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Players Index Page Last Updated
9 August 2022
 
 

Roger Byrne

Manchester United FC

 33 appearances, 1 own goal

P 33 W 20 D 6 L 7 F 90: A 48
70% successful
1953-57

captain: none
minutes played: 3000

Timeline
  Roger William Byrne
Birth 8 September 1929 in Gorton, Manchester, Lancashire [registered in Manchester North, Lancashire, December 1929]. To William Henry & Jessie.
Attended Abbey Lea Junior School and Burnage Grammar School, Gorton
  Believed to have been born on 8 February, but this is an error. Various sources state September, which is confirmed by his birth registration.
Marriage to Joy W. Cooper [registered in Ashton, Lancashire, June 1957]. Joy and Roger's first child was born eight months after his death.
  According to passenger lists, Roger Byrne left Southampton for New York on the Queen Elizabeth, a Cunard White Star ship, on 30 April 1952. Amongst the 1196 was the entire Manchester United FC party.
Death Thursday, 6 February 1958 in Flughafen München Riem, Kirchtrudering, West Germany, aged 28 years 151 days [registered in the Index to Air Deaths, 1958].
One of 23 fatalities of the Munich Air Disaster, one of four England players.
Funeral at Flixton Parish Church, Cremated in Blackley cemetery, Lancashire.

Source

 Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &
Biographies Roger Byrne: captain of the Busby Babes - Iain McCartney (2 December 2000)

Club Career
Club(s) Began his career playing school football in Manchester and later joined Ryder Brow Boys Club from the Gorton area of Manchester. Signed for Manchester United in March 1949, where he remained until his untimely and tragic death, making 245 league appearances, scoring seventeen goals.
Club honours Football League Champions 1951-52, 1955-56, 1956-57; FA Cup runners-up 1956-57;
Individual honours Football League (six appearances);
Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year fourth 1956-57;
Distinctions None
Height/Weight 5' 9", 11st. 7lbs [1960].

Source

Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].

England Career
Player number One of four who became the 727th players (728) to appear for England.
Position(s) Left-back
First match No. 285, 3 April 1954, Scotland 2 England 4, a British Championship and World Cup qualification match at Hampden Park, Mount Florida, Glasgow, aged 24 years 207 days.
Last match No. 317, 27 November 1957, England 4 France 0, a friendly match at Empire Stadium, Wembley, London, aged 28 years 80 days.
Major tournaments World Cup Finals 1954;
British Championship 1953-54, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58;
Team honours British Championship winners 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, shared 1955-56, 1957-58;
Individual honours England B (three appearances, 1953-54)
Distinctions Played in 33 consecutive matches from his debut in 1954. Most certainly would have gone on to appear in more matches, but for his untimely death.
Died 71 days after his final England appearance, an unwanted record shared with Tommy Taylor.
Died the same day as Tommy Taylor, David Pegg and Frank Swift, and three days after Joe Cottle.

On 6th February 1958 the airliner carrying players and backroom staff of Manchester United, plus a number of journalists and supporters, crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from Munich airport. United were returning from Belgrade where they had just beaten Red Star Belgrade in the European Cup and had stopped off at Munich for re-fuelling. Twenty-three of the forty-four passengers on board the aircraft lost their lives. - Munich Remembered and Never Forgotten - Munich58.co.uk


The Numbers
parties Appearances comp. apps minutes captain
23 33 19 3000 0 2 two none
minutes are an approximation, due to the fact that many matches rarely stick to exactly ninety minutes long, allowing time for injuries and errors.
P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
33 20 6 7 90 48 +42 3 7 2.727 1.455 69.7 +13

Match Record

Venue P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
Home 13 12 0 1 48 16 +32 0 3 3.692 1.231 92.3 +11
Away 18 8 5 5 36 24 +12 3 4 2.00 1.333 58.3 +3
Neutral 2 0 1 1 6 8 -2 0 0 3.00 4.00 25.0 -1

Shirt Record

Colour P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
White 31 18 6 7 84 46 +38 3 7 2.71 1.484 67.7 +11
Red 2 2 0 0 6 2 +4 0 0 3.00 1.00 100.0 +2

Competition Record

Competition P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L

WCP

 5 4 1 0 19 7 +12 0 0 3.80 1.40 90.0 +4
WCF 3 1 1 1 8 8 =0 0 1 2.667 2.667 50.0 =0
World Cup 8 5 2 1 27 15 +2 0 1 3.375 1.875 75.0 +4
British Championship 12 8 2 2 33 15 +18 0 3 2.75 1.25 75.0 +6
The 1953-54 records of the World Cup preliminaries and British Championship are duplicated, and one set is deducted from the grand total.
Friendly 14 8 2 4 34 20 +14 3 3 2.429 1.429 64.3 +4

Tournament Record

World Cup Preliminary Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
WCP/BC 1953-54 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 0 0 4.00 2.00 100.0 +1
WCP 1957-58 4 3 1 0 15 5 +10 0 0 3.75 1.25 87.5 +3
WCP All 5 4 1 0 19 7 +12 0 0 3.80 1.40 90.0 +4
World Cup Final Tournaments
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
WCF 1954 3 1 1 1 8 8 =0 0 1 2.667 2.667 50.0 =0
WCF All 3 1 1 1 8 8 =0 0 1 2.667 2.667 50.0 =0
World Cup
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
WC 1953-54 4 2 1 1 12 10 +2 0 1 3.00 2.50 62.5 +1
WC 1957-58 4 3 1 0 15 5 +10 0 0 3.75 1.25 87.5 +3
WC All 8 5 2 1 27 15 +2 0 1 3.375 1.875 75.0 +4

