Billy Whelan - Revision history

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script-assisted date audit and style fixes per MOS:NUM

← Previous revision		Revision as of 18:13, 12 September 2025
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	{{for\|the 1920s/1930s defender\|Billy Whelan (Scottish footballer)}}		{{for\|the 1920s/1930s defender\|Billy Whelan (Scottish footballer)}}
	{{other people\|William Whelan}}		{{other people\|William Whelan}}
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=~~April 2022~~}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2025}}
	{{Infobox football biography		{{Infobox football biography
	\| name = Liam Whelan		\| name = Liam Whelan
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	\| position = [[Inside forward]]		\| position = [[Inside forward]]
	\| youthyears1 = \|youthclubs1 = [[Home Farm F.C.\|Home Farm]]		\| youthyears1 = \|youthclubs1 = [[Home Farm F.C.\|Home Farm]]
	\| youthyears2 = \|youthclubs2 = [[Manchester United F.C.\|Manchester United]]		\| youthyears2 = 1953–1954 \|youthclubs2 = [[Manchester United F.C.\|Manchester United]]
	\| years1 = ~~1953–1958~~ \|clubs1 = [[Manchester United F.C.\|Manchester United]] \|caps1 = 79 \|goals1 = 43		\| years1 = 1954–1958 \|clubs1 = [[Manchester United F.C.\|Manchester United]] \|caps1 = 79 \|goals1 = 43
	\| nationalyears1 = 1956–1957 \|nationalteam1 = [[Republic of Ireland national football team\|Republic of Ireland]] \|nationalcaps1 = 4 \|nationalgoals1 = 0		\| nationalyears1 = 1956–1957 \|nationalteam1 = [[Republic of Ireland national football team\|Republic of Ireland]] \|nationalcaps1 = 4 \|nationalgoals1 = 0
	}}		}}
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	Whelan began his career with [[Home Farm F.C.\|Home Farm]] before joining Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 1953. He was capped four times for the [[Republic of Ireland national football team\|Republic of Ireland national team]] (including a surprising 4–1 victory against [[Holland football team\|Holland]] in [[Rotterdam]] in 1956) but did not score.<ref>{{Cite news \|date=11 May 1956 \|title=Eire Triumph Staggers Continent \|pages=16 \|work=Daily Mirror}}</ref> His brother John played for [[Shamrock Rovers]] and [[Drumcondra F.C.\|Drumcondra]] and his eldest brother Christy played for [[Transport F.C.\|Transport]].		Whelan began his career with [[Home Farm F.C.\|Home Farm]] before joining Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 1953. He was capped four times for the [[Republic of Ireland national football team\|Republic of Ireland national team]] (including a surprising 4–1 victory against [[Holland football team\|Holland]] in [[Rotterdam]] in 1956) but did not score.<ref>{{Cite news \|date=11 May 1956 \|title=Eire Triumph Staggers Continent \|pages=16 \|work=Daily Mirror}}</ref> His brother John played for [[Shamrock Rovers]] and [[Drumcondra F.C.\|Drumcondra]] and his eldest brother Christy played for [[Transport F.C.\|Transport]].

