Stalybridge Celtic are proud to confirm that former player Bert Whalley will be honoured with the unveiling of a plaque at Bower Fold followed by a fixture between Celtic and Manchester United Under 23s in July.

The plaque which will be unveiled by the Professional Footballers’ Association honours Celtic’s former player and Manchester United’s former player/coach will be unveiled at Bower Fold at 6pm on Tuesday July 27 with the fixture between the two sides to follow at 7:45pm.

Bert Whalley was born on August 6 1912 in Ashton-under-Lyne and first joined Celtic in 1933.


The central defender moved on to Manchester United where he was recruited by Matt Busby and joined the clubs coaching staff, with a key focus on the development of youth players, known as the Busby Babes.

Bert tragically lost his life in the Munich disaster on February 6 1958.

Tickets for the game vs Manchester United’s Under 23s will be made available in due course.

Bert’s grandchildren Christian and Lindsay Vare said: “On behalf of the family, we are so proud to be a part of the unveiling of a PFA blue plaque in memory of our grandad, Herbert Whalley.

“His daughter Linda, our mum who sadly passed away two years ago started the process, and would be absolutely delighted to see a public acknowledgement of her dad’s achievements.

“To have both teams that Bert played for, Stalybridge Celtic and Manchester United playing on his behalf is a great honour.

“Bert’s passion was developing young football talent and watching the game would definitely have made both him and mum smile.”