Denis Law
Encyclopedia
Denis Law is a retired Scottish football
player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Law's career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town
in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, Manchester City
signed him for a transfer fee of £55,000, setting a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer between an English and an Italian club. 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.
He is best known for the eleven years that he spent at United, where he scored 237 goals in 409 appearances and was nicknamed The King and The Lawman by supporters. He is the only Scottish player in history to have won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year
award, doing so in 1964, and helped his club win the First Division
in 1965 and 1967. Law left Manchester United in 1973 and returned to Manchester City for a season, then represented Scotland in the 1974 FIFA World Cup
. Law played for Scotland a total of 55 times and jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals. Law is also United's second highest goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton
. Law holds a United record for scoring 46 goals in a single season.
, Scotland
, to George Law, a fisherman, and his wife Robina, and was the youngest of seven children. The Laws were a poor family, living in a council tenement in Aberdeen. He went barefoot until he was 12 years old, and wore handed-down shoes until well into adulthood; his first pair of football boots was a birthday present from a neighbour, which he received at 16 years of age.
He supported Aberdeen
and watched them when he had enough money to do so, watching local non-league teams when he did not. His obsession with football led to him turning down a place at Aberdeen Grammar School
, as he would have had to play rugby there instead. Instead, he attended Powis Academy (now St. Machar Academy) in Aberdeen. Despite having a serious squint
, he showed great promise once he was moved from full back to inside-left, and was selected for Scotland Schoolboys.
, he was spotted by Archie Beattie, a scout for Huddersfield Town
, who invited him to go for a trial. When he got there, the manager said, "The boy's a freak. Never did I see a less likely football prospect — weak, puny and bespectacled." However, to Law's surprise, they signed him on 3 April 1955. While he was at Huddersfield, he had an operation to correct his squint, which greatly enhanced his self confidence.
Huddersfield's relegation to what was then the Second Division
made it easier for Law to get a game, and he made his debut on 24 December 1956, aged only sixteen, in a 2–0 win over Notts County
.Manchester United's manager Matt Busby
shortly offered Huddersfield £10,000 for Law, a substantial amount of money for a footballer at that time, but the club turned the offer down. Bill Shankly
was manager of Huddersfield between 1957 and 1959, and when he left for Liverpool
he wanted to take Law with him, but Liverpool were unable to afford him at that time.Over the next decade or so, Liverpool would emerge as one of England's top club sides, rivalling and often eclipsing the Manchester United side that Law would by that stage be turning out for.
for what was then a British record transfer fee of £55,000, although Law's share of the fee was "precisely nothing". Once again, Matt Busby had attempted to sign Law for Manchester United, but United's cross city
rivals beat them to Law's signature.
Although a First Division side, City had narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, and he genuinely felt that Huddersfield had a better team at the time. Law made his debut on 19 March, scoring in a 4–3 defeat to Leeds United
. In April 1961, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa
that ensured City's survival in Division One.
Although he had thought about leaving, he was playing well and in 1961 Law scored an incredible six goals in an FA Cup
tie against Luton Town
. Unfortunately for him, the match was abandoned with twenty minutes to go, so his six goals didn't count. To make matters worse for him, Luton won the replay 3–1, and City were knocked out of the Cup.
Although he enjoyed his time at City, he wanted to play in a more successful side and was sold to the Italian club Torino in the summer of 1961.
Players in the UK were not treated well at the time, and the maximum wage
for footballers had only recently been abolished there, so he was pleasantly surprised to find that pre-season training was based in a luxury hotel in the Alps
. However, Torino took performance-related pay to something of an extreme, giving the players bags full of money when the team won but little, if anything, when they lost. Like many British footballers who have gone to play in Italy, Law did not like the style of football and found adapting to it difficult. The ultra-defensive catenaccio
system was popular there at the time, so forwards did not get many chances to score.
On 7 February 1962, he was injured in a car crash when his teammate Joe Baker
drove the wrong way around a roundabout
and clipped the curb as he tried to turn the car around, flipping it over. Baker was almost killed, but Law's injuries were not life-threatening.
By April, he had put in a transfer request, which was ignored. The final straw for Law came in a match against Napoli when he was sent off. After the match, he was told that Torino's coach, Beniamino Santos, had instructed the referee to send him off because he was angry at Law for taking a throw in, which he had been told not to do. Law walked out, and was told that he would be transferred to Manchester United. A few days later, however, he was told that he was being sold to Juventus and that the small print
in his contract committed him to going there whether he wanted to or not. He responded by flying home to Aberdeen, knowing that Torino would not get a penny in transfer fees if he refused to play at Juventus.
He eventually signed for United on 10 July 1962, for a new British record fee of £115,000.
, boarding with the same landlady that he had lived with during his time as a City player. His first match for United was against West Bromwich Albion
on 18 August 1962, and he made an excellent start, scoring after only seven minutes. The match finished in a 2–2 draw. However, United's form had been erratic since the Munich air disaster
in 1958, and because of their inconsistency they spent the season fighting relegation. In a league match against Leicester City
Law scored a hat trick
but United still lost. They found form in the FA Cup
though, with Law scoring another hat trick in a 5–0 win against his old club Huddersfield, and they went on to reach the final against Leicester City. Leicester were strong favourites, having finished fourth in the league, but Law scored the first goal as United won 3–1 in what turned out to be the only FA Cup final of his career. He also married his wife Diana that season, on 11 December 1962.
Unfortunately, an incident had taken place that season which Law felt had repercussions in years to come. In a match against West Brom on 15 December 1962, the referee Gilbert Pullin consistently goaded Law with taunts such as "Oh, you clever so and so, you can't play", and after the match, Law and his manager Matt Busby
reported the matter to the Football Association
. A disciplinary committee decided that Pullin should be severely censured, but he did not accept their verdict and quit the game. Law later claimed that "in the eyes of some referees,[Law] was a marked man" and blamed the incident for the "staggeringly heavy punishments" that he received later in his career.
Law scored a number of goals early in the 1963–64 season
and was selected to play for a Rest of the World side against England
at Wembley, scoring their goal in a 2–1 defeat. He later described this as the greatest honour of his career. His season was interrupted by a 28-day suspension for a sending off that he received against Aston Villa
. The unusually cold winter forced United to play many of their fixtures in a short space of time, and their results suffered. Law later blamed this for United's failure to win a trophy in that season.
In 1964–65
, Law won the European Footballer of the Year
award, and Manchester United won their first league title since Munich. Law's 28 league goals that season made him the First Division's top scorer.
The following season, Law injured his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland
on 21 October 1965. He had previously had an operation on the same knee while at Huddersfield, and the injury was to trouble him for the rest of his career.
In 1966, Law asked United's manager Matt Busby to give him a pay rise at his next contract renewal, and threatened to leave the club if he did not get one. Busby immediately placed Law on the transfer list, announcing that "no player will hold this club to ransom, no player". When Law went to see him, Busby pulled out a written apology for him to sign, showing it to the press once he had done so. Law later claimed that Busby had used the incident to warn other players not to do the same thing, but had secretly given him the pay rise.
In 1968, United won the European Cup
for the first time, but Law's knee injury was causing him serious problems and he missed both the semi-final and the final
as a result. He was regularly given cortisone
injections to ease the pain, but playing while the knee was still injured was causing long-term damage. He visited a specialist in January 1968 who wrote to United claiming that a previous operation to remove the cartilage from the knee had failed and recommending that a second operation be performed, but Law was not shown the report for several years and had to continue full training.
In 1968–69
, United reached the semi-final of the European Cup, playing AC Milan. United lost the first leg in the San Siro 2–0, winning the second leg
at Old Trafford 1–0 with a Bobby Charlton goal. Law put the ball over the line only to see it kicked away by a Milan defender. Law claimed a goal but the referee waved play on and United went out on aggregate. Busby, who had now been knighted
, resigned at the end of the season and United's decline began.
took over as first team coach at the start of the 1969–70 season
. United finished eighth in the league, but Law missed almost all of the season through injury, and in April 1970 he was transfer listed for £60,000. Nobody made a bid for him, so he stayed at United.
After a poor 1970–71 season, Frank O'Farrell
took over as United manager. They made a good start to the 1971–72 season and finished 1971 five points clear at the top of the league, with Law having scored twelve goals. However, results deteriorated and they finished the season in eighth place. Law scored in the first match of the following season, 1972–73
, but his knee injury was troubling him again, and he failed to score for the rest of the season. The poor results continued and O'Farrell was sacked.
Law recommended that United replace O'Farrell with Tommy Docherty
, having known him from his time playing with the Scottish national side. The club followed his recommendation, and things started well with the team's improved results lifting them into mid-table.
(who retired in 1972) had scored more goals for United.
He moved back to Manchester City. He played in City's 2–1 defeat in the League Cup
final against Wolves
. In City's last game of the 1973–74 season
against Manchester United at Old Trafford
, Law's back-heel gave City a 1–0 win but, thinking his goal had relegated United, he did not celebrate it (it turned out they would have been relegated even if the match had been drawn but Law did not know this at the time), walking off the pitch with his head down as he was substituted immediately afterwards. This game was the last club match of his professional career, as he retired that summer after appearing for Scotland in the 1974 World Cup, not wanting to be confined to the reserve team of a City side who were bringing in younger players.
Law still had a contract with Manchester City but their manager Tony Book
told him that he would only be playing reserve team football if he stayed. He did not want to end his career in this way, so he retired from professional football in the summer of 1974.
