Charlie Mitten

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Charles Mitten (17 January 1921 – 2 January 2002) was an English football player and manager who came through the junior ranks at Manchester United.

Over his career, Mitten played for Fulham, Mansfield Town and Altrincham in England, and for Independiente Santa Fe in Colombia, where he had a notable stint, and where he and a number of other players left to escape the maximum wage that was imposed for footballers in England at the time.

After his playing career finished, he was involved in football management.

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Playing career

Mitten joined Manchester United in 1936 and was a student alongside future teammates Stan Pearson and Johnny Carey. However, his first professional appearance came in 1946, owing to the suspension of league football due to the outbreak of war.

Mitten served in the Royal Air Force during WWII, residing in whatever club was nearest to his station. He spent two seasons with Chelsea and 22 with Southampton in a debut, scoring five goals.

Mitten returned to Manchester United and established himself as a superb winger during Matt Busby's time at the club in the early years. He was a member of Jimmy Delaney, Stan Pearson, Jack Rowley, and Johnny Morris, who together became known as the 'Famous Five' of Old Trafford.

In his four years with United, he helped the club finish as runners-up in the league three times and once in fourth place. In the 1948 FA Cup Final, he also participated in the 4–2 triumph over Blackpool. He made 152 appearances in total, scoring 61 goals, during his United Kingdom career.

United went on a 12-game tour of America in 1950, where they performed in front of sold-out audiences. Mitten questioned the modest amount of money footballers received – the highest wage in Britain at £12 a week despite their apparent global success – at this time. Two other British footballers, Neil Franklin and George Mountford, underlined the situation by signing the same Independence Santa Fe in Colombia, where the league had departed from FIFA rules, ensuring clubs did not have to pay transfer fees to foreign clubs, resulting in a number of top players from abroad playing in Colombia in a period named El Dorado. Mitten was contacted by a wealthy Colombian businessman to play for Independiente Santa Fe in Bogotá during the tour. Mitten's signing-on fee was estimated to be £5,000 more than the average weekly wage of at least £40. He was given the name "Bogotá Bandit," which later became the name of his autobiography. He played in Colombia for a year, scoring fifteen times in 34 games, and United's form suffered in his absence.

Colombia joined FIFA and became subjected to FIFA rules at the end of his first year. Mitten was unable to play for anyone other than them and had to return to England as he still had his licence. He was, however, offered a job by Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid's general manager, who was in the process of naming the all-conquering team that would feature Alfredo Di Stéfano, Francisco Gento, and Héctor Rial. He turned down this bid but later expressed regret for not being able to be a part of the popular Real side.

Mitten was banned by the Football Association from playing for six months and barred him from playing for the same period. Busby, a busby who sold him to Fulham for £22,000 in December 1951, also ostracised him. Mitten's first season at Craven Cottage, he was on 16 appearances and scored six goals, but the club did not manage to save the team from relegation to the Second Division. He appeared 40 times for another six goals this season, forming a pair with the young Johnny Haynes. He was selected for the London XI in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup during his time at Fulham.

Mitten appeared in an unofficial charity match against Scotland in 1946.

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