Although entitled the glory yeras this period of Newton Heath's history starts with events which are far from glorious. The year was 1901 and United Newton Heath found themeselves in the middle of the second division with falling attendences. A lot of money had been spent on players yet Newton Heath were on the brink of bankruptcy.

Newton Heath decided to hold a fund raising bazaar which lasted four days. One of the many attractions was a St. Bernard dog which was owned by team captain Harry Stafford. The dog went missing at one point and was found by John Davies. He was a wealthy brewer and bought the dog from Stafford. It was when Davies met Stafford he discovered the problems faced by Newton Heath. Davies took control of the club during the winter 1902. Davies was named chairman and he and is partners took majority share of the club.

Newton Heath became the now famous MANCHESTER UNITED on April 28th 1902.The name was suggested by Louis Rocca. Among other names suggested were Manchester Central and Manchester Celtic. To coincide with the chang of name the club changed its colours to the distinct red shirts and white shorts.

In the firsr season as Manchester United was more successful than the previous with the club finishing fifth in the league. A new manager arrived, Earnest Mangnall. For the next two seasons United finished third. Then in the 1905-1906 season United were runners and promoted back the top division. The league had scrapped the play off and opted for 2 up and 2 down.

Two seasons later United were crowned champions (1907-1908). In 1908 United beat QPR to become the first winners of the FA Charity Shield. In the following season United won their first FA Cup, they beat Bristol City 1-0.

United topped the league once again in the 1910-1911 season. They won the league by one point from Aston Villa. At the end of the 1911-1912 season Earnest Mangnall left United for rivals Manchester City. This was the end of Uniteds first GLORY period.