, but scored on his debut against Wales
on 18 October 1958 and quickly established himself as a first choice player. He played but did not score in Scotland's match against England
on 15 April 1961. Scotland lost the match 9–3, and Law described it as his "blackest day".
While with Torino, Law continued to play for Scotland, although the club were not keen to release him for international matches and had put a clause into his contract stating that they were not obliged to do so.
Law was chosen for the Rest of the World team that faced England in the FA Centenary match in 1963
Law injured his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland
on 21 October 1965. Law scored in Scotland's famous 3–2 victory over England on 15 April 1967 in the 1967 British Home Championship
, less than a year after England had become world champions. Manchester United won the league that season, but Law felt that the victory over England was even more satisfying.
Scotland reached the World Cup
finals in the summer of 1974
, for the first time since 1958. Although he had not played much first team football in the preceding season, Law was included in the squad and played in their first match, against Zaire. He didn't score, but Scotland won 2–0. Law was "very disappointed" not to be picked for the following match against Brazil
, and was not selected for the following match against Yugoslavia
either. Although Scotland were not defeated in any of their matches, they did not qualify for the second phase and were out of the World Cup.
and television
summarising and presenting games.
He appeared as a special guest on the TV guest show This Is Your Life
on 19 February 1975, months after retiring as a player.
As of July 2005, he is still married to Diana, and they still live in the Manchester
area. They have five children, and their daughter, also called Diana.
Law was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame
in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game.
On 23 February 2002, a statue of Law was unveiled at Old Trafford
, in the part of the stadium known as the Stretford End
. He had a successful operation to treat prostate cancer
in November 2003 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Aberdeen
on 5 July 2005.
The emergence of Dutch international Dennis Bergkamp
in the 1990s uncovered a story that the player's parents, who were fans of Manchester United in the 1960s, named their son after Law. However, Dutch authorities refused to recognise the name unless it was spelt with two ns as they felt it was otherwise too similar to the female name Denise.
On 25 November 2005, Law was at the bedside of former United team-mate George Best
as he died of multiple organ failure.
In May 2008 at the Manchester City ground, Law (with UEFA President Michel Platini
) presented the medals to the winners of the UEFA Cup, Zenit St. Petersburg, and their opponents, Scottish side Rangers
.
In February 2010, Law was named as Patron of the UK based charity Football Aid, taking over from the late Sir Bobby Robson.
Honours:
|1956–57
||rowspan="4"|Huddersfield Town
||rowspan="4"|Second Division
||12||2||5||1||-||-||-||-||18||3
|-
|1957–58||18||5||2||1||-||-||-||-||20||6
|-
|1958–59||26||2||0||0||-||-||-||-||26||2
|-
|1959–60||24||7||3||1||-||-||-||-||27||8
|-
|1959–60||rowspan="2"|Manchester City
||rowspan="2"|First Division
||7||2||0||0||-||-||-||-||7||2
|-
|1960–61||37||19||6||4||-||-||-||-||43||21
|-
|1961–62
||Torino
||Serie A
||27||10||1||0||-||-||-||-||28||10
|-
|1962–63||rowspan="11"|Manchester United
||rowspan="11"|First Division
||38||23||6||6||-||-||-||-||44||29
|-
|1963–64||30||30||6||10||-||-||5||6||41||46
|-
|1964–65||36||28||6||3||-||-||10||8||52||39
|-
|1965–66||33||15||7||6||-||-||8||3||48||24
|-
|1966–67||36||23||2||2||-||-||-||-||38||25
|-
|1967–68||23||7||1||0||-||-||3||2||27||9
|-
|1968–69||30||14||6||7||-||-||7||9||43||30
|-
|1969–70||11||2||2||0||3||1||-||-||16||3
|-
|1970–71||28||15||2||0||4||1||-||-||34||16
|-
|1971–72||33||13||7||0||2||0||-||-||42||13
|-
|1972–73||11||1||1||0||2||1||-||-||14||2
|-
|1973–74||Manchester City
||First Division
||24||9||5||3||-||-||-||-||30||12
458||217||67||44||11||3||33||28||569||292
27||10||1||0||0||0||0||0||28||10
485||227||68||44||11||3||33||28||597||302
|1958||2||1
|-
|1959||4||0
|-
|1960||4||2
|-
|1961||3||2
|-
|1962||3||5
|-
|1963||7||11
|-
|1964||5||1
|-
|1965||6||2
|-
|1966||2||2
|-
|1967||3||1
|-
|1968||1||1
|-
|1969||2||0
|-
|1970||0||0
|-
|1971||0||0
|-
|1972||7||2
|-
|1973||3||0
|-
|1974||3||0
|-
!Total||55||30
|}
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Law's career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
signed him for a transfer fee of £55,000, setting a new British record. Law spent one year there before Torino bought him for £110,000, this time setting a new record fee for a transfer between an English and an Italian club. Although he played well in Italy, he found it difficult to settle there and signed for Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in 1962, setting another British record transfer fee of £115,000.
