He made 108 first-team appearances for United, scoring two goals, the second of which came in the first leg of the fateful European Cup quarter-final tie against Red Star Belgrade. He died on 6 February 1958 in the crash at Munich airport after the plane stopped to refuel on the return flight.
In his time at United, he was nicknamed "Snakehips" for his trademark body swerve.[1]
Aged 21 years and 3 months, he was the youngest of the 23 people to die. An accommodation building at the University of Salford is named after him – the Eddie Colman Court is a block of flats located near the main campus.[2]
Eddie Colman's headstone, Weaste cemetery
A statue of Colman was erected at his graveside in Weaste Cemetery, Weaste, Salford, after his death, but it was badly damaged by vandals within a few years and after being repaired was placed in the home of his father Dick. Dick, who died in October 1986 at the age of 76, is buried alongside Eddie and Eddie's mother Elizabeth, who died in November 1971 at the age of 62.[3]
Twenty-seven workers at a Manchester boxmaking firm were dismissed from their jobs for leaving work to attend Colman's funeral, but were all soon reinstated.[4]
Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
