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Bill Foulkes, Munich Air Disaster Survivor And Manchester United Legend, Dies

Munich Air Disaster Survivor And United Legend Bill Foulkes Dies
Samuel Luckhurst
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United
PA Archive

Bill Foulkes, the former Manchester United defender and survivor of the 1958 Munich air disaster, has died, aged 81.

Foulkes made his United debut in 1952 and went on to play 688 times for the club, where he won four First Division titles, an FA Cup, and was part of the club's first European Cup-winning side in 1968.

Fourth in United's all-time appearance list, Foulkes emerged from the wreckage at Munich to captain the club in their next fixture against Sheffield Wednesday 14 days later.

FOULKES' GOAL VS REAL MADRID

He will be fondly remembered for his late equaliser at Real Madrid in the 1968 European Cup semi-final, which secured United's final berth 10 years after eight of Matt Busby's Babes perished in the snow.

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Foulkes and United teammate Nobby Stiles in 1967

Foulkes' death comes a year after former teammate and Munich survivor Kenny Morgans passed away.

Sir Bobby Charlton and Harry Gregg are the only living members of the United side who experienced the Munich air crash.

Bill Foulkes
Soccer - Football League Division One - Chelsea v Manchester United (01 of28)
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(L-R) Manchester United's Bill Foulkes and Roger Byrne (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United (02 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United Photocall (03 of28)
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Manchester United team group: (back row, l-r) assistant trainer Bill Inglis, Geoff Bent, Ray Wood, Mark Jones, Bill Foulkes, Dennis Viollet, trainer Tom Curry (front row, l-r) Jackie Blanchflower, Colin Webster, Wilf McGuinness, Tommy Taylor, Bill Whelan, David Pegg, Johnny Berry (with ball) (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United Photocall (04 of28)
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Manchester United team group, l-r Ray Wood, Duncan Edwards, Tommy Taylor, Liam Whelan, Geoff Bent, Bill Foulkes, Jackie Blanchflower, Colin Webster, Dennis Viollett, Eddie Colman, Johnny Berry (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United Photocall (05 of28)
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(L-R) Manchester United's Dennis Viollet and Bill Foulkes leap for a header (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United (06 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Munich Plane Crash - Manchester United(07 of28)
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Manchester United player Bill Foulkes who survived the plane crash which killed 21. Seven members of the Manchester United football team were among those dead when the plane crashed after takeoff here. The team were flying home from the match against Red Star Belgrade (credit:PA)
Soccer - Munich Plane Crash - Manchester United(08 of28)
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Manchester United players Bill Foulkes (l) and Harry Gregg (r) with Daily Mail cameraman Peter Howard (c) after they had survived the plane crash which killed 21. Seven members of the Manchester United football team were among those dead when the plane crashed after takeoff here. The team were flying home from the match against Red Star Belgrade (credit:PA)
Soccer - Manchester United (09 of28)
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Manchester United embark on a trip aboard a Royal Navy plane prior to their European Cup preliminary round match away to Shamrock Rovers which they won 6-0: (l-r) Bill Foulkes (released from hospital), Ray Wood (multiple flesh wounds), Dennis Viollet (head injuries and concussion), Jackie Blanchflower Fracture of right arm and broken pelvis), Peter Jones, Alex Dawson, Roger Byrne (dead), Tommy Taylor (dead), Duncan Edwards (dead), Eddie Colman (dead), David Pegg (dead), Mark Jones (dead) (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Manchester United v Sheffield Wednesday(10 of28)
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Manchester United captain Bill Foulkes leads the makeshift United team out for their first match since the Munich Air Disaster (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Cup - Fifth Round - Manchester United v Sheffield Wednesday(11 of28)
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The two captains, Manchester United's Bill Foulkes (l) and Sheffield Wednesday's Albert Quixall (r), shake hands before the match, United's first since the Munich Air Disaster (credit:PA)
Man Utd v Sheffield Wednesday(12 of28)
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Manchester United's new captain Billy Foulkes (right) shakes hands with Sheffield Wednesday skipper Albert Quixall before the kick off in the FA Cup tie at Old Trafford. Utd beat Wednesday 3-0. (credit:PA)
English Soccer - Manchester United (13 of28)