	He made his first appearance for United during the [[1954–55 in English football\|1954–55 season]] and quickly became a regular first-team player, and went on to make 98 first-team appearances in four seasons at United, scoring 52 goals. He was United's top scorer in the [[1956–57 in English football\|1956–57 season]], scoring 26 goals in the First Division and 33 in all competitions as United won their second successive league title and reached the [[1957–58 European Cup#Semi-finals\|semi-finals]] of the [[European Cup]]. He also gave a commanding display in the [[1957 FA Cup final]] despite losing 2–1 to [[Aston Villa F.C.\|Aston Villa]].<ref>{{Cite news \|date=4 May 1957 \|title=Blanchflower was Cup Final Hero \|pages=24 \|work=Leicester Evening Mail}}</ref> Such was the strength of the competition in the United first team that he was soon being kept out of the side by [[Bobby Charlton]]. He travelled with the United team to [[Belgrade]] for the fateful European Cup tie against [[Red Star Belgrade]], the day before the Munich air disaster, but did not play in the game.<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php \|title=United Front - Liam Whelan \|access-date=2012~~-11-06~~ \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617175807/http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php \|archive-date=2012~~-06-17~~ \|url-status=dead }}</ref>		He made his first appearance for United during the [[1954–55 in English football\|1954–55 season]] and quickly became a regular first-team player, and went on to make 98 first-team appearances in four seasons at United, scoring 52 goals. He was United's top scorer in the [[1956–57 in English football\|1956–57 season]], scoring 26 goals in the First Division and 33 in all competitions as United won their second successive league title and reached the [[1957–58 European Cup#Semi-finals\|semi-finals]] of the [[European Cup]]. He also gave a commanding display in the [[1957 FA Cup final]] despite losing 2–1 to [[Aston Villa F.C.\|Aston Villa]].<ref>{{Cite news \|date=4 May 1957 \|title=Blanchflower was Cup Final Hero \|pages=24 \|work=Leicester Evening Mail}}</ref> Such was the strength of the competition in the United first team that he was soon being kept out of the side by [[Bobby Charlton]]. He travelled with the United team to [[Belgrade]] for the fateful European Cup tie against [[Red Star Belgrade]], the day before the Munich air disaster, but did not play in the game.<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php \|title=United Front - Liam Whelan \|access-date=6 November 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617175807/http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php \|archive-date=17 June 2012 \|url-status=dead }}</ref>

	==Legacy==		==Legacy==
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	On 8 December 2006, the railway bridge on Fassaugh Road/Dowth Avenue junction in [[Cabra, Dublin\|Cabra]], [[Dublin]] 7, close to [[Dalymount Park]] was renamed in his honour. The campaign to have the bridge renamed was initiated and organised by members of the Cabra [[Gaelic Athletic Association\|GAA]] club, Naomh Fionbarra and sanctioned by Dublin City Council in early 2006. It is close to St Attracta Road, the street in which he was born. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Whelan's Manchester United teammate at the time of the air crash, [[Bobby Charlton\|Sir Bobby Charlton]].		On 8 December 2006, the railway bridge on Fassaugh Road/Dowth Avenue junction in [[Cabra, Dublin\|Cabra]], [[Dublin]] 7, close to [[Dalymount Park]] was renamed in his honour. The campaign to have the bridge renamed was initiated and organised by members of the Cabra [[Gaelic Athletic Association\|GAA]] club, Naomh Fionbarra and sanctioned by Dublin City Council in early 2006. It is close to St Attracta Road, the street in which he was born. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Whelan's Manchester United teammate at the time of the air crash, [[Bobby Charlton\|Sir Bobby Charlton]].

	On 4 February 2008, the Irish national postal body [[An Post]] issued a 55c [[postage stamp]] for the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster showing a photo of Liam Whelan.<ref>{{cite web \| title = Irish Stamps Collectors News 1/08 \| publisher = [[An Post]] \| url = http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf \| accessdate = 2008~~-02-04~~ \| url-status = dead \| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721124930/http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf \| archivedate = 2011~~-07-21~~ }}</ref>		On 4 February 2008, the Irish national postal body [[An Post]] issued a 55c [[postage stamp]] for the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster showing a photo of Liam Whelan.<ref>{{cite web \| title = Irish Stamps Collectors News 1/08 \| publisher = [[An Post]] \| url = http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf \| accessdate = 4 February 2008 \| url-status = dead \| archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721124930/http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf \| archivedate = 21 July 2011 }}</ref>

