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 ...

and one of the eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster 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 against

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

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, 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 knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

. He was the club's first-choice

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

until the final few months before the disaster (when he was displaced by

Albert Scanlon Albert Joseph Scanlon (10 October 1935 – 22 December 2009) was an English footballer. He began his career with Manchester United and was one of the " Busby Babes" who survived the Munich air disaster of 1958. Although he sustained severe inju ...

) 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 European Cup semi-finals twice. His performance against Real Madrid in the 1956-57 semi-finals reportedly inspired the Spanish giants to sign a new left-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 has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affilia ...

, his solitary appearance coming in 1957, and was tipped by many to succeed

Tom Finney Sir Thomas Finney (5 April 1922 – 14 February 2014) was an English international footballer who played from 1946 to 1960 as a winger or centre forward for Preston North End and England. He is widely acknowledged to have been one of the s ...

, 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 near

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, 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 Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...

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.

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 Footballers from Doncaster English footballers England international footballers England under-23 international footballers Manchester United F.C. players English Football League players Association football wingers Footballers killed in the Munich air disaster FA Cup Final players