Denis Law 1940-2025

Following the sad passing of Manchester United and Scotland legend Denis Law, author and football writer Richard Whitehead reflects on the life of one of football's greats.

In March 1955, Eddie Brennan, the assistant-secretary of Huddersfield Town, was sent to the local railway station to collect a teenager who had travelled from Scotland for a trial. The youngster’s potential had been enthusiastically endorsed by the brother of Town manager, Andy Beattie.

But as a figure emerged through the smoke and steam, Brennan thought there must be some mistake. Although he was 15, the boy was just 5ft 3in, rail-thin, and was squinting lopsidedly from behind a pair of round-framed glasses. He had a large, ready-to-burst boil on his cheek. 

When they got to Town’s Leeds Road ground, Beattie assumed this was his brother’s idea of a practical joke. “Never did I see a less likely football prospect – weak, puny and bespectacled,” he remembered. After a week of watching the teenager in practice matches, Beattie soon changed his mind. “This boy’s a freak,” he said. Huddersfield rapidly offered their astonishing discovery the chance to join the club’s juniors.

Beattie didn’t know it then, but he had signed a player who would become one of the greatest British footballers of all time - Huddersfield’s new recruit was Denis Law.

From those humble beginnings, Law’s career quickly blossomed: over the next 18 years, for Huddersfield, Manchester City (in two spells), Torino, Manchester United and Scotland, he became one of the most devastatingly effective strikers in the game. 

In 1963, he was selected for a Rest of the World team against England at Wembley in a match to mark the centenary of The FA. A year later, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or as the leading player in Europe.

In any game, in any stadium, against any opposition, Law was an unmissable presence. Shoulders hunched, shirt cuffs gripped in clenched fists, he appeared to be surrounded by his own electric force field. The eight stone teenager from Aberdeen never developed an imposing physical presence, but that did not matter - he was as brave as any strapping centre-forward, an instinctive finisher with the fast-twitch reflexes of a Formula One driver.

He scored spectacular goals and tap-ins, and despite being only 5ft 9½in frequently climbed above taller defenders to score classic headers. A speciality was scoring from a rebound after a goalkeeper’s fumble, his speed and anticipation remarkable. Goals - 341 of them in his career - were frequently celebrated with his trademark, one arm raised in salute.  

“If I had to send out one fella to score a goal to save my life, there’s only one man I’d consider – it would have to be Denis,” said United assistant manager Jimmy Murphy.

Childhood in Aberdeen 

Law was born in February 1940 amid grinding poverty in one of Aberdeen’s granite tenement blocks. There were seven children and little money to go around. The family could not afford shoes – he did not acquire his first pair until he was 14. Until then, he owned only a pair of black plimsolls. If it rained or snowed on his walk to school, his feet would be wet all day.

Football soon became an obsession. On the walk to school, a bald tennis ball or a tin can was kicked along pavements and against kerb stones. Only later did he realise that this was where he developed his innate ball control and ability to manoeuvre in tight spaces. 

Law was a bright pupil and he passed the 11+ exam to attend grammar school. Academic ambitions were soon shelved when he discovered that only rugby and cricket were played at the school. Instead, he went to Powis Junior Secondary School where a teacher moved him from full-back to inside-left in the school team. He was never seen in defence again.

Law suffered from strabismus, a condition that causes an eye to misalign when looking at an object. He wore glasses but took them off before a game and played with one eye closed to correct the imbalance in his vision. The problem did not obscure his route to goal, and he was soon getting noticed. Archie Beattie, employed as a scout for Huddersfield in north-east Scotland, quickly arranged a trial.

Early days in Yorkshire 

Shortly after his 15th birthday in the spring of 1955, Law experienced two moments of life-changing significance. One was an operation to cure his strabismus, the second was signing for Huddersfield. Law found it impossible to say which was more important.

“I cannot emphasise enough what an incredible moment in my life that was,” he said of the operation. Now he was instantly more confident socially. Playing football had never been a problem, but the rest of his life now began to fall into place.

Like any junior taken on by a professional club, there were no guarantees. He had to perform menial tasks around the ground. Training and matches were only part of the routine. He shared digs with other new recruits, one of whom was Ray Wilson, the future England World Cup-winning full-back. Law loved his new home.

There were hearty meals, orange juice, which he had never drunk before, and round-the-clock hot water, all previously unimagined luxuries. Bill Shankly, the club’s assistant manager, subsidised steak lunches for the young players at a cafe opposite Leeds Road.

Law’s football prospered, too. He made his first-team debut on Christmas Eve 1956, in a second division match away to Notts County, then in the return fixture on Boxing Day, he scored his first goal in a 3-0 win. He made 16 more appearances before the end of the season, by which time Shankly had replaced Beattie.

Shankly was fully aware that the club had unearthed a diamond. Matt Busby, the Manchester United manager, offered £10,000 – an astronomical sum for an untried teenager – to sign Law after his performance against United in an FA Youth Cup tie. Much of Shankly’s time was spent fending off interest from predatory clubs – all the leading clubs of the day, Chelsea, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Everton made inquiries. 

