Lawman the record breaker
DENIS Law was born in the working class Printfield area of Aberdeen and has always been proud of his Scottish roots.
He was voted the nation’s best-ever footballer in a poll in our sister paper the Sunday Mail – and is Scotland’s joint-top scorer of all time.
Famous for his one-handed salute on scoring for club or country, he is loved equally by Scotland and Manchester United fans.
His career began at lowly Second Division side Huddersfield Town in 1956.
But his goalscoring exploits there got him noticed by the big English clubs and he was signed by Manchester City for a transfer fee of £55,000, which set a new British record.
Italian giants Torino then swooped in to sign him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer involving a British player.
Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000. Law spent 11 years at Manchester United, where he scored 237 goals in 404 appearances.
Nicknamed The King and The Lawman by his own fans, he was branded Denis the Menace by opposing supporters.
He is the only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d’Or award, doing so in 1964, and helped a legendary Man Utd team win the English First Division in 1965 and 1967. He missed their European Cup triumph in 1968 through injury.
Law left Manchester United in 1973 to return to Manchester City for a season, and represented Scotland at the 1974 World Cup. Law played for Scotland a total of 55 times and jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals. Law holds a United record for scoring goals in a single season.
He is much loved in Aberdeen, where he has continued to support charities in the city. Earlier this year he told how he was “humbled” by plans to erect a statue in his honour in the centre of the city. He was awarded the Freedom Of Aberdeen in 2017.