He is best known for the eleven years that he spent at United, where he scored 237 goals in 409 appearances and was nicknamed The King and The Lawman by supporters. He is the only Scottish player in history to have won the prestigious European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
award, doing so in 1964, and helped his club win the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
in 1965 and 1967. Law left Manchester United in 1973 and returned to Manchester City for a season, then represented Scotland in the 1974 FIFA World Cup
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
. Law played for Scotland a total of 55 times and jointly holds the Scottish international record goal tally with 30 goals. Law is also United's second highest goalscorer behind Bobby Charlton
Bobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
. Law holds a United record for scoring 46 goals in a single season.
Early life
Law was born in AberdeenAberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, to George Law, a fisherman, and his wife Robina, and was the youngest of seven children. The Laws were a poor family, living in a council tenement in Aberdeen. He went barefoot until he was 12 years old, and wore handed-down shoes until well into adulthood; his first pair of football boots was a birthday present from a neighbour, which he received at 16 years of age.
He supported Aberdeen
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
and watched them when he had enough money to do so, watching local non-league teams when he did not. His obsession with football led to him turning down a place at Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School, known to students as The Grammar is a state secondary school in the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department...
, as he would have had to play rugby there instead. Instead, he attended Powis Academy (now St. Machar Academy) in Aberdeen. Despite having a serious squint
Strabismus
Strabismus is a condition in which the eyes are not properly aligned with each other. It typically involves a lack of coordination between the extraocular muscles, which prevents bringing the gaze of each eye to the same point in space and preventing proper binocular vision, which may adversely...
, he showed great promise once he was moved from full back to inside-left, and was selected for Scotland Schoolboys.
Huddersfield Town
In the 1954–55 season1954-55 in English football
The 1954–1955 season was the 75th season of competitive football in England, from August 1954 to May 1955:-Overview:* Chelsea win the League Championship for the first time.* Newcastle United win the FA Cup....
, he was spotted by Archie Beattie, a scout for Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
, who invited him to go for a trial. When he got there, the manager said, "The boy's a freak. Never did I see a less likely football prospect — weak, puny and bespectacled." However, to Law's surprise, they signed him on 3 April 1955. While he was at Huddersfield, he had an operation to correct his squint, which greatly enhanced his self confidence.
Huddersfield's relegation to what was then the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
made it easier for Law to get a game, and he made his debut on 24 December 1956, aged only sixteen, in a 2–0 win over Notts County
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
.Manchester United's manager Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
shortly offered Huddersfield £10,000 for Law, a substantial amount of money for a footballer at that time, but the club turned the offer down. Bill Shankly
Bill Shankly
William "Bill" Shankly, OBE was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Liverpool between 1959 and 1974. One of Britain's most successful and respected football managers, Shankly was also a fine player whose career was interrupted by the Second World War...
was manager of Huddersfield between 1957 and 1959, and when he left for Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
he wanted to take Law with him, but Liverpool were unable to afford him at that time.Over the next decade or so, Liverpool would emerge as one of England's top club sides, rivalling and often eclipsing the Manchester United side that Law would by that stage be turning out for.
Manchester City
In March 1960, Law signed for Manchester CityManchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
for what was then a British record transfer fee of £55,000, although Law's share of the fee was "precisely nothing". Once again, Matt Busby had attempted to sign Law for Manchester United, but United's cross city
Manchester derby
The Manchester derby is the name given to football matches between Manchester City and Manchester United. The local derby centres on the City of Manchester and Greater Manchester with approximately four miles separating the clubs with City based in east Manchester at the City of Manchester Stadium...
rivals beat them to Law's signature.
Although a First Division side, City had narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, and he genuinely felt that Huddersfield had a better team at the time. Law made his debut on 19 March, scoring in a 4–3 defeat to Leeds United
Leeds United A.F.C.
Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...
. In April 1961, he scored two goals in a 4–1 win over Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
that ensured City's survival in Division One.
Although he had thought about leaving, he was playing well and in 1961 Law scored an incredible six goals in an FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
tie against Luton Town
Luton Town F.C.
Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...
. Unfortunately for him, the match was abandoned with twenty minutes to go, so his six goals didn't count. To make matters worse for him, Luton won the replay 3–1, and City were knocked out of the Cup.
Although he enjoyed his time at City, he wanted to play in a more successful side and was sold to the Italian club Torino in the summer of 1961.
Torino
Law's time in Italy did not go according to plan. Another Italian club, Internazionale, tried to prevent him becoming a Torino player as soon as he arrived, claiming he had signed a pre-contract agreement with them, although they dropped this claim before the season started.Players in the UK were not treated well at the time, and the maximum wage
Maximum wage
A maximum wage, also often called a wage ceiling, is a legal limit on how much income an individual can earn. This is a related economic concept that is complementary to the minimum wage used currently by some states to enforce minimum earnings...
for footballers had only recently been abolished there, so he was pleasantly surprised to find that pre-season training was based in a luxury hotel in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. However, Torino took performance-related pay to something of an extreme, giving the players bags full of money when the team won but little, if anything, when they lost. Like many British footballers who have gone to play in Italy, Law did not like the style of football and found adapting to it difficult. The ultra-defensive catenaccio
Catenaccio
Catenaccio is a tactical system in football with an emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means "door-bolt", implying a highly organized and effective backline defense which is intended to prevent goals.-History:...
system was popular there at the time, so forwards did not get many chances to score.
On 7 February 1962, he was injured in a car crash when his teammate Joe Baker
Joe Baker
Joseph Henry "Joe" Baker was an England international footballer. Born in Liverpool, England, he spent virtually his entire childhood growing up in Motherwell, Scotland...
drove the wrong way around a roundabout
Roundabout
A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...
and clipped the curb as he tried to turn the car around, flipping it over. Baker was almost killed, but Law's injuries were not life-threatening.
By April, he had put in a transfer request, which was ignored. The final straw for Law came in a match against Napoli when he was sent off. After the match, he was told that Torino's coach, Beniamino Santos, had instructed the referee to send him off because he was angry at Law for taking a throw in, which he had been told not to do. Law walked out, and was told that he would be transferred to Manchester United. A few days later, however, he was told that he was being sold to Juventus and that the small print
Small Print
Small Print is the debut album by English singer Sam Wedgwood, released in 2006. The album was mastered at Little Tardis Studios and clearly illustrates Sam’s varied, extensive musical tastes and influences, combining a modern acoustic vibe with some funky jazz beats, some dance numbers and real...
in his contract committed him to going there whether he wanted to or not. He responded by flying home to Aberdeen, knowing that Torino would not get a penny in transfer fees if he refused to play at Juventus.
He eventually signed for United on 10 July 1962, for a new British record fee of £115,000.
Glory years
Law moved back to ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, boarding with the same landlady that he had lived with during his time as a City player. His first match for United was against West Bromwich Albion
West Bromwich Albion F.C.
West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
on 18 August 1962, and he made an excellent start, scoring after only seven minutes. The match finished in a 2–2 draw. However, United's form had been erratic since the Munich air disaster
Munich air disaster
The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. On board the plane was the Manchester United football team, nicknamed the "Busby Babes",...
in 1958, and because of their inconsistency they spent the season fighting relegation. In a league match against Leicester City
Leicester City F.C.
Leicester City Football Club , also known as The Foxes, is an English professional football club based at the King Power Stadium in Leicester...
Law scored a hat trick
Hat Trick
Hat trick, hat-trick or hattrick may refer to:* hat-trick — in various sports, achieving three goals, wickets, etc. in a single match* Hattrick — online football management game** Hattrick Limited — producers of this game...
but United still lost. They found form in the FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
though, with Law scoring another hat trick in a 5–0 win against his old club Huddersfield, and they went on to reach the final against Leicester City. Leicester were strong favourites, having finished fourth in the league, but Law scored the first goal as United won 3–1 in what turned out to be the only FA Cup final of his career. He also married his wife Diana that season, on 11 December 1962.
Unfortunately, an incident had taken place that season which Law felt had repercussions in years to come. In a match against West Brom on 15 December 1962, the referee Gilbert Pullin consistently goaded Law with taunts such as "Oh, you clever so and so, you can't play", and after the match, Law and his manager Matt Busby
Matt Busby
Sir Alexander Matthew "Matt" Busby, CBE, KCSG was a Scottish football player and manager, most noted for managing Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 1970–1971 season...
reported the matter to the Football Association
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
. A disciplinary committee decided that Pullin should be severely censured, but he did not accept their verdict and quit the game. Law later claimed that "in the eyes of some referees,
Law scored a number of goals early in the 1963–64 season
1963-64 in English football
The 1963–1964 season was the 84th season of competitive football in England, from August 1963 to May 1964:-Overview:* Liverpool won the League Championship.* West Ham United won the FA Cup.* Leicester City won the League Cup.-Diary of the season:...
and was selected to play for a Rest of the World side against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
at Wembley, scoring their goal in a 2–1 defeat. He later described this as the greatest honour of his career. His season was interrupted by a 28-day suspension for a sending off that he received against Aston Villa
Aston Villa F.C.
Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...
