Described as the first footballing superstar, he was a vital figure in United’s first five trophy triumphs – the Division One titles of 1908 and 1911, the FA Cup of 1909 and the Charity Shields of 1908 and 1911 – and also captained rivals Manchester City to their first-ever trophy, the 1904 FA Cup.
But among his many achievements, he remains our oldest ever player, a record he set 100 years ago to this day when making his final appearance for United at the age of 46 years and 281 days, on 7 May 1921.
To mark this anniversary, and to also welcome the imminent reopening of the Manchester United Museum on 21 May 2021, we look at the life of the ‘Welsh Wizard’ through several artefacts, while analysing what it was like to be a professional footballer in the early 1900s.