Louis Rocca
Encyclopedia
Louis Rocca was born in Manchester between September and December 1882; and died 13th June 1950. He played a pivotal role in the development of Manchester United Football Club
and had several roles within the club from the 1890s to the 1940s, most notably putting them in contact with Matt Busby
in 1945; Busby would go on to become the club's longest-serving manager.
purveyors, Louis Rocca (senior) and his wife Mary, emigrated to England in the early 1870's and established an ice cream business at 64 Rochdale Road in the Newton Heath
district of Manchester
. Their son, Louis Rocca (junior), began his association with Manchester United (then known as Newton Heath F.C.) in the 1890s when he got a job as a tea boy at the club's Bank Street ground. He even played for the club's reserve team on a couple of occasions.
. He changed the club's colours from green and gold halves to red and white, but decided it would be more appropriate to convene a meeting of the club's fans, directors and other interested parties in order to determine a new name for the club. Rocca attended the meeting on 26 April 1902 and claims that, after hearing other people's suggestions of "Manchester Celtic" and "Manchester Central" be rejected for sounding "too Scottish" and "too industrial," he suggested the name "Manchester United." There is no documentary evidence that Rocca was actually the one to suggest the name "Manchester United," but Rocca maintained that Manchester United was his brainchild for the rest of his life. In 1903 Louis married Mary Emily Wrenshall and by 1911 he had taken over the family business and was living in Oldham Road in Manchester with his wife and four children. By the time of his mothers death in 1924, Louis was still managing the family Ice Cream and Confectionary business and he was father to nine children.
's tenure as manager over, club secretary Walter Crickmer
stepped into the breach as manager, with Rocca as his assistant. However, the club was yet again in financial turmoil at the time, and Rocca set about finding a new investor. The man he turned to was James W. Gibson
, a partner in the clothing firm Briggs, Jones and Gibson, who had made their money in the manufacture of Army uniforms. As well as being an entrepreneur, Gibson was a fiercely proud Mancunian and unwilling to see such an integral part of the city's culture go under, so when club secretary Walter Crickmer
visited Gibson at his Cheshire
mansion, it didn't take much persuasion to convince Gibson to invest £
2,000 in the club. Gibson then promised extra funds if other investors would match his £2,000 investment.
The two names that Rocca's scouting system is best known for discovering are Johnny Carey
and Stan Pearson
, and both go to show the breadth of the club's scouting network. Pearson was a local boy who Rocca spotted playing for Adelphi Lads' Club as a 16-year-old before signing for the club as an amateur on 1 December 1935, while Carey was a native of Dublin. Rocca had actually intended to scout another player when he went over to Ireland, but he was so impressed with Carey's air of authority that he immediately signed him for £250.
as manager, with Crickmer and Rocca reverting to their previous roles. However, Duncan was sacked in 1937, and the two backroom men stepped into the breach again. They were in charge for two seasons before the outbreak of the Second World War
and the suspension of all football in Britain. By the end of the war, the United board decided that a new permanent manager should be installed, and Rocca knew just the man, telling the board to "leave it to [him]". In 1930, Rocca had attempted to sign Manchester City
wing-half Matt Busby
for United, but the club was unable to pay the £150 transfer fee.
Nevertheless, Rocca and Busby stayed in touch, both being members of the Manchester Catholic Sportsman's Club, and when Rocca learned that Busby had been offered the manager's job at his then-club, Liverpool
, he immediately wrote Busby a letter (addressed to his army regiment, in case it was intercepted by the Liverpool management) informing him of the job opportunity at United. Busby turned up at James Gibson's Trafford Park factory in February 1945 with demands for unprecedented control over the football team, but Rocca reassured his chairman that the Scot was the right man for the job and the contract was signed that day.
. In the team that day, Crompton, Aston, Anderson, Morris, Pearson and Mitten had all come through the youth system. However, this was to be his last major contribution to the club, as he died in 1950, bringing an association with the club of more than 50 years to an end. His legacy would continue, though, through Joe Armstrong, the man appointed as Rocca's replacement in the role of chief scout. Like Rocca, Armstrong would seek out the best young players in the Manchester area, and even further afield as the North East of England, where he discovered a 15-year-old Bobby Charlton
in 1953.
In 2005, Rocca was honoured with the naming of an annual football match after him. The match was originally to be played between Salford Boys and Manchester Boys, but Manchester Boys were uninterested and Glasgow Boys were chosen as the opposition for the Salford side, in recognition of the ties between the cities of Manchester and Glasgow. The match, named "The Louis Rocca Trophy", was conceived by Salford-based artist Harold Riley
, who had himself been a player for Salford Boys and a discovery of Rocca's for Manchester United, and Manchester-based restaurateur Bruno Cabrelli. Rocca was chosen as the inspiration for the match because, according to Riley, "one person never mentioned when people talk about United's history is Louis Rocca". Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson
convinced Nike
to provide both teams with kits for the occasion. Two matches were played on the inaugural occasion, one for the senior teams of both clubs and one for the juniors, with Glasgow Boys winning both; they won the senior match 1–0 and the junior match 5–4.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and had several roles within the club from the 1890s to the 1940s, most notably putting them in contact with Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
in 1945; Busby would go on to become the club's longest-serving manager.
Early years
A family of Italian gelatoGelato
Gelato is the italian word for ice cream and sorbet. Italians use the word gelato to mean a sweet treat that is served frozen. Indeed, gelato, just like ice cream, is made with Milk, cream, various sugars, flavoring including fresh fruit and nut purees....
purveyors, Louis Rocca (senior) and his wife Mary, emigrated to England in the early 1870's and established an ice cream business at 64 Rochdale Road in the Newton Heath
Newton Heath
Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883....
district of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Their son, Louis Rocca (junior), began his association with Manchester United (then known as Newton Heath F.C.) in the 1890s when he got a job as a tea boy at the club's Bank Street ground. He even played for the club's reserve team on a couple of occasions.
Manchester United
In 1902, the club was in severe financial difficulty but was saved at the 11th hour by local brewer John Henry DaviesJohn Henry Davies
John Henry Davies was a wealthy brewery owner who in 1902 took over the British football club Manchester United, which was then called Newton Heath. The club had massive debt at the time....
. He changed the club's colours from green and gold halves to red and white, but decided it would be more appropriate to convene a meeting of the club's fans, directors and other interested parties in order to determine a new name for the club. Rocca attended the meeting on 26 April 1902 and claims that, after hearing other people's suggestions of "Manchester Celtic" and "Manchester Central" be rejected for sounding "too Scottish" and "too industrial," he suggested the name "Manchester United." There is no documentary evidence that Rocca was actually the one to suggest the name "Manchester United," but Rocca maintained that Manchester United was his brainchild for the rest of his life. In 1903 Louis married Mary Emily Wrenshall and by 1911 he had taken over the family business and was living in Oldham Road in Manchester with his wife and four children. By the time of his mothers death in 1924, Louis was still managing the family Ice Cream and Confectionary business and he was father to nine children.
Assistant manager and James Gibson
Over the years, Rocca came to be the club's chief "fixer" – if the club needed anything done, Rocca was the man for the job – until, in 1931, it was decided that he ought to be given some level of responsibility over the affairs of the team. With Herbert BamlettHerbert Bamlett
Herbert Bamlett was an English football manager and referee. He was only 32 when he refereed the 1914 FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Burnley....
's tenure as manager over, club secretary Walter Crickmer
Walter Crickmer
Walter Crickmer was an English football club secretary and manager.He became Manchester United club secretary in 1926. He twice assumed managerial responsibility: from 1 April 1931 to 1 June 1932, and then again from 1 August 1937 to 1 February 1945.Together with club owner James W...
stepped into the breach as manager, with Rocca as his assistant. However, the club was yet again in financial turmoil at the time, and Rocca set about finding a new investor. The man he turned to was James W. Gibson
James W. Gibson
James William Gibson was a British businessman who was the owner of the English football club Manchester United from 1931 until his death in 1951.-Early life:...
, a partner in the clothing firm Briggs, Jones and Gibson, who had made their money in the manufacture of Army uniforms. As well as being an entrepreneur, Gibson was a fiercely proud Mancunian and unwilling to see such an integral part of the city's culture go under, so when club secretary Walter Crickmer
Walter Crickmer
Walter Crickmer was an English football club secretary and manager.He became Manchester United club secretary in 1926. He twice assumed managerial responsibility: from 1 April 1931 to 1 June 1932, and then again from 1 August 1937 to 1 February 1945.Together with club owner James W...
visited Gibson at his Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
mansion, it didn't take much persuasion to convince Gibson to invest £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2,000 in the club. Gibson then promised extra funds if other investors would match his £2,000 investment.
