Division One

The club's first League Championship was secured in 1908, six years after the name of Newton Heath - league entrants in 1892 - was changed to Manchester United. A second title followed in 1911 but it wasn’t until after the Second World War when United really became a force in English football, under the leadership of Sir Matt Busby.

The Reds finished league runners-up in 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1951 before winning a third League Championship in 1952. The next few years were to see the birth of the famed Busby Babes. More Championships followed in 1956 and 1957 before the tragic events of the Munich air crash, which claimed the lives of 23 people, including eight United players. Busby rebuilt his team successfully in the 1960s, winning the title again in 1965 and 1967.

United had to endure a long wait of 26 years for the next title (finishing runners-up on four occasions in the meantime).