Remembering Eddie Colman

Monday 01 November 2021 12:30

It's a poignant day as we pause to think of Manchester United legend Eddie Colman, who was born on 1 November 1936, some 85 years ago today. He was the youngest of our players to tragically die in the Munich Air Disaster.

Short in stature but huge in heart and spirit: Colman was a mirror held up to reflect the changing times. In partnership with his great pal Duncan Edwards – the grit to Colman's cheeky, swivel-waisted wiles – he was swiftly dubbed 'snake hips'. He was, if you like, the Babes' own Elvis, the little rock 'n' roller with a ready grin.

It wasn't just that winning manner that made him such a terrace darling, though. Nor was it the fact that he was one of us, from Archie Street, Salford, the inspiration for Coronation Street. He was loved because for all his jocularity, he swiftly came to appreciate the value his skills had.

His father, a keen player himself, had been out of work for five years and scored a hat-trick at Old Trafford in the 1933 Salford Unemployed Cup Final so it wouldn't do for Eddie to let his gifts go begging. And this, after all, was a phenomenal football talent. Colman's trademark drag back left opponents trailing, his low centre of gravity carrying him off before they could react. 
A supporters' flag celebrates the memory of Eddie Colman.
Making his first-team debut against Bolton in November 1955, just 11 days after turning 19, Colman played as if to the manner born. He possessed what Matt Busby, who'd spotted him with Jimmy Murphy while playing for Salford Boys, called "an indefinable, inherent brilliance which no amount of coaching could provide."

Eddie played a further 24 league games in the Babes' first title-winning season, and missed only six in the next. United goalkeeper Harry Gregg, who had a good view of the patterns his team-mates could weave, noted: "I swear when Eddie waggled his hips, the stanchions in the stands moved with him."

Colman was aged just 21 and three months when he perished in the Munich crash. He scored just two goals in 108 games, and the last of these helped set up United's 2-1 advantage for the trip to Belgrade, where he had an outstanding last hoorah. Our much-loved local lad, he will never be forgotten.

Recommended: