Profile
George Best
Northern Irish Footballer
Male
Born
May 22, 1946
Hometown
Belfast
Died
Nov 25, 2005
Death Place
London
Team
Jewish Guild + St...
Position
Attacking midfielder
George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. In 1968 he won the European Cup with United, and was named the European Footballer of the Year and FWA Footballer… Read More
Photos
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Romance
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Gina DeVivoDated
Family
Discover the family history of George Best.
George Best
d.2005
children
News + Updates
Browse recent news and stories about George Best.
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Brian Dooley: Manchester United, Denis Law, And Torture By The Bahrain RegimeHuffington Post - Apr 09, 2013
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Mark Juddery: The Fifth Beatle? Here's A Top 10!Huffington Post - Dec 05, 2012
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James Payne: Bowling With George Best And Politics With Jayne MansfieldHuffington Post - Nov 10, 2012
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Maureen Ryan: Hooray For The Return Of 'Happy Endings' (And 'Suburgatory')Huffington Post - Oct 17, 2012
Timeline
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of George Best.
CHILDHOOD
1946
Birth
Born on May 22, 1946.
TEENAGE
1957
11 Years Old
In 1957, at the age of 11, the academically gifted Best passed the 11 plus and went to Grosvenor High School, but he soon played truant as the school specialised in rugby.
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Best made his First Division debut, aged 17, on 14 September 1963 against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford in a 1–0 victory.
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1964
18 Years Old
Though opponents would often use rough play to try and stifle his technical ability, Busby ensured that "fierce, sometimes brutal" training sessions left Best well used to coping with tough challenges. In the 1964–65 season, his first full season as a first team regular, Best helped Manchester United to claim the league title.
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He scored the opening goal of the 1965 FA Charity Shield match at Old Trafford, which ended in a 2–2 draw with Liverpool.
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TWENTIES
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Best also won the Ballon d'Or in 1968 after receiving more votes than Bobby Charlton, Dragan Džajić and Franz Beckenbauer.
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However he was also sent off against Chelsea, was the subject of death threats, and failed to turn up for training for a whole week in January as he instead spent his time with Miss Great Britain 1971, Carolyn Moore.
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1972
26 Years Old
He was playing at inside left (wearing the number 10) in 1972 when he famously walked out on United the first time but was back in the number 11 for the autumn of 1973 before leaving for good.
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THIRTIES
He had a brief resurgence in form with Second Division club Fulham in 1976–77, showing that, although he had lost some of his pace, he retained his skills.
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Best's mother Anne died from alcoholism-related cardiovascular disease in 1978, at the age of 55.
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His son, Calum Best, was born in 1981 from his first marriage.
In late 1982, Bournemouth manager Don Megson signed the 36-year-old Best for the Third Division side, and he remained there until the end of the 1982–83 season, when he finally retired from football at the age of 37.
Best played in a friendly for Newry Town against Shamrock Rovers in August 1983, before ending his professional career exactly 20 years after joining Manchester United with a brief four-match stint playing for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian National Soccer League during the 1983 season.
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In 1984 Best made a fitness album with Mary Stävin called Shape Up and Dance.
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FORTIES
1990
44 Years Old
In September 1990, Best appeared on an edition of primetime BBC chat show Wogan in which he was heavily drunk and swore, at one point saying to the host, "Terry, I like screwing".
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1995
49 Years Old
He married Alex Pursey in 1995 in Kensington and Chelsea, London. They divorced in 2004; they had no children.
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FIFTIES
2003
57 Years Old
The controversy was reignited in 2003 when he was spotted openly drinking white wine spritzers.
In 2004, Alex Best (née Pursey) appeared as a contestant on the reality television programme I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and alleged that Best was violent towards her during their marriage.
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Best continued to drink, and was sometimes seen at his local pub in Surbiton, Greater London. On 3 October 2005 Best was admitted to intensive care at the private Cromwell Hospital in London, suffering from a kidney infection caused by the side effects of immuno-suppressive drugs used to prevent his body from rejecting his transplanted liver.
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LATE ADULTHOOD
2005
60 Years Old
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He died in 2005, age 59, due to complications from the immunosuppressive drugs he needed to take after being controversially granted an NHS liver transplant in 2002.
Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Best.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.