led to the chain of events that resulted in saving the club. When the team found themselves in a financial mess, Stafford volunteered to be taken off the wage bill and play for free. Stafford’s last game for United was 1903, but he remained at the club as a director, scout and groundsman. He was also a pub manager and ran establishments in Wrexham before moving to Montreal, Canada. He lived in Australia in his later years.