The story of Bert Trautmann reads very much like a film script.
A young Luftwaffe pilot shot down and captured in England who uses football as a release in prison, then continues to do so on his release from prison. He stars for St Helens, wins a big move to Manchester City, and comes through adversity to win the FA Cup for his English teammates.
It should come as no surprise that Trautmann’s life was dramatised in The Keeper, a film released in 2018.
Bert (real name Bernhard) actually started out playing as a centre-half in the POW camps, only going in goal when he got injured. Following his release in 1948, he joined amateur side St Helen’s Town. Fourteen months later, he had suitably impressed scouts at Manchester City, who sought a new shot stopper to replace the aging Frank Swift.
The affable German quickly won over the home supporters at Maine Road (though endured hostility from opposing fans). He made his first FA Cup Final appearance in 1955, collecting a runner-up medal after City’s defeat against Newcastle United. The following year, he would write his name into cup folklore.
Birmingham City were the opposition in the 1956 final. A quickfire double from Jack Dyson and Bobby Johnstone put City 3-1 up and in control, but disaster struck with fifteen minutes left on the clock. In an attempt to prevent a nervy finish, Trautmann dived at the feet of forward Peter Murphy in the area.
The contact briefly knocked the ‘keeper out cold, but substitutes were not permitted at that time. Unsteady but undeterred, a clearly dazed Trautmann stayed on the pitch, even making further saves to keep City’s two-goal lead intact.
Afterwards, when presenting the medals to the victors, Prince Philip asked Trautmann, “why s your head crooked?” to which he replied, “stiff neck”. Unbeknownst to the German, the challenge had dislodged five vertebrae in his neck, snapping one of them in half. The first doctor erroneously believed it was merely a crick: the second opinion was quite the opposite, even suggesting that the goalkeeper was centimetres away from potentially losing his life.
His convalescence took almost a full season, and though he struggled to regain fitness, form and confidence, he did recover suitably to tend the net for City as number one for another six years.
Bert eventually retired in 1964, leaving behind the most remarkable legacy: a player who literally put his neck on the line to bring success to the club. He was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame in 2005.
The replica neck brace is on display in our Match Gallery, while the 1956 match programme is one of many that belongs to The Players Foundation collection. Find out more about their work via their website below.