He signed for United as a schoolboy in 1953 and turned professional in October 1954.
The great Busby Babes were in their formative years, as they demonstrated by winning the FA Youth Cup three seasons in succession in 1954, 1955 and 1956.
He was a key element as Sir Matt, who almost died at Munich, rebuilt the club and they went on to have years of success.
Sir Bobby’s promise also ensured he won England honours early in his career, making his debut against Scotland at Hampden Park, a little more than two months after Munich. It was the first of 106 caps.
He made his United bow against Charlton Athletic at Old Trafford on 6 October 1956, scoring twice in a 4-2 win before going on to score 249 goals in 758 appearances. They won the title in 1956-57 but were denied the Double, Sir Bobby playing in the 2-1 defeat by Aston Villa in the FA Cup final, during which goalkeeper Ray Wood suffered an early injury.
The trophies kept coming throughout the 1960s as Sir Bobby was joined by those two other members of the legendary Old Trafford triumvirate, striker Denis Law signing from Torino and then the brilliant young George Best emerging from the youth ranks.
Sir Bobby was an FA Cup winner in 1963 when United beat Leicester City 3-1 and league titles were on the way in 1964-65 and 1966-67 as Sir Matt’s side fought alongside so many other top-class teams for domestic supremacy.
