A group of railway workers from Manchester founded a football team in 1878 under the name Newton Heath Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway FC. In 1902, the club stood on the brink of bankruptcy, after which local brewer John Henry Davies took it over and renamed it Manchester United. Davies also invested a significant amount in new facilities, and in 1910 the club moved into Old Trafford.
During the interwar period, United went through a difficult time. It was the Scottish manager Matt Busby who brought the team to the top after World War II.
The club suffered a huge blow in 1958 when eight players and several members of the coaching staff died in a plane crash in Munich. Busby survived the crash and rebuilt the team, which in 1968 became the first English club to win the European Cup.
After that, United declined significantly, hitting a low point with relegation in 1974. Only in the early 1990s did The Red Devils consistently return to the top.
