This is the story of a visionary businessman who laid the foundations for the modern Manchester United. This is the story of a man who answered United's desperate calls in the Great Depression, who worked with secretary Walter Crickmer to create the Academy and who played a part in the evolution of the football manager by appointing and trusting a fresh-faced Matt Busby after the Second World War. This is the man who rebuilt Manchester United twice. This is James W. Gibson and this is his story on United Through Time.

When Manchester United's long-serving President John Henry Davies died in 1927, there were fears that the club, often playing in front of a small crowd inside the vast Old Trafford stadium, would decline. They already had since their pre-World War One halcyon days. Those fears came true, exaggerated further by the 1929 Wall Street Crash and subsequent Great Depression. United needed a saviour, a second coming. Welcome James W. Gibson, a clothing magnate and proud Mancunian.

Few men have established the global reputation of Manchester United more prolifically than this Salford-born businessman, who had only a vague interest in football before Walter Crickmer arrived at his house in Hale Barns and asked him to save one of the city's finest institutions.

James Gibson would end up saving Manchester United twice.

In Episode Eight of United Through Time, this is the story of James Gibson. United Through Time is the podcast delving into the history of Manchester United with extensive original research, thorough interviews, and immersive documentaries. Going in chronological order, the podcast looks at the most influential individuals from Newton Heath to Manchester United in the modern day,

Host Harry Robinson - author of The Men Who Made Manchester United - is joined by the following guests:

• Tony Park, author of Sons of United
• Jim White, author of Manchester United: The Biography, among other works
• Alan Embling, great-nephew of James W. Gibson himself

If you want a signed copy of The Men Who Made Manchester United with a special discount for United Through Time listeners, get in touch on Twitter at @UtdThroughTime or @HarryRobinson64. Alternatively, you can email at unitedthroughtime[at]gmail[dot]com

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