On this day in 1960, Dennis Viollet struck a @ManUtd club record when he scored his 32nd league goal of the season.
Still stands as a record - United have had some wonderful strikers before and since, but that record is still held by Dennis, a world class forward himself.
By the time he left for Stoke City in 1962, Viollet had become one of United's highest all-time goal scorers with 179 goals in 293 appearances, making him the club's joint-fourth highest goal scorer alongside George Best.
What many fans don't know is that Viollet scored United's first ever European Cup goal on September 12, 1956, against Anderlecht in Brussels, with an assist from Eddie Colman.
United won that historic match 2-0 in front of 35,000 fans. Viollet went on to become the tournament's top scorer in the 1956-57 season, finding the target nine times. In one memorable match, he scored four goals in a 10-0 win over Anderlecht that remains United's biggest competitive victory.
After leaving United, Dennis' love for football took him across the Atlantic, where he played an influential role in the growth of women's football, coaching girls from youth stages all the way up to collegiate level. His daughter recalled: "My dad always believed girls deserved the same opportunities as boys and loved to coach them, he always said they listened better than the boys!"
Dennis Viollet died on 6 March 1999 at his Florida home after battling against a malignant brain tumour, just two months before United's historic treble in Barcelona.
His ashes rest in the goalmouth at the Stretford End, where they belong. That 32-goal record still stands. Not Ronaldo. Not Rooney. Not van Nistelrooy. Just a quiet, graceful man from Moss Side who survived tragedy, wore the armband, and showed us all what resilience looks like.
Dennis Viollet. We will always remember the name.
2/2
One of my fave photos from the 1950s.
Tommy Taylor, Dennis Viollet, David Pegg and Wilf McGuiness. pictured with Manager Matt Busby in 1957. When England was beautiful - look at the scenery. Vintage memories and worth looking at. A real treasure 🔴⚪️⚫️⚽️
We have some big news to share 👀🏟We have some big news to share 👀🏟We have some big news to share 👀🏟We have some big news to share 👀🏟We have some big news to share 👀🏟️
🇾🇪 Remembering the legendary Dennis Viollet
There are some names in Manchester United's history that remain through generations, spoken with reverence in pubs and on terraces. Dennis Viollet deserves to be shouted from the rooftops just as loudly as any of them.
Renowned for his remarkable goal scoring ability, Viollet became an essential part of Matt Busby's legendary Busby Babes, forming a formidable partnership with Tommy Taylor. In the 1959-60 season, Viollet set a club record by scoring 32 league goals in a single season, a club record that's stood for 65 years, outlasting the efforts of Ronaldo, Rooney, and every other striker who's worn the red shirt since.
He achieved that record just two seasons after Munich, as captain of a team still rebuilding from devastation. Sir Bobby Charlton once recalled: "Dennis was a phenomenally sharp striker. He would feint to shoot, his marker would lunge; Dennis would wriggle into half a yard of space, then the defender would be off balance, and that's when our man would hit the ball."
Like other survivors of Munich, Dennis carried invisible scars that went far deeper than physical injuries.
The trauma of losing teammates, friends, and that brilliant young side haunted him long after he returned to the pitch. His daughter Rachel explained: "After Munich, he couldn't sleep at night, so he was going out a lot, going out on the town, just because he couldn't get to sleep. Throughout his life, it stayed with him."
1/2
#DennisViollet #MUFC #ManchesterUnited
Remembering former goalkeeper and Munich survivor Ray Wood who was born on this day in 1931. Pictured here signing autographs outside Old Trafford with Dennis Viollet, circa 1957 🇾🇪🇾🇪🇾🇪
Zdecydowanie jeden z najwybitniejszych napastników w historii klubu. Piąty najlepszy strzelec w dziejach Manchesteru United, ex aequo z Georgem Bestem.
Dennis Viollet bo o nim mowa, urodził się 20 września 1933 roku w Manchesterze. Do klubowej szkółki United trafił we wrześniu 1949, mając zaledwie 16 lat. W pierwszym zespole debiutował 11 kwietnia 1953 roku, w meczu przeciwko Newcastle United. Wówczas zespół Busby'ego mierzył się na St. James' Park i wygrał spotkanie 2-1 po dwóch trafieniach Tommy'ego Taylora.
Viollet z Manchesterem United zdobył dwa mistrzostwa Anglii, w 1956 i 1957 roku. Dotarł także do dwóch półfinałów Pucharu Europy, rok po roku w sezonach 1956/57 i 1957/58. Jeśli chodzi o rozgrywki europejskie zwłaszcza sezon 56/57 był dla Violleta niezwykle udany. Anglik został królem strzelców w rozgrywkach Pucharu Europy z 9 bramkami na koncie, pokonując w klasyfikacji drugiego Tommy'ego Taylora (8) i trzeciego Alfredo Di Stefano (7). Razem z wspomnianym Tommym Taylorem i Billy Whelan'em stanowili prawdopodobnie najlepsze ofensywne trio w dziejach Manchesteru United. Żeby nie być gołosłownym, w sezonie 1956/57 wszyscy trzej strzelili łącznie 93 bramki, z czego Violett zdobył 26 bramek.
Dennis przeżył katastrofę w Monachium z 6 lutego 1958 roku i pomógł w odbudowie zespołu. Niedługo potem, w sezonie 1959/60 został pierwszym graczem Manchesteru United który zdobył tytuł króla strzelców ligi. Wówczas w lidze strzelił 32 bramki (w 36 występach!), pod tym względem jest to najlepszy wynik w historii Manchesteru United. Najbliżej tego wyniku był dekady później Cristiano Ronaldo który w swoim najlepszym sezonie zdobył 31 bramek w Premier League. Dla przykładu, Denis Law w swoim rekordowym sezonie 1963/64 (46 trafień ogółem) - w lidze trafił 30 razy co jest pod tym względem trzecim najlepszym wynikiem w historii klubu.
Dennis Viollet dla Manchesteru United wykręcił niesamowite liczby. W 294 występach dla klubu z Old Trafford zdobył aż 179 bramek. Następnie w 1962 roku przeniósł się do Stoke City. Zmarł równo 27 lat temu (w wieku 65 lat) - 6 marca 1999 roku w Jacksonville w USA
ℹ️ Red Devil Darecki
#OnThisDay 1960, Dennis Viollet one of the Busby Babes to survive the Munich air disaster goes into the record books by scoring his 32rd league goal of the season breaking all previous records. But United go on to lose 4-2 against Sheffield Wednesday. #MUFC