	Whelan is buried in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.the42.ie/liam-whelan-munich-air-disaster-busby-babes-60th-anniversary-3785714-Feb2018/ \|title=The lost genius of Irish football: Remembering Liam Whelan, Dublin's Busby Babe\|date=6 February 2018\|work=The 42\|accessdate=14 February 2018}}</ref>		Whelan is buried in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.the42.ie/liam-whelan-munich-air-disaster-busby-babes-60th-anniversary-3785714-Feb2018/ \|title=The lost genius of Irish football: Remembering Liam Whelan, Dublin's Busby Babe\|date=6 February 2018\|work=The 42\|accessdate=14 February 2018}}</ref>

imported>Denisarona at 08:05, 21 December 2024

2024-12-21T08:05:57Z

New page

{{Short description|Irish footballer (1935–1958)}}
{{for|the 1920s/1930s defender|Billy Whelan (Scottish footballer)}}
{{other people|William Whelan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Liam Whelan
| image = Liam Whelan.jpg
| caption = Whelan in 1957
| fullname = William Augustine Whelan
| birth_date = {{birth date|1935|4|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| height =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1958|2|6|1935|4|1|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Munich]], West Germany
| position = [[Inside forward]]
| youthyears1 = |youthclubs1 = [[Home Farm F.C.|Home Farm]]
| youthyears2 = |youthclubs2 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]]
| years1 = 1953–1958 |clubs1 = [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] |caps1 = 79 |goals1 = 43
| nationalyears1 = 1956–1957 |nationalteam1 = [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] |nationalcaps1 = 4 |nationalgoals1 = 0
}}
'''William Augustine Whelan''' (1 April 1935 – 6 February 1958), known as '''Billy Whelan''' or '''Liam Whelan''', was an Irish [[association football|footballer]] who played as an [[Forward (association football)|inside-forward]]. He died at the age of 22, as one of eight [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] players who were killed in the [[Munich air disaster]].

Whelan was born in [[Dublin]]. He was one of seven children born to John and Elizabeth Whelan. His father John was an accomplished centre half-back for Dublin club Brunswick and was instrumental in winning the FAI Junior Shield in 1924.<ref>{{Cite news |date=5 May 1924 |title=Junior Notes |pages=4 |work=Dublin Evening Telegraph}}</ref> His mother was an avid [[Shamrock Rovers F.C.|Shamrock Rovers]] supporter.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 February 1988 |title=Liam Whelan - a Talent Never To Be Forgotten. |pages=16 |work=Irish Independent}}</ref> His father died in 1943 when Whelan was just eight years old. He was not a confident flyer and just before the aeroplane took off from [[Munich]], he was heard to say: "This may be death, but I'm ready."{{Citation needed|date=February 2020}}

He played [[Gaelic games]], winning a medal for St Peter's of Phibsboro. [[Dublin GAA]] club [[Naomh Fionnbarra GAA|Naomh Fionnbarra]] successfully had a railway bridge situated near the place of Whelan's birth renamed after him in 2006, while the Naomh Fionnbarra clubhouse also has Whelan's Manchester United membership card.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://hoganstand.com/article/index/185102|title=Remembering 'Busby Babe' Whelan and his GAA connection|work=Hogan Stand|date=6 February 2021}}</ref>

==Club career==
[[File:Manchester United FC 1957.jpg|thumb|Whelan (back row, far left) in a [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] team photo in 1957]]
Whelan began his career with [[Home Farm F.C.|Home Farm]] before joining Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 1953. He was capped four times for the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland national team]] (including a surprising 4–1 victory against [[Holland football team|Holland]] in [[Rotterdam]] in 1956) but did not score.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 May 1956 |title=Eire Triumph Staggers Continent |pages=16 |work=Daily Mirror}}</ref> His brother John played for [[Shamrock Rovers]] and [[Drumcondra F.C.|Drumcondra]] and his eldest brother Christy played for [[Transport F.C.|Transport]].

