Manchester United will unveil a statue of legendary figure Jimmy Murphy at Old Trafford on the 65th anniversary of the Welshman leading the club out at Wembley.
Murphy's statue was announced in May 2021 to celebrate his huge contribution to United. He joined the club in 1946 and spent the next few decades at the club in a variety of roles until 1971, before his death in 1989 at the age of 79.
The most famous of these were as Sir Matt Busby's assistant and first-team coach. He took charge of United for the remainder of the 1957-58 season after Busby was injured in the Munich Air Disaster, which claimed the lives of 23 people and included several of the famed Busby Babes.
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Now, United have announced that the statue to Murphy will be officially unveiled on Wednesday, May 3, with a ceremony taking place between 5pm and 5:30pm. It will be 65 years to the day that Murphy led United out at Wembley for the 1958 FA Cup final.
Unfortunately for United, things did not go their way that day. Bolton Wanderers emerged as 2-0 victors as legendary Whites forward Nat Lofthouse scored both goals and won the famous trophy for his hometown club.
United stadium announcer Alan Keegan will compere the event and words will be heard from both the club and the Murphy family before the statue is officially unveiled and seen by United fans for the first time. It will take place outside the Stretford end with the public invited to attend from 4:30pm, with complimentary soft drinks on offer.
The statue has come to fruition after talks with a coalition of United supporters and the Murphy family. It has been designed and developed by award-winning sculptor Alan Herriot, with the location of the statue being outside the Stretford End as it is close to an area where Murphy coached the Busby Babes on a training pitch made of ash cinders.
A United statement read: "As we come close to completion of the statue, the club would like to place on record once again its thanks to the family of Jimmy Murphy and the coalition of United supporters’ groups who have helped develop this important project."
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