Manchester United would never have existed were it not for a little girl and her love for a dog
Most Reds know the club was originally known Newton Heath LYR, but we hazard to guess not many know the story behind what led to history-defining name change.
Manchester United is one of if not the biggest football club in the world when it comes to its global fanbase, second only maybe to the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but we’re going to go out on a limb and say how they were founded has nothing on the story of how the Red Devils came to be.
As most Reds and plenty of football fans, in general, will already know, they didn’t always go by Man United and before they were known as such, the club was called Newton Heath LYR FC — LYR denoting the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company workers that decided to put together the football team.
However, it wasn’t until 1902 that they swapped their green and gold strips for the now iconic red kit and the name was changed to Manchester United. As for the story behind why, Man United’s origins can be traced back to one single reason: a lost dog and a girl who fell in love with it.
As detailed in an episode of the BBC’s old current affairs programme Nationwide from 1973, the whole thing started when wealthy business John Henry Davies, a Manchester-based brewer, came across a St. Bernard wandering around one of his pubs and left his daughter to look after it.
J H Davies went on to become not only United’s owner but the chairman of the Manchester Brewery Company as well.
As daughter Elsie Partington, 84, goes on to explain, the precious pup named ‘Major’ was found on Oxford Road after getting lost at a dog show as part of a Newton Heath’s fundraising event, and it was only after the Davies family checked his collar that they were able to get in touch with the owners.
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Just 12 at the time, Elsie confessed she feel in love with the dog and “worshipped” it, so much so that upon returning it to the owner — one Harry Stafford — her father asked what it would take for him to keep the dog for his little girl.
Despite initially refusing, insisting that he “wouldn’t sell that dog for anything in the world” and regaling her father with the story of how Major saved both him and a drowning man at sea, Stafford was eventually persuaded after J H Davies promised to buy the club and invest in its future.
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In exchange for giving him the dog as a birthday present for his daughter, Davies helped them move from the boggy North Road fields next to the chemical works in Clayton to a brand-new ground known as Bank Lane, brought in new players and appointed Stafford not as the club’s director.
J H DaviesHarry StaffordThese two men, and a dog, quite literally founded Manchester United as we know it today. (Credit: Man United/Matthew Johnson)
And the rest, as they say, is history and although Man United may no longer bear the same name of colours as its Newton Heath, the two clubs are forever intertwined as one and the same thanks to their incredible and quite unbelievable origins.
Cut to modern day and that small nearly bankrupt club created a bunch of railway workers who simply loved having a kickabout is now a multi-billion-pound sporting franchise and footballing success story known around the world that has enjoyed some of the richest history any team could ever hope for.
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And it all started with a St. Bernard called Major.
They say dogs are man’s best friends — that goes twice for United fans.
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
14th July 2023 