It was quickly obvious he was too good not to be playing in the top flight. A few weeks after his 20th birthday, Law joined Manchester City for £55,000, a record between English clubs. His goalscoring record was unspectacular – in 91 matches for Huddersfield, he scored 19 times – but he fulfilled the role expected of an inside-forward in creating chances and harassing defenders.

A Manchester mistake 

It did not take Law long to realise that he had joined a team in decline. City avoided relegation and then, with Law scoring 23 goals,  finished in mid-table in 1960/61, the only full season of his first spell at Maine Road. 

His impact went beyond statistics. “What a player he was,” recalled Ken Barnes, the City captain. “He was the perfect inside-forward. He could do everything. He was like lightning, he grafted, he scored goals - wonderful, absolutely top-class.”

Despite his youth and fiery temperament, Law took over the captaincy when Barnes was absent.

His brief stay was chiefly memorable for a match that does not feature in the record books. At the end of January 1961, City travelled to meet Luton Town in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It had poured with rain all day and referee Ken Tuck declared the Kenilworth Road pitch playable only after three inspections.

Luton raced into a two-goal lead, but by half-time Law had completed the first hat-trick of his career to put City ahead. The goals kept coming almost as fast as the rain. Law soon had another hat-trick, but with City leading 6-2, Tuck abandoned the game.

“Bad luck, Denis, I’m afraid your six goals won’t count as a record now,” the official told him. Law accepted the decision with good grace. “Play was impossible,” he admitted. City returned four days later, and although Law scored again, Luton won 3-1. 

Law was still restless and ambitious. After the success of John Charles at Juventus, Italian clubs were circling the best British talent. Law was approached by representatives of Internazionale Milano in a Manchester hotel. City offered him £80 a week to stay but his mind was made up. His destination, however, was not Milan but Turin. He signed for Torino in the spring of 1961 – it proved another false move. 

Italian adventure 

The scene at Turin airport when Law arrived to begin his new career was like something from a Hollywood premiere. Flashbulbs popped, excited fans waved greetings, pressmen flourished notebooks, directors lined up to greet the arrivals. Law was joined by Joe Baker, signed from Hibernian to partner him up front. Neither could speak a word of Italian.

It was soon clear that a footballer’s life in Italy was very different. Soon after arriving, Law and Baker joined their new team-mates for a two-week training camp in the Alps. The hotels were luxurious but in other areas the regime could be monastic.

Strict standards of behaviour were expected off the field and fines were levied when regulations were breached. Law’s pay-packet arrived with numerous deductions.

“I’m sure if they’d had their way I wouldn’t have been paid at all,” he said. There were unexplained envelopes of cash after victories, days of chill silences following defeats.

Most of all, Law disliked the ultra-defensive style of play and the strict tactical discipline of Italian football. Defenders were tough and uncompromising. In Italy, Law recalled, he learnt “how to ride a tackle but also how to ride a punch”.

Nevertheless, he scored a respectable 10 league goals and topped a poll among Italian journalists for the leading import in Serie A. “There is no doubt that a year playing in Italy made me a better player,” he admitted.

Nothing, though, changed his desire to come home. When he represented the Italian League against the Football League at Old Trafford in November 1961, Busby asked him whether he was enjoying Italian football. The Man Utd manager made careful note of the answer, and then, in 1962, he acted upon it and brought Law back to England.

Glory days at Old Trafford 

More than four years had passed since the core of a great Man Utd team had died in the Munich air crash. In that rebuilding period, the club had won nothing. Busby was not by nature a big spender – United’s success had been built on youth – but now the time had come to loosen the purse strings.

Law was his most expensive acquisition – it took a record £115,000 to end his Italian exile – and there was a stand-off when Torino threatened to sell his contract to Juventus. But his impact at Old Trafford was immediate.

“He invigorated United with his astonishing competitive personality and wonderful talent,” said Bobby Charlton.

United struggled in the league in 1962/63, Law’s first season, but that was forgotten when they beat Leicester City 3-1 in the FA Cup final. Law scored the opening goal with a typically swift turn and finish. With that victory, a weight was lifted from the club.

Watching from the stands at Wembley was a recently signed teenager from Belfast: George Best. He made his debut later that year, and in a First Division game against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns early in 1964, he played alongside Law and Charlton for the first time. Symbolically, the trio accounted for all of United’s goals in a 4-1 win.

The legend of the "Holy Trinity" – now immortalised in a statue outside Old Trafford – was born that day, and over the next eight years they produced some of the most thrilling football seen in the English game.

They had contrasting talents: Best provided dribbling genius, Charlton exuded power and elegance, Law radiated a kinetic hyper-activity. In five seasons, all three won the Ballon d’Or, Law finishing ahead of Luis Suarez of Inter in 1964. Amid this galaxy of talent, United fans anointed Law with the nickname “The King.”

