Next tour: Saturday 24 February 2018, 11am.
Meet: National Football Museum, Cathedral Gardens.
Booking. Please book here with eventbrite.

Once they were Newton Heath: Newton Heath Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway to be exact. A railway team, formed in 1878 in east Manchester, playing in the Lancs and Yorks company colours of green and gold. When their endeavours were first recorded in 1880 it was for a 6-0 defeat to Bolton’s reserves.

Yet they progressed over the next dozen or so years all the way to the top division which now in 2011 they hold the most championships for. Success wasn’t swift in those days and United didn’t last long before they were back in the second tier.

In 1902 Newton Heath’s owner’s began looking for a new name.  There was a meeting of the club at its Clayton ground on 26 April. The two main suggestions were “Manchester Celtic” and “Manchester Central”. Up got the club tea-boy, Louis Rocca. He suggested that Manchester Celtic was “too Scottish” and Manchester central “too industrial”. Why not go for Manchester United?

Good call!