Albert Scanlon was a schoolboy star who went on to become one of the famous Busby Babes of the 1950s, later surviving the Munich air crash and recovering to continue his career with Manchester United and then Newcastle.
Albert was a local lad, born in the Manchester suburb of Hulme on 10 October 1935. He was good enough to play for the Manchester Schoolboys representative team and on leaving school joined the ground staff at Old Trafford. With no formal apprenticeship scheme in those days, the youngsters were signed up on amateur forms and received a salary for carrying out maintenance work around the ground.
Albert later recalled that his first task was to help paint sections of the ground red. At the age of 17 he turned professional and featured at outside left in the FA Youth Cup triumphs of 1953 and 1954. David Pegg, who was later to become his rival for the number 11 shirt for the senior squad, was at inside left on both occasions.
A player with tremendous pace, good ball control and a great shot, Albert made his senior debut for United in the home game with Arsenal in November 1954. He was in excellent form in the run-up to the fateful trip to Yugoslavia in February 1958, and the previous Saturday had starred in a 5-4 win at Highbury, the Times reporter noting that, ‘he showed a clean pair of heels to everyone in sight’ and that he set up United’s first goal for Bobby Charlton with a 70-yard run down the wing and a pinpoint cross.
This was Albert at his best and the following Wednesday he lined up at outside left for United in the second leg of their European Cup quarter-final tie with Red Star Belgrade. A 3-3 draw earned Busby’s team a place in the semi-finals but tragedy struck on the return journey. The plane stopped at Munich airport for refuelling and crashed in a snowstorm when taking off. Eight of the famous Busby Babes died, many others including Albert were seriously injured. He later said that he knew nothing from the time of the attempted take off to waking up in a hospital bed with a badly gashed scalp and a serious injury to his left leg.
Albert was one of the fortunate ones to make a full recovery and continue his professional career. Indeed in 1958-59 he was an ever-present as United finished as runners-up to Wolves for the Football League title.
For good measure he won five England Under 23 caps that season, playing in a team that also featured two other United players, Wilf McGuinness and Bobby Charlton. In September 1959 he was capped by the Football League against the Irish League, a game when Brian Clough scored all five of his team’s goals, but this was the closest he came to full international honours.
Shortly after the start of the 1960-61 season Albert moved on to Newcastle, where he never really settled, and he then dropped down the divisions to play for Lincoln City and Mansfield Town. He left the senior game in 1966 and returned to his working-class roots in the Manchester area, where he worked a dock labourer and later as a security officer.
Albert died in the Hope Hospital, Salford on Tuesday 22 December following a short illness.
All at the PFA send their sincere condolences to Albert’s family, friends and former colleagues at this difficult time.
