SHORROCKS, Alec. Winners and Champions. (Signed by Matt Busby, Johnny Carsy & the author)

The Story of Manchester United’s 1948 Cup Final and 1952 League Championship Winning Teams. London: Arthur Barker, 1985. pp. [x], 246. First edition. Illustrated. Red cloth in pictorial dust jacket. A very good copy.

Signed by the author Alec Shorrocks, and further inscribed by two of Manchester United’s legendary captains: Johnny Carey (1904–1995), who captained United to victory in the 1948 FA Cup Final, and Jackie Blanchflower (1933–1998), member of the famed “Busby Babes,” whose career was tragically cut short by injury in the Munich Air Disaster of 1958. With an additional presentation note for the Knutford Football Club Sportsman’s Dinner, 7th Annual, March 1986.

This history records United’s post-war resurgence under Matt Busby, charting the rebuilding of the team through their first great triumphs: the 4–2 victory over Blackpool in the 1948 FA Cup Final at Wembley, and their capturing of the First Division Championship in 1951–52, the club’s first league title in 41 years. Lavishly illustrated with match photographs and memorabilia, the work provides first-hand recollections and rare insights into a pivotal era for the club.

The presence of autographs by Carey, widely considered one of United’s finest defenders and a true sportsman, and Blanchflower, one of the tragic heroes of Munich, makes this copy of particular historical and sentimental value to collectors of Manchester United memorabilia.

Provenance: Signed at a football dinner in 1986, as noted on the front free endpaper.

[WR sport]