. The unusually cold winter forced United to play many of their fixtures in a short space of time, and their results suffered. Law later blamed this for United's failure to win a trophy in that season.
In 1964–65
1964-65 in English football
The 1964–65 season was the 85th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* After a three-way tussle for the League title between Manchester United, Leeds United and Chelsea, Manchester United came out on top and were crowned champions....
, Law won the European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
award, and Manchester United won their first league title since Munich. Law's 28 league goals that season made him the First Division's top scorer.
The following season, Law injured his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
on 21 October 1965. He had previously had an operation on the same knee while at Huddersfield, and the injury was to trouble him for the rest of his career.
In 1966, Law asked United's manager Matt Busby to give him a pay rise at his next contract renewal, and threatened to leave the club if he did not get one. Busby immediately placed Law on the transfer list, announcing that "no player will hold this club to ransom, no player". When Law went to see him, Busby pulled out a written apology for him to sign, showing it to the press once he had done so. Law later claimed that Busby had used the incident to warn other players not to do the same thing, but had secretly given him the pay rise.
In 1968, United won the European Cup
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the first time, but Law's knee injury was causing him serious problems and he missed both the semi-final and the final
1968 European Cup Final
The 1968 European Cup Final was the 13th European Cup Final and the culmination of the 1967–68 European Cup, a club football tournament for the champions of European leagues. The match was held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 29 May 1968, between Manchester United of England and Benfica of Portugal...
as a result. He was regularly given cortisone
Corticosteroid
Corticosteroids are a class of steroid hormones that are produced in the adrenal cortex. Corticosteroids are involved in a wide range of physiologic systems such as stress response, immune response and regulation of inflammation, carbohydrate metabolism, protein catabolism, blood electrolyte...
injections to ease the pain, but playing while the knee was still injured was causing long-term damage. He visited a specialist in January 1968 who wrote to United claiming that a previous operation to remove the cartilage from the knee had failed and recommending that a second operation be performed, but Law was not shown the report for several years and had to continue full training.
In 1968–69
1968-69 in English football
The 1968–69 season was the 89th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Leeds United won the League for the first time in their history, finishing six points ahead of Liverpool...
, United reached the semi-final of the European Cup, playing AC Milan. United lost the first leg in the San Siro 2–0, winning the second leg
Two-legged match
In sport , a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or legs, with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs...
at Old Trafford 1–0 with a Bobby Charlton goal. Law put the ball over the line only to see it kicked away by a Milan defender. Law claimed a goal but the referee waved play on and United went out on aggregate. Busby, who had now been knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
, resigned at the end of the season and United's decline began.
Decline
Wilf McGuinnessWilf McGuinness
Wilfred "Wilf" McGuinness is a former English football player and manager, who played twice for England. He is best known for taking over from Matt Busby as manager of Manchester United...
took over as first team coach at the start of the 1969–70 season
1969-70 in English football
The 1969–70 season was the 90th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Everton won their seventh title, finishing nine points clear of Leeds United with Chelsea in third and newly promoted Derby County in fourth...
. United finished eighth in the league, but Law missed almost all of the season through injury, and in April 1970 he was transfer listed for £60,000. Nobody made a bid for him, so he stayed at United.
After a poor 1970–71 season, Frank O'Farrell
Frank O'Farrell
Francis 'Frank' O'Farrell is an Irish former football player and manager.-Early:Frank O'Farrell started his playing career with Cork United, but followed his former Cork teammate, Tommy Moroney to West Ham United in January 1948. A quietly spoken, but nonetheless determined and talented wing-half,...
took over as United manager. They made a good start to the 1971–72 season and finished 1971 five points clear at the top of the league, with Law having scored twelve goals. However, results deteriorated and they finished the season in eighth place. Law scored in the first match of the following season, 1972–73
1972-73 in English football
The 1972–73 season was the 93rd season of competitive football in England.-Overview:The Football League announced that a three-up, three-down system would operate between the top two divisions from the following season, rather than the traditional two-up, two-down system...
, but his knee injury was troubling him again, and he failed to score for the rest of the season. The poor results continued and O'Farrell was sacked.
Law recommended that United replace O'Farrell with Tommy Docherty
Tommy Docherty
Thomas Henderson "Tommy" Docherty , commonly known as "The Doc", is a Scottish former footballer and football manager.-Playing career:...
, having known him from his time playing with the Scottish national side. The club followed his recommendation, and things started well with the team's improved results lifting them into mid-table.
Return to City
Docherty gave Law a free transfer in the summer of 1973, after 11 years at the club during which he had scored a total of 237 goals in 404 games in all competitions, as well as collecting two league title medals and an FA Cup winner's medal. Only Bobby CharltonBobby Charlton
Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...
(who retired in 1972) had scored more goals for United.
