Embedded Files
Cup and league champions, 1955-56
Standing, from left: Mr F. Leyden, Langley, Malcolm Trippier, Waddington, Longden, Frank Leponis, Terry Holland, Martin, Ainsley, Mr A.J. Rocca.
Seated, from left: Tony Maclean, Mike Barton (Capt.), Unidentified, Hayhurst.
Football champions, 1955-56
Standing, from left: Tommy Sharp, Mr A.L. Smith, Tony Smart, Terry Lawton, Hugh Mitchell, Grundy, Paul Condon, David Hartwell, Paul Shiel, Mr A.J. Rocca.
Seated, from left: Vincent Markevicz, Graham Faulkner, Michael Conlan (Capt.), Frank Worrall, Bobby Arrand.
The team won the First Division Shield.
Manchester Catholic Boys, March 1956
Included in the line-up before the match against Rochdale, which Manchester won 8-2, are:
Standing – Terry Ryan (St Gregory’s), goalkeeper, centre, Tony Burgess (St Gregory’s), fourth from left.
Seated – Nobby Lawton (St Gregory’s), fourth from left.
Also seated, second from left, is Charlie Stiles, elder brother of Nobby.
Manchester Catholic Boys, May 1956
Manchester Catholic Boys played Glasgow Catholic Boys at Celtic Park, this photograph being taken before the game.
The game, watched by 2,500 spectators, was drawn 3-3, with Charlie Stiles, elder brother of Nobby, scoring twice and Lawton scoring once for Manchester.
In the photograph, Burgess is standing, sixth from left (to the right of the goalkeeper), and Lawton is seated, centre (with ball). Stiles is seated, second from left.
The F.A. Youth Cup – The Early Years
The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup Competition, commonly known as the F.A. Youth Cup, was inaugurated in season 1952-53 when 92 clubs each paid the entrance fee of ten shillings (50p).
In order to save on travelling costs, the early rounds were contested between clubs in a particular geographical ‘zone’.
The record for the competition’s first five years reads as follows:
The inspirational driving force behind United’s success was team coach, Jimmy Murphy, a Welshman whose son Philip was a pupil at St Gregory’s. The young players in his charge were affectionately referred to as ‘Murphy’s Marvels’, with some also becoming ‘Busby Babes’.
In February 1955, Murphy decided to include John Queenan, the former St Gregory’s pupil, at right full-back for the 4th-round tie. Queenan remained an ever-present in the six remaining matches and played alongside United legends Eddie Colman, Wilf McGuinness, Alex Dawson, Shay Brennan, Duncan Edwards and Bobby Charlton. The two-legged final was played against West Bromwich Albion, with United winning 7-1 on aggregate.
John Queenan retained his place on the team throughout the following season, 1955-56, and played in all eight games to receive yet another F.A. Youth Cup winner’s medal. The final, again played over two legs, was against Chesterfield, with the young Reds winning 4-3 on aggregate.
Nobby Lawton, also ex-St Gregory’s, was an ever-present on the team that won the F.A. Youth Cup in season 1956-57. Playing at inside forward, Lawton scored four goals in the ten-match campaign, with Alex Dawson scoring 21. West Ham United were the opponents in the two-legged final, which United won 8-2 on aggregate.
Manchester United, winners of the FA Youth Cup 1954-55
Back row, from left: Duncan Edwards, Terry Beckett, Shay Brennan, Tony Hawksworth, Alan Rhodes, John Queenan.
Front row, from left: Peter Jones, Dennis Fidler, Eddie Colman, Wilf McGuinness, Bobby Charlton.
Manchester United, winners of the FA Youth Cup 1955-56
Back row, from left: Bobby English, Dennis Fidler, Tony Hawksworth, Mark Pearson, Terry Beckett, Bobby Charlton.
Front row, from left: Reg Holland, Alex Dawson, Wilf McGuinness, Peter Jones, John Queenan.
Manchester United, winners of the FA Youth Cup 1956-57
Back row, from left: Bobby English, Ray Maddison, Barry Smith, David Gaskell, Reg Hunter, Harold Bratt.
Front row, from left: Reg Holland, Alex Dawson, Ken Morgans, Mark Pearson, Nobby Lawton.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse