Edwards began his Manchester United career in the youth team and made several appearances for the team that won the first ever FA Youth Cup in 1953, but by the time of the final had already made his debut for the first team. On 4 April 1953 he played in a Football League First Division match against Cardiff City, which United lost 4–1, aged just 16 years and 185 days, making him the youngest player ever to play in the top flight of English football. Mindful of the fact that his team contained a large number of relatively old players, Busby was keen to bring new young players through the ranks; and Edwards, along with the likes of Dennis Viollet and Jackie Blanchflower, was among a number of youngsters introduced to the team during 1953, who came to be known collectively as the Busby Babes. Reviewing his performance on his first-team debut the "Manchester Guardian" newspaper commented that "he showed promise of fine ability in passing and shooting, but will have to move faster as a wing half".