Formed

The club was formed as Newton Heath (L & Y.R.) F.C. in 1878 as the works team of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot at Newton Heath. After nearing bankuptcy in 1902, the club was taken over by J.H. Davies who changed its name to Manchester United. United appointed Sir Matt Busby as manager after the Second World War, and his then-unheard-of policy of producing most of the players through the club's youth team brought great success, with the club winning the Football League in 1956 and 1957. This success was stopped by the Munich air disaster of 1958, in which eight of the club's players died. It was thought that the club might never play again, but once Busby had recovered from his injuries he built another great team which went on to win the football league in 1965 and 1967, and became the first English winners of the European Cup in 1968. This was a great success in English Football.