George Best

George Best (22 May 1946 – 25 November 2005) was a Northern Irish footballer, primarily a right winger for Manchester United. Renowned for his dribbling, he is widely regarded as one of the sport's all-time greats and among its most naturally gifted players. In 1968, he was named European Footballer of the Year, and he placed fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. His style combined pace, balance, feints, skill at beating defenders, and goal-scoring ability. In 1999, he was one of six nominees for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Century, and he became an inaugural inductee into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2002.

Best was born in Belfast on 22 May 1946, the first child of Richard "Dickie" Best and Anne Withers. Raised in the Cregagh estate, he had four sisters—Carol, Barbara, Julie, and Grace—and a brother, Ian Busby Best. His mother, a former Irish hockey international, said he could stand at ten months and was never without a ball, even taking one to bed. His father was an Orangeman, and George carried banner strings in the local Cregagh lodge; he later noted the Order's importance to his family. The family belonged to the Free Presbyterian faith. Academically gifted, Best passed the 11-plus in 1957 and attended Grosvenor High School, but he played truant because the school focused on rugby. He transferred to Lisnasharragh Secondary School, where he could concentrate on football, and played for Cregagh Boys Club. He supported Glentoran and Wolverhampton Wanderers. His mother died in 1978 at 55 from alcoholism-related cardiovascular disease; his father died in 2008 at 88.

At 15, Manchester United scout Bob Bishop spotted Best in Belfast and sent a telegram to manager Matt Busby: "I think I've found you a genius." Glentoran had previously rejected him as "too small and light." After a trial, United's chief scout Joe Armstrong signed him. Homesick, Best initially stayed only two days before returning to Northern Ireland. He came back to Manchester and spent two years as an amateur—English clubs couldn't take Northern Irish apprentices—working as an errand boy on the Manchester Ship Canal while training twice a week. He made his First Division debut at 17 on 14 September 1963, a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. After a spell in the reserves, he scored his first goal in his second first-team appearance, a 5-1 victory over B