British Championship Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
BC/WCP 1953-54 1 1 0 0 4 2 +2 0 0 4.00 2.00 100.0 +1
BC 1954-55 3 3 0 0 12 4 +8 0 1 4.00 1.333 100.0 +3
BC 1955-56 3 1 1 1 5 3 +2 0 1 1.667 1.00 50.0 =0
BC 1956-57 3 2 1 0 6 3 +3 0 0 2.00 1.00 83.3 +2
BC 1957-58 2 1 0 1 6 3 +3 0 1 3.00 1.50 50.0 =0
BC All 12 8 2 2 33 15 +18 0 3 2.75 1.25 75.0 +6

All Competition
Type P W D L F A GD FTS CS FAv AAv Pts% W/L
WC 8 5 2 1 27 15 +2 0 1 3.375 1.875 75.0 +4
BC 12 8 2 2 33 15 +18 0 3 2.75 1.25 75.0 +6
The 1953-54 records of the World Cup preliminaries and British Championship are duplicated, and one set is deducted from the grand total.
15 9 3 3 41 23 +18 0 4 2.733 1.533 70.0 +6
 
 Match History


Age 23 B  
one appearance - Scotland March 1953
 
Age 24    
two appearances - Scotland & West Germany March 1954

 Club: Manchester United F.C. - 33 full appearances (3000 min) manager: Walter Winterbottom - 33 full appearances (3000 min)x

apps match pic match details comp res. rundown shirt

1 285 3 April 1954 - Scotland 2 England 4
Hampden Park, Glasgow		 BC/
WCP		 AW   3

one of four who became the 727th player (728) to appear for England.
the fourteenth Manchester United player to represent England

2 286 16 May 1954 - Yugoslavia 1 England 0
Stadion JNA, Beograd		 tour AL   3
B  
party member - Yugoslavia 16 May 1954
3 287 23 May 1954 - Hungary 7 England 1
Népstadion, Budapest		   AL   3
B  
party member  - Switzerland 23 May 1954
 
WCF		 left back 3x
4 288 17 June 1954 - Belgium 4 England 4ᴭᵀ
Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel		 ND  
5 289 20 June 1954 - England 2 Switzerland 0
Wankdorfstadion, Bern		 AW  
6 290 26 June 1954 - Uruguay 4 England 2
Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel		 NL  

Age 25
7 291 2 October 1954 - Northern Ireland 0 England 2
Windsor Park, Belfast		 BC AW   3
8 292 10 November 1954 - England 3 Wales 2
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HW 76 3
9 293 1 December 1954 - England 3 West Germany 1
 Empire Stadium, Wembley		 Fr HW   3
10 294 2 April 1955 - England 7 Scotland 2
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HW   3
11 295 15 May 1955 - France 1 England 0
Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Paris
tour		 AL   3
12 296 18 May 1955 - Spain 1 England 1
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid		 AD   3
13 297 22 May 1955 - Portugal 3 England 1
Estádio do FC do Porto, Oporto		 AL   3

Age 26
14 298 2 October 1955 - Denmark 1 England 5
Idrætsparken, København		 Fr AW   3
15 299 22 October 1955 - Wales 2 England 1
Ninian Park, Cardiff		 BC AL   3
16 300 2 November 1955 - England 3 Northern Ireland 0
 Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HW   3
17 301 30 November 1955 - England 4 Spain 1
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 Fr HW   3
18 302 14 April 1956 - Scotland 1 England 1
Hampden Park, Glasgow		 BC AD   3
19 303 9 May 1956 - England 4 Brazil 2
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 Fr HW 53
67		 3

the twelfth own goal conceded by England
the fourteenth penalty kick missed (31st taken overall)

20 304 16 May 1956 - Sweden 0 England 0
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, Solna		 tour AD   3

the 28th player to make twenty England appearances

21 305 20 May 1956 - Finland 1 England 5
Olympiastadion, Helsinki		   AW   3
22 306 26 May 1956 - West Germany 1 England 3
Olympiastadion, Berlin		 AW   3

Age 27
23 307 6 October 1956 - Northern Ireland 1 England 1
Windsor Park, Belfast		 BC AD   3
24 308 14 November 1956 - England 3 Wales 1
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HW   3
25 309 28 November 1956 - England 3 Yugoslavia 0
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 Fr HW   3
26 310 5 December 1956 - England 5 Denmark 2
Molineux, Wolverhampton		 WCP HW 53 3
27 311 6 April 1957 - England 2 Scotland 1
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HW   3
28 312 8 May 1957 - England 5 Republic of Ireland 1
Empire Stadium, Wembley
WCP		 HW   3
29 313 15 May 1957 - Denmark 1 England 4
Idrætsparken, København		 AW   3
30 314 19 May 1957 - Republic of Ireland 1 England 1
Dalymount Park, Dublin		 AD   3

the ninth player to make thirty England appearances

Age 28
31 315 19 October 1957 - Wales 0 England 4
Ninian Park, Cardiff		 BC AW   3
32 316 6 November 1957 - England 2 Northern Ireland 3
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 BC HL   3
33 317 27 November 1957 - England 4 France 0
Empire Stadium, Wembley		 Fr HW   3
  

On 6th February 1958 Roger Byrne tragically lost his life.
in the Munich Air Disaster

 
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