William Anthony Foulkes was an English footballer who played for Manchester United in the Busby Babes teams of the 1950s, and in the 1960s.
34 Facts About Bill Foulkes
2.
Bill Foulkes scored a total of 9 goals in his 18 seasons at United and helped the club win four First Division titles, one FA Cup and one European Cup.
3.
Bill Foulkes was capped only once for England in 1955.
4.
Bill Foulkes was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the first of three children born to James Bill Foulkes and his wife Ruth.
5.
Bill Foulkes's grandfather had captained St Helens rugby league team and was an England rugby international.
6.
Bill Foulkes's father had played rugby league for St Helens, and had played football for New Brighton in the Third Division North.
7.
Bill Foulkes himself played for the Whiston Boys Club in his teens, and worked at the Lea Green Colliery as a miner, a job which he continued into the mid-1950s by which time he was a regular member of the Manchester United first team and had made his solitary appearance for the full England side.
8.
Bill Foulkes married Teresa Suffler was born on 1936 and at St Nicholas Church, Whiston, in spring of 1955.
9.
Bill Foulkes was discovered by Manchester United while he was playing for the Whiston Boys club as an 18-year-old.
10.
Bill Foulkes joined the club in March 1950 and played in junior ranks of the club before he turned professional in August 1951.
11.
Bill Foulkes played 2 games for the England Under-23 team.
12.
Bill Foulkes won his first cap for England 22 months after making his United debut, playing at right-back against Northern Ireland on 2 October 1954.
13.
Towards the end of that season, Bill Foulkes found himself laden with National Service commitments.
14.
Bill Foulkes responded by training harder than usual, determined to be called back to play for the first-team.
15.
At that time, Bill Foulkes had been running a card school with Kenny Morgans, David Pegg, Albert Scanlon, Roger Byrne and Liam Whelan in the middle of the plane.
16.
The plane had broken right under the seat that Bill Foulkes was sitting on.
17.
Immediately after the crash, Bill Foulkes climbed out of his safety belt and ran 50 yards away from the plane.
18.
Bill Foulkes then turned back and saw the wrecked plane.
19.
The 23 survivors were admitted to hospital, but Bill Foulkes was discharged and spent the night in a hotel with Gregg.
20.
The next morning, Bill Foulkes visited his teammates in the hospital.
21.
Bill Foulkes visited Duncan Edwards, Johnny Berry, Jackie Blanchflower, Viollet, Scanlon, Charlton and Ray Wood.
22.
Bill Foulkes himself survived, along with Busby, Charlton, Gregg, Morgans, Scanlon, Viollet and Wood.
23.
Immediately after the crash, Bill Foulkes took over captaincy of the club in place of Byrne, who was killed in the crash.
24.
Up against Benfica, Bill Foulkes started the match in central defence.
25.
Bill Foulkes later said that winning the Cup helped him to "get over the crash".
26.
Bill Foulkes officially retired from playing on 1 June 1970 at the age of 38.
27.
Bill Foulkes had previously held the club's appearance record until Charlton overtook him a while later and, later, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, although he is still in fourth place for appearances for United.
28.
Bill Foulkes served United in the First Division for 18 seasons, most of them as a regular player, and was the longest-serving player at the club at the time of his final game.
29.
Bill Foulkes was in attendance along with the four remaining players who survived the Munich tragedy on 21 May 2008, when United beat Chelsea on penalties in the final of the European Cup in Moscow, Russia.
30.
However, the character of Bill Foulkes had little significance in the film and was not listed in the film's credits, despite his major role in the escape from the crashed plane.
31.
Bill Foulkes himself did not take any part in the filming of the drama due to an undisclosed long-term medical condition.
32.
Bill Foulkes died at the age of 81 in Manchester on 25 November 2013.
33.
Bill Foulkes had reportedly been suffering from Alzheimer's disease during the final few years of his life.
34.
Bill Foulkes is not believed to have attended the funeral of Kenny Morgans, another survivor of the crash, in November 2012.