United were league champions in 1964/65 and 1966/67. They might have won more trophies but for a curious number of semi-final defeats: four in the FA Cup, two in the European Cup, two in the League Cup, and one in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.

Law was central to the club’s success. “He epitomised everything a striker should be,” said Sir Alex Ferguson, later the United manager. “He was so exciting and he projected a certain panache, a crackling cocktail of aggression and style in the way he moved, the way he held himself.”

But Law suffered a knee injury playing for Scotland in a World Cup qualifier against Poland which was never satisfactorily cleared up. When United achieved the crowning glory of winning the European Cup against Benfica at Wembley in 1968, he was watching from a hospital bed after another knee operation. “The greatest disappointment of my career,” he said.

After scaling that peak, United were rarely in the running for honours again. Law blamed the poor medical care that was then common in English football for his persistent injury problems. “In England, racehorses received better medical treatment than we did,” he said.

When Busby retired the succession proved problematic. Neither Wilf McGuinness nor Frank O’Farrell lasted long but when Tommy Docherty was appointed, partly on Law’s recommendation, in 1972 it seemed to offer him a new start. Law believed he might be offered a job on the coaching staff: instead, Docherty gave him a free transfer, Law receiving the news while watching television at home in Aberdeen. It looked like the end of his career.

Scotland’s braveheart 

It is hard to imagine Denis Law representing any country other than Scotland. “You only had to glance at him to know he was a Scotsman,”  said Ferguson. “He could start a scrap in an empty house, he would fight his own shadow.” Law won 55 caps, then a record, and scored 30 goals, a mark he still holds jointly with Kenny Dalglish.

Law was given his international debut aged 18 by Busby, then part-time Scotland manager, against Wales at Ninian Park in October 1958. He scored in a 3-0 win. From the start, he loved international football.

“You seem to rise a foot higher when you are wearing that jersey,” he said. In his book, The Goalscorers, Tony Pawson wrote: “In him, Scottish football for once resolved its central dilemma, satisfying the national hunger for panache while at the same time meeting the practical demands of the game.”

Law appeared eight times in the annual grudge match against England.  “Those games were the be-all and end-all for many Scots,” he remembered. His debut against England, at Hampden in 1960, was watched by an attendance of 129,000. In 1964, it was 133,000. Such enormous figures were the norm when England visited Glasgow.

Law’s antipathy to England was best shown on the afternoon of July 30 1966. As England were beating West Germany to win the World Cup, Law played golf in the pouring rain on his local course. As he came off the last green, having lost £10 to his partner, the members were waiting for him outside the clubhouse with the news from Wembley. “Bastards,” he said, hurling down his golf bag, “that makes my day.”

Revenge of sorts came at Wembley the following April when Scotland inflicted England’s first defeat as world champions, Law scoring the first goal in a stirring 3-2 triumph. Yet these were years of underachievement for a country blessed with a wealth of world-class talent. Sections of the public and press felt that Anglos – those playing for English clubs – should not be selected. 

Law’s international career was given a fitting climax when Scotland finally qualified for the World Cup in West Germany in 1974. Although he was 34 and past his prime, he played in the opening game against Zaire. 

Return to Maine Road 

Law was contemplating retirement when Man City manager Johnny Hart offered him an unlikely swansong. He scored twice in the opening first division game against Birmingham City but when Hart retired and was replaced by the disciplinarian Ron Saunders, there was a dressing-room revolt. Saunders tried to sell Law to fourth division side Bradford City. The League Cup offered a last opportunity for a winner’s medal, but City lost to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

City’s season concluded with a derby against relegation-threatened United at Old Trafford. United, who had a final game to play, had to win and hope that Birmingham lost. “I must confess I didn’t want to play,” Law said. “United meant too much to me.”

The match was played in a febrile atmosphere, and was heading for a scrappy 0-0 draw when Law reacted instinctively to score with a back-heel from six yards. “The rest of the Manchester City team dived on me but I didn’t celebrate. I was feeling sick, wondering what I had done,” he said.

The goal prompted a pitch invasion and the match was not completed, although the result stood and United were relegated. A myth has grown that Law sent his old club down but results elsewhere meant they would have been relegated anyway. Law went off to the World Cup and concluded his career quietly with two appearances in the pre-season Texaco Cup. 

Retirement initially proved difficult. He worked as a carpet salesman and for the paper company owned by City striker Francis Lee. Eventually, Law found a rewarding second career as a pundit, initially for BBC Radio and later on television for ITV.

At Old Trafford, United’s renaissance under Ferguson in the 1990s sharpened memories of the heyday of the Holy Trinity 30 years earlier. With the death of Best in 2005 and of Charlton in 2023, he was the last survivor of the trio.

Perhaps the greatest tribute came from Lady Jean Busby, wife of Sir Matt. “Many, many marvellous players have worn the Manchester United shirt,” she said, “but there can only ever be one Denis.”

Denis Law was born on 24 February 1940. He died, aged 84, on 17 January 2025.