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Manchester United chairman Harold Hardman and team skipper Bill Foulkes present a bouquet of red and white carnations to the wife of Professor Goerg Maurer, the senior surgeon of the Rechts Der Isar Hospital in Munich.The ceremony took place at Manchester United, when the party of thirty one doctors and nurses who tended the injured in the air crash, were thanked publicly and given a rousing reception by fans. (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Cup Final - Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium(14 of28)
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Referee J Sherlock (c) looks on as Bolton Wanderers captain Nat Lofthouse (l) offers the choice of kick off or ends to Manchester United captain Bill Foulkes (r) after losing the toss (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Cup Final - Leicester City v Manchester United - Wembley Stadium(15 of28)
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Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, shakes hands with centre-half Bill Foulkes as the Manchester United players were presented to him on the field at Wembley Stadium, London, before the kick-off in the FA Cup. On left is centre-forward David Herd, who was to score two goals, and on right is inside-left Denis Law, who was to score one goal in United's 3-1 victory over Leicester City. (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Cup Final - Manchester United v Leicester City(16 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Arsenal v Manchester United(17 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United(18 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Manchester United v Stoke City(19 of28)
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Manchester United players celebrate winning the League Championship with a bottle of beer in the plunge bath after the match: (l-r) Denis Law, Nobby Stiles, Shay Brennan, Jimmy Ryan, George Best, Bill Foulkes, Bobby Charlton (credit:PA)
Manchester United Football Players(20 of28)
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Bill Foulkes (left) and Nobby Stiles (right) (credit:PA)
Soccer - European Cup - Final - Manchester United v Benfica(21 of28)
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(L-R) Manchester United's Nobby Stiles, Bobby Charlton and Bill Foulkes celebrate winning the European Cup (credit:PA)
Soccer - Manchester United(22 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United (23 of28)
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Manchester United's Bill Foulkes (l) clears from Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Gilzean (r) (credit:PA)
Soccer - Football League Division One - Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United (24 of28)
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Manchester United's Bill Foulkes (l) clears from Tottenham Hotspur's Alan Gilzean (r) (credit:PA)
Albert Scanlon Funeral - Manchester(25 of28)
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Former Manchester United player Bill Foulkes arrives for the funeral of Busby Babe Albert Scanlon, at All Souls Church in the Weaste area of Salford. (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Barclays Premiership - Manchester United v Liverpool - Old Trafford(26 of28)
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Bill Foulkes, Manchester United and Munich Air disaster survivor (credit:PA)
Soccer - FA Barclays Premiership - Manchester United v Liverpool - Old Trafford(27 of28)
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Bill Foulkes. (credit:PA)
The Golden Throne Bradley Wiggins Sat In After Winning His Olympic Gold Medal Goes Up For Auction(28 of28)
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LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: The 1968 European Cup winner's medal awarded to Bill Foulkes of Manchester United is displayed for sale at Sotheby's on November 6, 2012 in London, England. Graham Budd auctioneers are holding a two day sale of Sporting Memorabilia at Sotheby's in London on 5-6th November 2012. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward expressed the club's sadness at the news, saying: "Bill was a giant character in the post-war history of Manchester United. He was a very gentle man, who I was privileged to meet on several occasions.

"Bill's contribution over almost 700 games and nearly 20 years will never be forgotten. The thoughts of everyone at the Club – directors, players, staff and fans – are with Bill’s family.”

Foulkes recalled his remarkable survival at Munich in his book, Bill Foulkes: United In Triumph And Tragedy.

"As we accelerated down the runway, something told me we were not going to make it. My last memory is of pushing a pack of cards into my pocket. Just when we should have been getting off the ground, there was the first of three sickening bumps. The first must have been the aircraft hitting a fence, the second when the pilot pulled up his wheels, and the third, and loudest, when we hit a house. Then there was darkness.

"My strangest souvenir was the pack of playing cards. I had not the slightest bruise on me, and my pocket was not ripped, yet the top quarter-inch of those cards had been sliced off and had disappeared. The cut was so clean. How they came to be like that was a total mystery."

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