On 5 February 1958 , Scanlon started on the left wing in United 's European Cup quarter-final second leg away to Red Star Belgrade ; for five of the players who started the game , it was to be their last ever match for the club . The next day , on the return journey to Manchester , the team 's plane crashed while attempting to take off from Munich airport , in an incident that later became known as the Munich air disaster . The crash claimed the lives of 23 of the plane 's 44 passengers and crew , so Scanlon was relatively fortunate to escape with just a fractured skull , a broken leg and kidney damage . His injuries put him out of action for the rest of the season
Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
Albert Scanlon