Charlie Mitten

Mitten signed with Manchester United in 1936, and was in the junior side with future colleagues Stan Pearson and Johnny Carey. However, due to the suspension of league football owing to the outbreak of war, his first professional appearance did not come until 1946. During the war, Mitten served in the Royal Air Force, guesting for whatever club was nearest his station. He had two seasons playing for Chelsea and made 22 guest appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals. After the war, Mitten rejoined Manchester United and proved himself as an excellent winger during the early years of Matt Busby's time at the club. He was part of a talented forward line alongside Jimmy Delaney, Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley and Johnny Morris, which became known as the 'Famous Five' of Old Trafford. In his four years at United, he helped the club finish as runners-up in the league three times and in fourth place once. He also played in the 4–2 win over Blackpool in the 1948 FA Cup Final. Over the course of his United career, he made 152 appearances in total, scoring 61 goals.

The "Bogota Bandit"

In 1950, United went on a 12-game tour of America, where they played in front of massive, sell-out crowds. It was at this point that Mitten questioned the small amount of money footballers received – the maximum wage in Britain was £12 a week – compared to their evident global popularity. This point was underlined when two other British footballers, Neil Franklin and George Mountford, signed…

While still a player, Mitten was appointed player-coach of Mansfield Town. Mitten joined the club in February 1956 and remained there for over two years until June 1958. He played 100 league games, scoring 25 league goals. His reign was a success and Mitten's side was praised for their entertaining football. In the 1957–58 season, his side scored 100 goals in League. In his biography, Mitten stated: "The Mansfield job was the best I ever had in football". At Mansfield, he also gave a debut his 16-year-old son, John, who later went on to play for a number of clubs, including Coventry City. In June 1958, Mitten left Mansfield and joined Newcastle United. Initially, he enjoyed success at the club and steered the club to a pair of solid mid-table finishes, despite an ongoing power struggle between chairman William McKeag (who had installed Mitten and gave him full control over the team) and director and former manager Stan Seymour (who felt the board should be able to veto Mitten's tactics and team selections). Newcastle gained a reputation for free-scoring football under Mitten, but they also proved to be defensively frail, and they ultimately paid the price for this in 1961, when they were relegated after a season in which they scored 86 goals but conceded 109. Mitten was allowed to remain in charge and attempt to steer the club back into the First Division, but instead they found themselves fighting relegation to the Third Division, eventually resulting in Mitten's dismissal…

Several of Mitten's brothers also played professional football, and many male members of his extended family, into the next generation or two, were at least semi-professional. Mitten died in January 2002, shortly before his 81st birthday. His nephew Albert Scanlon (1935–2009), signed for Manchester United soon after Mitten's departure in the early 1950s and remained with the club until 1960. He was a survivor of the Munich air disaster. His great-nephew, Andy Mitten, is a football journalist and has been editor of the Manchester United fanzine United We Stand since the late 1980s, while another great-nephew, Sam Mitten, is on the books at Stockport County. Jonathan Mitten, also a great-nephew, was the first signing for F.C. United of Manchester.

Manchester United

FA Cup: 1947–48