 A UNIQUE WAY TO CELEBRATE GEORGE BEST’S 75TH BIRTHDAY

A Unique Way to Celebrate George Best’s 75th Birthday by Ray Calleja

Anever-ending argument among fans is about identifying the greatest Manchester United player of all time. In the 143 years of the club’s history, players have come and gone, but there is no doubt that George Best is likely to feature in many fans’ top 5 if not higher.

George Best was a right winger who wore the famous number seven red shirt amongst others. He scored in extra-time to help United win the 1968 European Cup final against Benfica, scooping UEFA’s Ballon d’Or in the same year. He also won two titles with United in the 1964-65 and 1966-67 season and was also top-scorer in the English First Division for five consecutive years.

Arguably, he was the most naturally gifted footballers Britain has ever produced.

Playing under Sir Matt Busby, Best had electric pace, balance, vision, superb close control, style and charisma. He could control the ball like no one else could and left defenders in his wake. He scored some wonderful goals in over 500 appearances for the Red Devils.

Born on 22 May 1946 in Belfast, he turned professional on his 17th birthday in 1963 and made his debut for United in September of the same year and scored on his second appearance. He soon won his first cap for Northern Ireland.

He went on to make 361 league appearances for Manchester United, 470 in all competitions, in a career that brought him a total of 179 goals in a United shirt. He represented Northern Ireland 37 times between 1964 and 1977.

He died on 25 November 2005, aged just 59 with a lung infection and multiple organ failure, brought on by his alcohol-related problems. and to honour this footballing legend, two fans from the West Midlands, Jim Cadman and Bernie Smith, launched a project they called The Bestie 75, which includes a set of limited-edition trade cards and also a series of exhibitions that will include planned visits to Belfast, Manchester, London, Dudley and Glasgow.

When an 8-year-old Bernie found a George Best trade card in a packet of Barrett sweet cigarettes, he had no idea it would lead to a lifetime of collecting souvenirs and memorabilia of his idol. Sixty years later, he has thousands of pieces of souvenirs which have featured in a number of exhibitions including ones at the National Football Museum in Manchester. He is also often contacted about lending items from his collection to be used in exhibitions related to George Best, which is an indication of the ongoing interest in Best’s career and life, despite having died more than 15 years ago.

With Bernie’s vast collection of George Best memorabilia, it was no surprise when Jim (Cadman) contacted him to ask for his help to help launch the Bestie 75 project. Jim, who is also the chairman of the Duncan Edwards Tribute, has authored a number of football heritage books and says he was originally approached about writing a book about Best. However, since so many books have already been written about the Northern Irish superstar, he wanted to do something different to honour his memory and that is how the series of trade cards came about.

“We like to think of our initiative as a building block in celebrating his legacy. There needs to be a new light shone on George Best to remember him and to capture the myriad of fascinating stories surrounding him. … I wanted to do something different and unique. The idea came to mind for a collection of what we used to call ‘chewing gum’ cards, reflecting everything from the start to the end of his career,” says Jim.

The card collection, called The Bestie 75, includes a comprehensive range of photographs and original artwork showing George Best playing for Manchester United and Northern Ireland and other clubs he played for after leaving United, including his time in America. The collection also features football memorabilia such as football shirts, boots, medals, trophies, original artwork, programmes, books, advertising material, personally signed souvenirs plus a range of the original fashion items that were sold under the George Best label in the 1960s and 70s. On the back of the cards there are anecdotes, general information, and statistics related to the player’s career achievements and milestones.

The first official Bestie 75 memorabilia exhibition will be held in Dudley, West Midlands, on 30 September, where both exMan Utd legends, Duncan Edwards and George Best, will be honoured.

The set of 75 football trade cards was featured in The Card Scene Magazine issue no. 38 (April – June 2021), which devoted its latest 48-page issue entirely to George Best. The publication revealed that a single football card of George Best which had been given away free with a packet of Barrett sweet cigarettes in 1964 was sold at a recent auction in the United States for a staggering £2,768. Replicas of the 1964 Barrett card and a 1977 portrait of the player playing for Northern Ireland by friend and artist Paul Trevillion are included in Jim Cadman’s new limited-edition collection of cards.

You can see the special edition of this magazine in the pictures on the right, along with a set of the Bestie 75 Tribute Preview Cards along with a limited edition of the George Best 75

pin badge. The project has attracted interest from across the world with orders from fans living in the US and Canada to Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe.

When speaking to Jim about his card collection, he had this to say to us: “There was no more skilful or charismatic footballer in the world ever. We wanted to focus on his talents. The card collection tells the story of every part of his remarkable career.

Cadman and Smith are hoping to take an exhibition of George Best to Belfast in the East Side visitors’ centre, where the player has “We have had a two-year exhibition about George at the Manchester United museum and there were also displays at the National Football Museum both of where were extremely successful.”

“George is still idolised by United fans including many who never saw him play in a red shirt at Old Trafford.”

Only 750 sets of cards have been issued and each set will contain a separate card individually numbered from 1 to 750 with the Part of the proceeds from the sale of the card collection will help community charities in Northern Ireland and also in England.

Visit info@bestie75tribute.com to find out more information about this project or contact Jim Cadman on info@bestie75tribute.com or via phone on +44 7971 624627.

My thanks go not only to Jim for the materials and his availability, but also to Teresa Green, Media Relations Partner at Chris Green Media for facilitating this interview.

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