20 Facts About Geoff Bent

Geoffrey Bent was an English footballer who played as a left back for Manchester United from 1948 until 1958.

Geoff Bent was one of the Busby Babes, the young team formed under manager Matt Busby in the mid-1950s.

Geoff Bent was one of eight Manchester United players who died in the Munich air disaster, when their aircraft crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport after a European Cup match in Belgrade.

Geoffrey Bent was born on 27 September 1932 at Irlams o' th' Height in Salford, Lancashire.

Geoff Bent was the only child of Clifford Bent, a surfaceman at Sandhole Colliery, and his wife Clara.

Geoff Bent grew up in a matriarchal working-class family; his father was the sole money earner, but his mother ran the household and had more influence on her son.

Geoff Bent was a member of both the Boy Scouts and the Boys' Brigade, and a keen swimmer.

In 1946, aged 13, Geoff Bent saved another child from drowning in the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal, and was awarded a medal by his local Humane Society.

Geoff Bent began as a forward, playing at inside left, but later moved into the defence, first as a half back and then left back.

Geoff Bent's mother did not want him to leave home, and she swayed him to sign a contract with Manchester United.

At the time, players were not allowed to sign a professional contract with a team until the age of 17, so like many of his teammates, Geoff Bent took on an apprenticeship as a joiner, a trade he continued during the summer breaks between football seasons.

Geoff Bent initially joined Manchester United as a trialist in August 1948, then as an amateur alongside his apprenticeship in May 1949.

Manchester United had a nucleus of young, upcoming players, so these teams were often very strong; Geoff Bent appeared alongside players such as Bobby Charlton, Wilf McGuinness, David Pegg and Duncan Edwards.

Geoff Bent made his first-team debut for Manchester United in December 1954 against Burnley, in place of Byrne, who had a neck injury.

Foulkes later echoed claims that Geoff Bent would have been a first-team regular for most other clubs, and went on to describe him as being "quiet and more studious" than many of his teammates.

Geoff Bent was on crutches when visiting hospital in September 1957 for the birth of his daughter, Karen.

Geoff Bent was not initially included in the travelling party for the second leg of the European Cup quarter-final against Red Star Belgrade.

Geoff Bent did not enjoy flying, suffering from nose bleeds and requiring ear drops when he did so, and Ronnie Cope was going to travel with the team as a reserve for the experience of a European away fixture.

Geoff Bent's name, along with the others who died in Munich, appears on a memorial plaque at Old Trafford, and there is a memorial stone in Munich, near the site of the crash.

The neglected state of his grave has been a regular press story; in 1988 the Manchester Evening News ran a story, in which Geoff Bent's widow said she could not afford to maintain the grave.