He moved back to Manchester City. He played in City's 2–1 defeat in the League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
final against Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C.
Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club that represents the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands region. They are members of the Premier League, the highest level of English football. The club was founded in 1877 and since 1889 has played at...
. In City's last game of the 1973–74 season
1973-74 in English football
The 1973–74 season was the 94th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Don Revie marked his last season as Leeds United's manager by guiding them to league championship glory, before taking over from Sir Alf Ramsey as the England national football team manager, with England...
against Manchester United at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
, Law's back-heel gave City a 1–0 win but, thinking his goal had relegated United, he did not celebrate it (it turned out they would have been relegated even if the match had been drawn but Law did not know this at the time), walking off the pitch with his head down as he was substituted immediately afterwards. This game was the last club match of his professional career, as he retired that summer after appearing for Scotland in the 1974 World Cup, not wanting to be confined to the reserve team of a City side who were bringing in younger players.
Law still had a contract with Manchester City but their manager Tony Book
Tony Book
Anthony Keith Book is a retired English footballer and manager who was born in Bath, 4 September 1934. Book spent a large part of his career in Non-League football with his home town club Bath City, before entering league football with Plymouth Argyle. At the age of 31, he joined First Division...
told him that he would only be playing reserve team football if he stayed. He did not want to end his career in this way, so he retired from professional football in the summer of 1974.
International career
Law was not chosen to play for Scotland in the 1958 FIFA World Cup1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...
, but scored on his debut against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
on 18 October 1958 and quickly established himself as a first choice player. He played but did not score in Scotland's match against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
on 15 April 1961. Scotland lost the match 9–3, and Law described it as his "blackest day".
While with Torino, Law continued to play for Scotland, although the club were not keen to release him for international matches and had put a clause into his contract stating that they were not obliged to do so.
Law was chosen for the Rest of the World team that faced England in the FA Centenary match in 1963
Law injured his right knee while playing for Scotland against Poland
Poland national football team
The Poland national football team represents Poland in association football and is controlled by the Polish Football Association, the governing body for football in Poland...
on 21 October 1965. Law scored in Scotland's famous 3–2 victory over England on 15 April 1967 in the 1967 British Home Championship
1967 British Home Championship
The 1967 British Home Championship has remained famous in the memories of British Home Nations football fans ever since the dramatic climatic match at Wembley Stadium, where an unfancied Scottish team beat England on the same turf they had won the 1966 FIFA World Cup a year before...
, less than a year after England had become world champions. Manchester United won the league that season, but Law felt that the victory over England was even more satisfying.
Scotland reached the World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
finals in the summer of 1974
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup, the tenth staging of the World Cup, was held in West Germany from 13 June to 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded...
, for the first time since 1958. Although he had not played much first team football in the preceding season, Law was included in the squad and played in their first match, against Zaire. He didn't score, but Scotland won 2–0. Law was "very disappointed" not to be picked for the following match against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
, and was not selected for the following match against Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
either. Although Scotland were not defeated in any of their matches, they did not qualify for the second phase and were out of the World Cup.
Personal life
Since then, Law has often worked on radioRadio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
summarising and presenting games.
He appeared as a special guest on the TV guest show This Is Your Life
This Is Your Life (UK TV series)
This Is Your Life is a British biographical television documentary, based on the 1952 American show of the same name. It was hosted by Eamonn Andrews from 1955 until 1964, and then from 1969 until his death in 1987 aged 64...
on 19 February 1975, months after retiring as a player.
As of July 2005, he is still married to Diana, and they still live in the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
area. They have five children, and their daughter, also called Diana.
Law was made an Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of Fame
English Football Hall of Fame
The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...
in 2002 in recognition of his impact on the English game.
On 23 February 2002, a statue of Law was unveiled at Old Trafford
Old Trafford (football)
Old Trafford is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 75,811, Old Trafford is the second-largest football stadium in England after Wembley, the third-largest in the United Kingdom and the eleventh-largest in Europe...
, in the part of the stadium known as the Stretford End
Stretford End
The Stretford End, officially named West Stand, is a stand on the west side of Old Trafford, the stadium of Manchester United F.C. It took its name from the town of Stretford, in which the stadium is located, as it is in the direction of the centre of Stretford, looking from the centre of the pitch...
. He had a successful operation to treat prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
in November 2003 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
on 5 July 2005.
The emergence of Dutch international Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Bergkamp , is a former Dutch professional footballer who is currently the assistant manager to Frank de Boer at Ajax. At club level he played for Ajax, Internazionale, and Arsenal, and also represented the Netherlands at international level...
in the 1990s uncovered a story that the player's parents, who were fans of Manchester United in the 1960s, named their son after Law. However, Dutch authorities refused to recognise the name unless it was spelt with two ns as they felt it was otherwise too similar to the female name Denise.
