The iconic City keeper received the prestigious honour in recognition of his services to Charitable Fundraising.
To mark the accolade, Joe made a special guest appearance pitch side in front of the City supporters and was afforded a rapturous reception at the Etihad ahead of Saturday’s 4-1 Premier League win against West Ham.
Manchester born and raised, Joe played for City 603 times between 1967 and 1983 with only Alan Oakes representing the Club on more occasions throughout our 130-year history.
Affectionately known as ‘Big Joe’ thanks to his imposing 6ft 4in frame, Corrigan also played nine times for England between 1976 and 1982 and was part of the Three Lions’ 1982 World Cup finals squad.
Joe was also one of the pivotal figures in a host of outstanding City sides, helping the Club win two League Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and a Charity Shield across the course of his illustrious career.
Ever modest and humble, the 76-year-old admitted he was shocked to find out he had been included in the 2024 New Year’s Eve list, revealing at first, he thought he had received a tax bill!
“Words can’t describe it actually – it was totally unbelievable and I’m still in a bit of state of shock now and so proud and honoured,” Joe revealed.
“You think of all of the other worthy people like Belly [Colin Bell] and Franny [Francis Lee] and Mike [Summerbee] who were recognised this way as well so many other wonderful sports people and it’s just an amazing honour to even be considered.
“The first emotion I had was one of disbelief really.
“It’s the highest honour you can get,
“I got the envelope and on the cover it said ‘On His Majesty’s Service’, and at first I thought it was a tax bill!
“But then when I opened it and read the contents, I just filled up to be honest with you.
“It was a sense of total disbelief and then when you start to read the letter, it suddenly hits you.
“Earlier today I received a congratulations letter off some dear friends of mine and it had on the envelope, Mr Joe Corrigan MBE. And I thought, ‘Oh my goodness.’
“So, it’s just amazing. Honestly, you can’t describe it. It was just an amazing and a very emotional feeling.
“I’m so proud for the family and for many good friends that I’m lucky enough to have.
“But I also feel proud for the City supporters. I think of all the hard work that they’ve done to help the club.
“They stood by the club through thick and thin and now they’re reaping the rewards for that brilliant loyalty with all the trophies we have won over the past few years.
“Whenever I go to supporters’ club meetings I always say, if it wasn’t for them the Club wouldn’t be in the position we are today.”
Once the shock of the wonderful news had subsided, Joe revealed the hardest part was keeping it a secret from outside his immediate family until the official announcement of the latest honours on New Year’s Eve.
“It was very difficult keeping the news a secret. I obviously told my wife, but I had to scan something and send it back to a government organisation,” Joe added.
“The thing with me is I’m an internet dinosaur. I don’t know how on earth these things work but my daughter Sarra’s very good at that side of things, so she came and sorted it out and I had to tell her, but we all kept it quiet until the announcement on New Year’s Eve, when everybody then knew about it.
“Since then, the phone has been non-stop.
“I’ve got messages from my relations in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. My sister lives in Brisbane, Australia and she couldn’t believe the news.
“She was crying and said, ‘I’m going to have to get a new hat [for the ceremony]!’”
Touching on the many charitable ventures that have been recognised in the award of the MBE, Joe said he was just glad to be able to be able to do his bit to help those in need.
And he revealed that desire to help others was a mission and outlook on life that all stemmed from his early years at City
“Everybody wants to do the best for people, and I always go back to when I first started at City playing under the great Joe Mercer and Malcolm Allison,” Joe added.
“We all used to try and do things as much as we could for people who were in hospital, and we would also go to visit all the supporters’ clubs.
“Now I’m in a position where I have got a little bit little bit more free time to be able to do more charitable things.
“I’m an ambassador for East Cheshire Hospice which is a huge honour and I’m also so proud to be chairman of City’s Former Players Association, where we raise and donate money to a host of charities as most of the organisations at Manchester City do.
“We’re just a little part of that but in today’s environment any little bit of help you can provide helps so much to so many people.”
Everyone at Manchester City is exceptionally proud of Joe and would like to congratulate him again on this well-deserved recognition.
