- Louis Edwards
Louis C. Edwards (
June 15 1914 —February 25 1980 ) fromSalford ,Greater Manchester , was an English businessman and chairman of Manchester United from 1965 to 1980.Biography
Manchester United
Edwards made his fortune in meat packaging, and from the late 1950s was an investor in Manchester United. He became club chairman in 1965 and by the 1970s was the majority shareholder.
Edwards died of a heart attack in 1980, just four weeks after a
World in Action TV investigation into his alleged involvement in illegal share trading andslush fund s. [cite news |date=2006-09-16 |url=http://football.guardian.co.uk/print/0,,329578268-3057,00.html |title=Bungs probe unlikely to bring reform |publisher=The Guardian |accessdate=2007-05-22 |author=David Lacey ] His son, Martin, succeeded him as chairman.Controversies
Meat Contracts Corruption and Malpractice
Edwards' meat packaging business dominated the market in the North of England in the 1970s generating a great deal of money for Edwards. A World in Action investigation exposed that such dominance had in fact been achieved through bribing school officials in order to win lucrative contracts in cities such as Manchester. [http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7EYkRCp6cnQC&pg=PA232&lpg=PA232&dq=%22louis+edwards%22+meat+schools&source=web&ots=cArNKyGj2a&sig=4l38XLgxrxFHlkIKNThKNdvRIsA&hl=en#PPA232,M1]
The Granada investigation also showed that his company supplied condemned meat that was unfit for human consumption to be used in school dinners. They were later prosecuted for doing so. [ [http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/05/01/character_no_concern_in_the_pu.html Character no concern in the pursuit of glory | Sport | Guardian Unlimited ] ]
Youth Team Corruption
The investigation also exposed how Manchester United had a secret fund for bribing parents of young players the club wished to recruit. In one case in the early 1960's it was alleged that a bribe of £5,000 was paid to the parents of
Peter Lorimer , a promising young player whom the club had wanted to recruit. The bung was in fact later returned when the player chose Leeds United instead though this was a clear breach of football association rules. [ [http://www.gentlemenranters.com/50.html 22 Feb 2008 ] ] Investigations by the police into Edwards' dealings were never fully completed due to his death soon after the inquiries began. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_united/article2624171.ece Times Online - The Times and Sunday Times ] ] The FA decided against a formal investigation and merely discussed the issue instead. [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000904/ai_n14334462]References
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