Manchester United had a professional basketball team between 1985 and 1988 and played their matches at the Stretford Sports Centre.
Although financial costs led to Manchester United ending their basketball experiment just three years after it started, the team delivered success on the court.
United won the National League title in the 1985/86 season as well as the Championship Final in 1985.
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That success allowed United to compete in European competitions against major clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona, who were well-established in the football world.
United’s basketball team attracted crowds of around 1,500 spectators, but the club couldn’t afford to have six full-time professionals on board after the end of Sharp’s shirt sponsorship.
The franchise would later become the Manchester Eagles and eventually the Manchester Giants.
Lots of former United players have shown an interest in basketball in the past, such as Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba.
Wayne Rooney attending a basketball match with his son
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Former Man Utd pro John Amaechi took on NBA legend Michael Jordan
United attracted some of the UK’s top basketball talent, with many of them naturalised Americans.
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The team also included former NBA players like Jeff Jones and Will Brown, as well as future NBA Hall of Famer John Amaechi, who was a local Stockport native. He played for United before making it big in the US.
Amaechi would eventually move across the pond to play high school basketball, with his career launching properly when he signed for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Another incredible piece of history teaches us that Amaechi made his NBA debut against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Bulls won the game 105-91 as Ameachi played two minutes and recorded as many points and one assist.
Following spells across Europe, Amaechi returned to the NBA to sign for Orlando Magic and he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame after scoring the first points of the millennium. That led to moves to the Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets.
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John Amaechi enjoyed his time at Man Utd
Back in 2006, Amaechi spoke to club media about his time at United after growing up in Stockport.
He was always a United fan despite growing up with a group of friends who were Stockport County fans.
Although United’s ended their basketball experiment early and he never got to play at Old Trafford, Amaechi enjoyed his time at the club.
“I actually grew up in Stockport,” Amaechi told ManUtd.com.
“All my mates were diehard County fans, but I wasn’t bothered. I knew Manchester United were bigger than that, and it was there that I began my basketball career for the other Red Devils, the Manchester United franchise basketball team. I remember at one stage they wanted to build a court at Old Trafford, but it never happened. We were forced to play at Stretford Sports Centre instead and for two years I went past OT almost every day and it stuck with me.
“So much so than when] came back from America I almost bought a flat overlooking the ground. In the end I thought it wouldn’t be the most relaxing place to be on a Saturday!”
Amaechi also revealed that he was a huge fan of legendary centre-forward Eric Cantona.
He added: “I actually had no intention of doing any kind of physical activity I suppose – it was knowing the premier basketball club in the city was associated with Manchester United – I used to love Eric Cantona,” explained John. We played in European international competitions because we were Manchester United – it was amazing.”