Manchester United programme for Munich air disaster abandoned game at auction

Most of the programmes for the game were destroyed after the Munich air disaster

A rare Manchester United football programme for a match abandoned due to tragedy has turned up in a drawer.

The programme, for the 1958 game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, will go under the hammer at Hanson Ross in Royston, Hertfordshire.

Eight Manchester United Players were killed in the Munich air disaster two days before the game on 6 February.

The game was cancelled and most match programmes were destroyed making the book a valuable collectors items.

The programme includes the team sheet for the cancelled Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wolves game

The seller, Peter Jackson, from Wembley in London, was given the rare item by his uncle who worked in the Manchester print shop that made the programme,

He also gave him a programme for a Manchester United v Nottingham Forest match on February 22, 1958, just a couple of weeks after the disaster.

Mr Jackson kept the programmes inside a cardboard folder in his bedside draw.

Both items will be offered at auction together.

The plane's co-pilot Ken Rayment was the final victim, dying 23 days after the crash

The 67-year-old retired engineer is parting with the collectibles so they can be looked after.

He said: "I hope they will go to a Manchester United fan or keen collector who will look after them for years to come to honour the Busby's Babes who lost their lives."

The programmes would have been priced at 4d in 1958, today they are expected to sell between £5,000 and £8,000.

Sir Matt Busby's team, nicknamed the Busby Babes, were in unstoppable form that season with journalists speculating they might have won a treble of the FA Cup, Division One title and the European Cup

On February 6, 1958 the British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a snow-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport.

Seven players were killed in the crash and one died 15 days later in hospital.

At the time Manchester United had not been beaten for 11 matches and were six points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers, the league leaders.

Amanda Butler said Hardly any of the Manchester United v Wolves programmes existed

Amanda Butler, director of operations at the Royston firm, said the auction is "an extremely unusual opportunity."

"Hardly any of the Manchester United v Wolves programmes exist and examples rarely come to light. We are aware of one which sold previously at auction for £6,200."

The programmes will be offered in the 12 January Hanson Ross Auction in Royston, Hertfordshire.