Chief scout
One of the legacies of the Gibson administration at Manchester United was the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC). Set up at the behest of the supporters', the MUJAC was charged with bringing the best young players in the local area to Manchester United, with the aim of eventually filling the first team with local talent. Rocca was appointed as the MUJAC's chief scout, and, through his connections to the Manchester Catholic Sportsman's Club, he appointed a network of scouts from the Catholic Church.The two names that Rocca's scouting system is best known for discovering are Johnny Carey
Johnny Carey
John Joseph "Johnny" Carey , also known as Jackie Carey, was an Irish footballer and manager. As a player Carey spent most of his career at Manchester United, where he was team captain from 1946 until he retired as a player in 1953...
and Stan Pearson
Stan Pearson
Stanley Clare Pearson was an English football player. He was born in Salford.Pearson was signed by Manchester United as an amateur in December 1935 and turned professional in May 1937. His first senior game came against Chesterfield in 1937. When his career was interrupted by the war, he served...
, and both go to show the breadth of the club's scouting network. Pearson was a local boy who Rocca spotted playing for Adelphi Lads' Club as a 16-year-old before signing for the club as an amateur on 1 December 1935, while Carey was a native of Dublin. Rocca had actually intended to scout another player when he went over to Ireland, but he was so impressed with Carey's air of authority that he immediately signed him for £250.
Busby
In 1932, United appointed Scott DuncanScott Duncan
Adam Scott Mattheson Duncan was a Scottish professional footballer and manager.-Playing career:Born in Dumbarton, Duncan was working as a law clerk when he joined his home-town club Dumbarton in 1906. He moved to Newcastle United in March 1908 for a fee of £150...
as manager, with Crickmer and Rocca reverting to their previous roles. However, Duncan was sacked in 1937, and the two backroom men stepped into the breach again. They were in charge for two seasons before the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the suspension of all football in Britain. By the end of the war, the United board decided that a new permanent manager should be installed, and Rocca knew just the man, telling the board to "leave it to [him]". In 1930, Rocca had attempted to sign Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
wing-half Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
for United, but the club was unable to pay the £150 transfer fee.
Nevertheless, Rocca and Busby stayed in touch, both being members of the Manchester Catholic Sportsman's Club, and when Rocca learned that Busby had been offered the manager's job at his then-club, Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
, he immediately wrote Busby a letter (addressed to his army regiment, in case it was intercepted by the Liverpool management) informing him of the job opportunity at United. Busby turned up at James Gibson's Trafford Park factory in February 1945 with demands for unprecedented control over the football team, but Rocca reassured his chairman that the Scot was the right man for the job and the contract was signed that day.
Later years and death
In the first few years after Busby's appointment as manager, the Manchester United team was almost entirely composed of players discovered by Rocca and his scouting system. Then, in 1948, Rocca had the ultimate honour bestowed upon him as his protégés won the FA Cup1948 FA Cup Final
The 1948 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Blackpool at Wembley Stadium on 24 April 1948. United, who had not appeared in an FA Cup Final for 39 years, won 4–2, with two goals from Jack Rowley and one apiece from Stan Pearson and John Anderson. Eddie Shimwell and Stan Mortensen...
. In the team that day, Crompton, Aston, Anderson, Morris, Pearson and Mitten had all come through the youth system. However, this was to be his last major contribution to the club, as he died in 1950, bringing an association with the club of more than 50 years to an end. His legacy would continue, though, through Joe Armstrong, the man appointed as Rocca's replacement in the role of chief scout. Like Rocca, Armstrong would seek out the best young players in the Manchester area, and even further afield as the North East of England, where he discovered a 15-year-old Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
in 1953.
In 2005, Rocca was honoured with the naming of an annual football match after him. The match was originally to be played between Salford Boys and Manchester Boys, but Manchester Boys were uninterested and Glasgow Boys were chosen as the opposition for the Salford side, in recognition of the ties between the cities of Manchester and Glasgow. The match, named "The Louis Rocca Trophy", was conceived by Salford-based artist Harold Riley
Harold Riley (artist)
Harold Riley was born in Salford in 1934, his father was a jazz musician and his mother was a school teacher. At the age of 17 he won a scholarship to the Slade and went on to study in Florence and Spain before returning to Salford, where he has lived ever since. As a student he became a good...
, who had himself been a player for Salford Boys and a discovery of Rocca's for Manchester United, and Manchester-based restaurateur Bruno Cabrelli. Rocca was chosen as the inspiration for the match because, according to Riley, "one person never mentioned when people talk about United's history is Louis Rocca". Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
convinced Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
to provide both teams with kits for the occasion. Two matches were played on the inaugural occasion, one for the senior teams of both clubs and one for the juniors, with Glasgow Boys winning both; they won the senior match 1–0 and the junior match 5–4.