Best, whose moving funeral took place in Belfast earlier in the day, was the first of Britain's footballing superstars.
In these days when the word superstar is used much too liberally, Rooney is one of the few who genuinely falls into that category.
His performance against Portsmouth at Old Trafford may not have been his best for Manchester United, but it was still better than most of those around him.
Rooney's touches were sublime, his energy endless as he raced up and down the pitch and he capped it all with a fine piece of opportunism for United's second goal.
The result took United to second in the Premiership - an amazing feat for a side still not firing on all cylinders.
Pompey looked like a team facing a long winter's fight against relegation.
Whether or not Harry Redknapp can do a Harry Houdini and revive their fortunes remains to be seen, but if he does return to Fratton Park as manager, he faces a massive job keeping the side in the Premiership.
Lomana Tresor LuaLua apart, they posed no threat to United and their defending was at times inept.
United were soon tearing into Pompey when Rooney set up Ruud van Nistelrooy, whose shot from just outside the penalty area was taken at the second attempt by goalkeeper Jamie Ashdown after two minutes.
Ashdown saved well at the feet of John O'Shea soon after and the Portsmouth goalkeeper was forced to keep out a close-range Ryan Giggs effort with his legs in the 12th minute.
Ashdown tipped over a blistering drive from Van Nistelrooy after the Dutchman turned superbly to strike from the edge of the Pompey box, while Ji-Sung Park blazed a shot narrowly over the bar after 18 minutes.
But United had only two minutes to wait before opening the scoring. Giggs swept in a corner, and as the ball hung in the air, Paul Scholes reacted quicker than his Portsmouth marker Dejan Stefanovic to leap high and glance his header into the corner of the net from ten yards.
Van Nistelrooy should have added a second goal three minutes before the interval. Rooney's superb pass released van Nistelrooy in the Pompey box, but Ashdown reacted well to race off his line and save at point-blank range.
United lost some of their momentum at the start of the second half. They were almost caught cold seconds after the restart when LuaLua's pass sent Matthew Taylor clear into the United box and his effort from 15 yards was brilliantly tipped behind for a corner by the diving United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar.
Rooney and van Nistelrooy both had half-chances, but the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo as a 65th substitute for Giggs breathed new life into the hosts.
Van Nistelrooy's back-heel from Kieran Richardson's cross trickled inches wide of the post, but United saved the best for the closing minutes.
In the 79th minute, seconds after coming on as a substitute for Park, Louis Saha threaded a clever pass into the Pompey box.
Portsmouth defender Andy Griffin charged towards Rooney in an attempt to clear, but he only succeeded in setting up the England star, who scored with a crisp first-time right-foot shot from 15 yards.
United's third goal came 5 minutes later. Scholes fed Ronaldo on the right and his cross into the centre of the Pompey penalty area was met by van Nistelrooy, who hooked the ball home right-footed from 12 yards.
United had clinched the points with a stylish finale which would have had George Best smiling a little wider.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - A superb all-round performance by the former Everton star was capped with a superb opportunist goal as he maintained his current scintillating form.