He made his first appearance for United during the [[1954–55 in English football|1954–55 season]] and quickly became a regular first-team player, and went on to make 98 first-team appearances in four seasons at United, scoring 52 goals. He was United's top scorer in the [[1956–57 in English football|1956–57 season]], scoring 26 goals in the First Division and 33 in all competitions as United won their second successive league title and reached the [[1957–58 European Cup#Semi-finals|semi-finals]] of the [[European Cup]]. He also gave a commanding display in the [[1957 FA Cup final]] despite losing 2–1 to [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 May 1957 |title=Blanchflower was Cup Final Hero |pages=24 |work=Leicester Evening Mail}}</ref> Such was the strength of the competition in the United first team that he was soon being kept out of the side by [[Bobby Charlton]]. He travelled with the United team to [[Belgrade]] for the fateful European Cup tie against [[Red Star Belgrade]], the day before the Munich air disaster, but did not play in the game.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php |title=United Front - Liam Whelan |access-date=2012-11-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617175807/http://www.united-front.org/face/liam_whelan.php |archive-date=2012-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:Liam Whelan tombstone.jpg|thumb|upright|Whelan's grave in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]], decorated with a Manchester United scarf]]

On 8 December 2006, the railway bridge on Fassaugh Road/Dowth Avenue junction in [[Cabra, Dublin|Cabra]], [[Dublin]] 7, close to [[Dalymount Park]] was renamed in his honour. The campaign to have the bridge renamed was initiated and organised by members of the Cabra [[Gaelic Athletic Association|GAA]] club, Naomh Fionbarra and sanctioned by Dublin City Council in early 2006. It is close to St Attracta Road, the street in which he was born. The unveiling ceremony was performed by Whelan's Manchester United teammate at the time of the air crash, [[Bobby Charlton|Sir Bobby Charlton]].

On 4 February 2008, the Irish national postal body [[An Post]] issued a 55c [[postage stamp]] for the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster showing a photo of Liam Whelan.<ref>{{cite web | title = Irish Stamps Collectors News 1/08 | publisher = [[An Post]] | url = http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf | accessdate = 2008-02-04 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20110721124930/http://www.irishstamps.ie/IrishStamps/downloads/CollectorsNewsIssue21.pdf | archivedate = 2011-07-21 }}</ref>

Whelan is buried in [[Glasnevin Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the42.ie/liam-whelan-munich-air-disaster-busby-babes-60th-anniversary-3785714-Feb2018/ |title=The lost genius of Irish football: Remembering Liam Whelan, Dublin's Busby Babe|date=6 February 2018|work=The 42|accessdate=14 February 2018}}</ref>


==Honours==
'''Manchester United'''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mufcinfo.com/manupag/a-z_player_archive/a-z_player_archive_pages/whelan_william.html |title=Billy Whelan|website=mufcinfo.com}}</ref>
* [[Football League First Division]]: [[1955–56 Football League|1955–56]], [[1956–57 Football League|1956–57]]
* [[FA Charity Shield]]: [[1956 FA Charity Shield|1956]], [[1957 FA Charity Shield|1957]]
* [[FA Cup]] runner-up: [[1956–57 FA Cup|1956–57]]<ref>{{cite book |first1=Leslie |first2=Jack |last1=Vernon |last2=Rollin |title=Rothmans Football Yearbook 1977–78 |year=1977 |publisher=Brickfield Publications Ltd |location=London |isbn=0354-09018-6 |page=490}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Munich air disaster}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whelan, Billy}}
[[Category:1935 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:Association footballers from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Men's association football inside forwards]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Gaelic footballers who switched code]]
[[Category:Home Farm F.C. players]]
[[Category:Manchester United F.C. players]]
[[Category:Republic of Ireland men's association footballers]]
[[Category:Republic of Ireland men's international footballers]]
[[Category:People educated at Synge Street CBS]]
[[Category:People from Cabra, Dublin]]
[[Category:Footballers killed in the Munich air disaster]]
[[Category:20th-century Irish sportsmen]]