The Dog that Saved Manchester United
The club was formed in 1878 by the Carriage and Wagon department of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. Named after the location of its depot, Newton Heath started the 1892-93 season in the First Division, which it would be relegated from after two seasons. By the turn of the century the future was looking bleak: the club had failed to earn promotion, and in January 1902 it had been served with a winding-up order. A fundraising event had taken place the year before, but this is not what saved the club—it was a wandering St Bernard called The Major, the dog of captain Harry Stafford, who would have that honour.
The Major eventually turned up at a restaurant in Manchester, catching the eye of local brewer John Henry Davies, who had grown up in Chorlton-upon-Medlock. Davies’ daughter Elsie fell in love with the dog and the businessman tried to strike a deal with Stafford to buy him. The captain adored his dog, which frequented Bank Street on matchdays with a collection box around his neck, and refused, until Davies offered a brighter future for his beloved football team. Stafford relented, and for her 12th birthday she was gifted Major. Davies and four other businessmen invested in the club, alongside Stafford, announcing that they would each pledge £200 to save it at a meeting at the New Islington Hall, Ancoats in March 1920. There would be another meeting at the Hall a month later, and the green and gold of Newton Heath would become the red and white of Manchester United.
Harry Stafford became a director of the club, and also a licensee at one of Davies’ pubs, The Bridge Inn in Ancoats. Under new ownership United were promoted from the Second Division in 1906, winning the First Division in 1908. Its success under Ernest Mangnall led to Davies moving the club to a new stadium in 1910: Old Trafford.
The Major lived a long, happy life with the Davies family, passing away at the age of 17, his name cemented in history as the saviour of Manchester United.
For more, see
Amankowicz, Malgorzata. How a dog saved Manchester United. 2 March 2021. <https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/how-a-missing-st-bernard-dog-helped-to-save-manchester-united-from-bankruptcy>.
BBC. 1973: How ‘Major’ the dog was part of Manchester United’s formation. 21 June 2024. <https://www.bbc.co.uk/videos/c99e87z0818o>.
“Manchester United.” Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 26 Apr. 1902, p. 7. British Library Newspapers, link-gale-com.manchester.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/GR3217333327/BNCN?u=jrycal5&sid=bookmark-BNCN&pg=17&xid=43ef3f72.
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