David Pegg (20 September 1935 – 6 February 1958) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an outside-left and one of the eight

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

players who died in the

Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...

on 6 February 1958.

Career

He signed for United on leaving school in 1950 and made his first team debut in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

on 6 December 1952, at the age of 17, and by the age of 20 he was a regular member of the first team. In 1956, at the age of 21, he collected a First Division title medal. The following season, he picked up another league title medal and also helped United reach the semi-finals of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

, also collecting a runners-up medal in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. He was the club's first-choice

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

until the final few months before the disaster (when he was displaced by Albert Scanlon) and had collected two League Championship winner's medals in the two seasons leading up to the Munich air disaster. He also helped them reach the

semi-finals twice. His performance against

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the 1956-57 semi-finals reportedly inspired the Spanish giants to sign a new right-back specifically to combat Pegg's talents in the future, although his death less than a year later meant that he never played against them again. He was capped once for the

England national football team The England national football team have represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by the Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Eng ...

, his solitary appearance coming in 1957, and was tipped by many to succeed Tom Finney, who was nearing the end of his international career, in the England team as England's regular left winger.

Legacy

Pegg's sister, Irene Beevers, contributed to a 1998 ITV documentary, ''The Busby Babes: End of a Dream'', which commemorated the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. She, Pegg's brother and Pegg's other sister, Doreen Robinson (who now lives in Australia) visited the scene of the Munich air crash in September 2005, on what would have been his 70th birthday, to pay tribute to their brother.

Personal life

He was born in Highfields, a village located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, in September 1935, one of three children born to miner William Pegg and his wife Jessie. His father also played amateur football to a high standard during the 1930s, winning a number of trophies with local football teams. Aged 22 when he died, he was one of the youngest of the 23 who died at Munich. He was buried in the nearby Redhouse Cemetery. A memorial chair was dedicated in his memory at St. George's Church in Highfields and when that church was closed the chair was moved to All Saints' Church in Woodlands which now serves both villages. He was also outlived by both of his parents, though they have both since died; his father died in 1980 and his mother in 2006. They are both buried alongside him.

Honours

Manchester United *

runner-up: 1956–57

References

External links

Famous Doncastrians: David PeggRed Cafe: David Pegg Profile
*''The Team That Wouldn't Die: The Story of the Busby Babes fhd'' (John Roberts, 1974) {{DEFAULTSORT:Pegg, David 1935 births 1958 deaths People from Woodlands, South Yorkshire Sportspeople from the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster Footballers from South Yorkshire English men's footballers England men's international footballers England men's under-23 international footballers Manchester United F.C. players English Football League players Men's association football wingers Footballers killed in the Munich air disaster 20th-century English sportsmen