United’s Munich hero Gregg dies aged 87

Harry Gregg, a former Manchester United goalkeeper called the ‘Hero of Munich’ for rescuing two teammates as well as a baby and her pregnant mother from the burning fuselage in the 1958 air disaster that killed 23 people, has died. He was 87. Gregg died peacefully in a hospital, surrounded by family, The Harry Gregg Foundation said yesterday.

A former Northern Ireland international, Gregg spent nine years with Manchester United after joining in 1957. He played 247 times for the club, including in a victory in an FA Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday 13 days after the air crash in February 1958.

The team was returning from a European Cup game when their aeroplane crashed after refuelling in Munich. Gregg escaped the wreckage, having sustained only a bloody nose, but returned on two occasions to help teammates Bobby Charlton and Dennis Viollet and then a 20-month-old girl and her badly injured mother. Gregg also helped revive United manager Matt Busby, who survived the disaster.