LONDON: Alex Dawson, one of the young players who carried Manchester United forward immediately after the Munich air disaster in 1958, has died aged 80.
The club confirmed on Friday that the former centre-forward, who played at Old Trafford for four seasons, has died. A statement said: “Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of former United forward and Busby Babe, Alex Dawson, who has sadly passed away at the age of 80.”
Born in Aberdeen, in 1940, Dawson came through the United set up as a trainee under iconic manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s. Busby handed him his league debut as a 17-year-old on 22 April 1957 where he netted in a 2-0 win over Burnley.
Dawson did not feature often in the first half of the 1957-58 campaign but stepped up after the Munich disaster in February 1958 when eight United players lost their lives.
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The Scot scored on the club’s first game after the crash, during a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. Dawson was a regular figure in the side towards the end of the season and bagged a hat trick in the FA Cup semi final over Fulham.
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Dawson was in and out of the side for the following three campaigns, and he scored a commendable 20 goals in all competitions in 1960-61.
Having scored 54 goals in all competitions for United, Dawson left for Preston North End, where he earned the nickname the ‘Black Prince of Deepdale’.He scored 114 goals in 197 games for the club.
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Spells at Bury, Brighton, Brentford and Corby followed before Dawson hung up his boots in 1973, with 212 goals from 394 career appearances.
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