Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish football player and manager.Born to Alexander and Nellie Busby in a two-roomed pitman's cottage in the mining village of Orbiston, Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Busby was raised a practising Roman Catholic of Lithuanian ancestry. When he was born, Busby's mother was told by the doctor "A footballer has come into this house today". Busby's father – a miner – was killed by a German sniper during the First World War at the Battle of the Somme, while three of his uncles were killed in France with the Cameron Highlanders.
Busby would often accompany his father down into the coal pits, but his true aspiration was to become a professional footballer. In his 1973 autobiography Busby described himself as being as football mad as any other boy in Bellshill citing in particular the impression made on him by Alex James and Hughie Gallacher.
Aged 17, Busby signed for Manchester City on a one-year contract worth £5 per week on 11 February 1928, with the provision for him to leave at the end of the deal if he still wished to emigrate to the United States with his mother. He decided to stay and made his debut for City on 2 November 1929, more than 18 months after first signing for the Blues, when he played at inside left in a 3–1 win at home to Middlesbrough in the First Division. He made 11 more appearances for City that season, all at inside forward, scoring five goals in the process. Busby was sold to Liverpool for £8,000 on 12 March 1936, having made more than 200 appearances for Manchester City.
During the Second World War, Busby served as a football coach in the Army Physical Training Corps, and the experience resulted in Liverpool offering him the job of assistant to their then-manager George Kay. However, the experience also forged Busby's opinions about how football should be played and governed, and when it became clear that they differed from those of the Liverpool board, their chairman Billy McConnell allowed Busby to pursue alternate employment.
