Best made his First Division debut , aged 17 , on 14 September 1963 against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in a 1 – 0 victory . He then dropped back into the reserves , before scoring his first goal for the first team in his second appearance in a 5 – 1 win over Burnley on 28 December . Manager Matt Busby then kept Best in the team , and by the end of the 1963 – 64 season , he had made 26 appearances , scoring six goals . Manchester United finished second , four points behind Liverpool . They also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup , where a defeat to West Ham United cost Best the chance to break a record ; in the final Preston North End 's Howard Kendall became the youngest ever player in a FA Cup Final – he shared the same birthday as Best . That same season , Best was a part of the Manchester United side that won the 1964 FA Youth Cup , the sixth FA Youth Cup won under the management of Jimmy Murphy , and the first since the 1958 Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
George Best