Major : Manchester United's saviour?

This particular anecdote is the about the saviour of Manchester United Football Club, or as it was known then, Newton Heath LYR Football Club. The saviour in the context is a dog which belonged to the then captain of the club Harry Stafford.

It was early days of the club since its formation in the year 1878. The team was a part of the Carriage Department of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway & was run by the company. In the year 1886, the team signed its first professional player which meant an increase in the wage bill. The team administration further went on to build two stands at their home stadium, North Bank. At the same time, Newton Heath opted to join the Football Alliance instead of the Football League, against the wishes of the parent company. Following this, the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway disassociated the team from itself and left to fend off for themselves.

Major - With his collection tin.

Newton Heath, which was already in a spot of bother with regards to the finances, was in a financial turmoil now. The condition deteriorated when were evicted from their North Road home and were forced to move to Bank Street. It did help when the team was relegated to the second division of the Football League, of which they was part due the merger of Football Alliance with the League. Finally, in the year 1902, the club was served with winding-up order due to its mounting debt.

The then captain, Harry Stafford was a very enterprising man. Apart from leading his side on the pitch, he relentlessly worked towards organising funds to keep the team afloat. It is believed that he strung a collection tin around the neck of his dog; a Saint Bernard named Major, and sent him around the ground to collect money during match days. Upon the service of winding-up order on the club, a Bazaar was organised to raise funds to pay off the debts of the club. The Bazaar was a big failure as it was not able to raise funds and it was even more painful for Harry Stafford because Major had not returned back after being sent to collect money around the town.

The Souvenir made for the Bazaar.

Harry had lost hope of finding him when he was alerted about the dog being in possession of John Henry Davies. Major couldn't have walked on to a better person as Davies was looking exactly the same kind of a dog for his daughter. Also, Davies was one of the wealthiest people in Manchester and had investments in several sports. Sensing the opportunity, Stafford struck a deal with Davies. Davies was to take over the club and rid it of all the debts and would look after the running of the club. In return, we would get to keep as major for his daughter. The deal materialised and Manchester United, as it was renamed by Davies, was brought back from the brink of death.

John Davies

The club has since moved on to become one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football. Major named as the mascot for Manchester United from 1902 although he retired in the 1905-06 season probably due to ill-health. It is hard to speculate where the club would have been if not for Major’s intervention.