The Harry Gregg Collection - The ‘Hero of Munich’

Busby era. A record fee. A World Cup goalkeeper.

Harry Gregg was a central figure at Manchester United during the Matt Busby era, making 247 appearances for the club. He joined United in December 1957 for a fee of around £23000, which at the time made him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. 

At international level, he was capped 25 times for Northern Ireland between 1954 and 1963, and represented his country at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden - where he was widely recognised as one of the tournament’s leading goalkeepers, and was named the tournament’s best goalkeeper.

Munich, February 1958.

In February 1958, Gregg was part of the Manchester United squad returning from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade when their aircraft stopped to refuel in Munich. 

After two aborted take-off attempts, the plane crashed on the third, killing 23 people, including eight players and three members of the club’s staff.

In the aftermath, Gregg went back to the wreckage to bring survivors out, including team-mates Bobby Charlton, Dennis Viollet and Jackie Blanchflower, as well as a young child. The actions led to the nickname that followed him for life. The ‘Hero of Munich’.

Back on the pitch, two weeks later.

Just two weeks after the disaster, Gregg returned to the pitch and kept a clean sheet as a depleted United side defeated Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup. 

Under the guidance of Jimmy Murphy, with Matt Busby recovering from his injuries, the club mounted a remarkable cup run and reached the 1958 FA Cup Final in the same season as the crash, ultimately finishing runners-up to Bolton Wanderers. 

Reflecting on the events many years later, Gregg said in 2018, “I would be telling lies if I said that I thought about it all the time. In fact I would go insane.”

The centrepiece lot. The 1958 FA Cup Final shirt.

The headline piece is Gregg’s match-worn green goalkeeper shirt from the 1958 FA Cup Final.

Ten red shirts were prepared for that final. Only one was made in green, leaving a single surviving example from one of the most significant matches in the club’s history.

The final itself remains debated. Bolton’s second goal came after Gregg was bundled over the goal line by Nat Lofthouse, in an era when goalkeepers had far less protection than they do today. The incident became part of a wider debate that later fed into changes in the laws of the game.

Match shirts and swaps from European football’s sharp end.

The collection also includes match-worn and swapped shirts from domestic and European fixtures, reflecting Gregg’s standing in the game.

Highlights include a green Real Madrid goalkeeper shirt worn by Rogelio Domínguez in 1959 and acquired by Gregg following a post-match swap, as well as a black number one Benfica shirt worn by Costa Pereira during the European Cup quarter-final second leg against Manchester United in 1966.

That match, played in Lisbon and won 5-1 by United, is remembered as the occasion on which George Best was famously dubbed “El Beatle”.

Offered on the 11th of February 2026

The Harry Gregg Collection will be offered in our Sporting Legends - Past & Present auction on the 11th of February. 

The auction also features important collections from figures such as Sammy Lee, giving collectors the opportunity to acquire items connected to some of the most significant moments and personalities in FA Cup and football history.

Further details on the collection will be released soon - stay tuned and register your interest now.