'Busby Babe' Albert Scanlon has died at the age of 74, it has been confirmed. The former Manchester United winger, who was one of the survivors of the Munich air disaster in 1958, had been unwell for some time, the club said.

Eight of Mr Scanlon's Manchester United team-mates and three officials were killed when their plane crashed in a blizzard at Munich Airport.

Mr Scanlon recovered from a broken leg and fractured skull to play again in the 1958/59 season.

He scored 16 goals to help United finish runners-up in the league.

Mr Scanlon left Old Trafford in 1960, ending a six-year association with the club.

After his departure he played for Newcastle, Mansfield and Lincoln.

I was just seven years old when the terrible tragedy of the Munich air crash occured but I have never forgotten it.

It's one of those page markers in growing up which leaves an indeilble mark on your psyche. I was not even old enough to be a Manchester United supporter at that time but I have always followed the fortunes of the club since.

Great names died that day on a Munich runway in 1958. Perhaps one of the greatest unfulfilled potentials in English football, Duncan Edwards, clung to life for some time but his injuries were too serious. The great sports writer Frank Swift, Roger “Budgie” Byrne, Tommy Taylor. Jackie Blanchflower, brother of Danny, would never play football again. Matt Busby, the manager, clung to life and survived to bring the European Cup home to Old Trafford 10 years later with a side which included Bobby Charlton and Harry Gregg, who had both survived. Harry was indeed a hero, having pulled several people from the wreckage of the plane.

It was 51 years ago, when football was so different from today. Heroes really were heroes then, especially the Busby Babes.

Now they sully the meaning of the word.

RIP Albert.