On 25 November 2005, Law was at the bedside of former United team-mate George Best
George Best
George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...
as he died of multiple organ failure.
In May 2008 at the Manchester City ground, Law (with UEFA President Michel Platini
Michel Platini
Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...
) presented the medals to the winners of the UEFA Cup, Zenit St. Petersburg, and their opponents, Scottish side Rangers
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
.
In February 2010, Law was named as Patron of the UK based charity Football Aid, taking over from the late Sir Bobby Robson.
Career summary
Clubs:- Huddersfield TownHuddersfield Town F.C.Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
(1956–1960) - Manchester CityManchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
(1960–1961) - Torino (1961–1962)
- Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
(1962–1973) - Manchester CityManchester City F.C.Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
(1973–1974)
Honours:
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
: 19631963 FA Cup FinalThe 1963 FA Cup Final was the final of the 1962–63 FA Cup, the 82nd season of England's premier club football competition. The match was played at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 1963 and contested by Manchester United and Leicester City. United won 3–1, with a goal from Denis Law and two from... - Football League First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
: 1964-65, 1966-67 - European CupUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1968 - European Footballer of the YearEuropean Footballer of the YearThe "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
: 1964 - Inaugural Inductee of the English Football Hall of FameEnglish Football Hall of FameThe English Football Hall of Fame is housed at the National Football Museum, currently being relocated to Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of the all-time top English footballing talents, as well as non-English players and managers who have become...
: 2002 - Scotland's Golden PlayerUEFA Jubilee AwardsTo celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...
: Most Outstanding Player of the past 50 years by the Scottish Football AssociationScottish Football AssociationThe Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...
(November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee)
Club appearances and goals by season
|-|1956–57
The Football League 1956-57
-Overview:The 1956–1957 season was the 58th completed season of The Football League.-Final league tables :The tables below are reproduced here in the exact form that they can be found at website and in Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, with home and away statistics...
||rowspan="4"|Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
||rowspan="4"|Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
||12||2||5||1||-||-||-||-||18||3
|-
|1957–58||18||5||2||1||-||-||-||-||20||6
|-
|1958–59||26||2||0||0||-||-||-||-||26||2
|-
|1959–60||24||7||3||1||-||-||-||-||27||8
|-
|1959–60||rowspan="2"|Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
||rowspan="2"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||7||2||0||0||-||-||-||-||7||2
|-
|1960–61||37||19||6||4||-||-||-||-||43||21
|-
|1961–62
Serie A 1961-62
-Final classification:-Results:...
||Torino
Torino F.C.
Torino Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Torino, is a professional Italian football club based in Turin, Piedmont, that was founded in 1906. The club has spent most of its history in the top tier in Italian football....
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||27||10||1||0||-||-||-||-||28||10
|-
|1962–63||rowspan="11"|Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
||rowspan="11"|First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||38||23||6||6||-||-||-||-||44||29
|-
|1963–64||30||30||6||10||-||-||5||6||41||46
|-
|1964–65||36||28||6||3||-||-||10||8||52||39
|-
|1965–66||33||15||7||6||-||-||8||3||48||24
|-
|1966–67||36||23||2||2||-||-||-||-||38||25
|-
|1967–68||23||7||1||0||-||-||3||2||27||9
|-
|1968–69||30||14||6||7||-||-||7||9||43||30
|-
|1969–70||11||2||2||0||3||1||-||-||16||3
|-
|1970–71||28||15||2||0||4||1||-||-||34||16
|-
|1971–72||33||13||7||0||2||0||-||-||42||13
|-
|1972–73||11||1||1||0||2||1||-||-||14||2
|-
|1973–74||Manchester City
Manchester City F.C.
Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...
||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
||24||9||5||3||-||-||-||-||30||12
458||217||67||44||11||3||33||28||569||292
27||10||1||0||0||0||0||0||28||10
485||227||68||44||11||3||33||28||597||302
National team statistics
|-|1958||2||1
|-
|1959||4||0
|-
|1960||4||2
|-
|1961||3||2
|-
|1962||3||5
|-
|1963||7||11
|-
|1964||5||1
|-
|1965||6||2
|-
|1966||2||2
|-
|1967||3||1
|-
|1968||1||1
|-
|1969||2||0
|-
|1970||0||0
|-
|1971||0||0
|-
|1972||7||2
|-
|1973||3||0
|-
|1974||3||0
|-
!Total||55||30
|}
International goals
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1 18 October 1958 Ninian Park Ninian ParkNinian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
2–0 3–0 BHC 1959 British Home ChampionshipThe 1959 British Home Championship was a football tournament played between the British Home Nations. It came the year after the notable failure of England and Scotland to impress at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, for which all four nations qualified for the only time...2 4 May 1960 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–1 2–3 Friendly 3 9 November 1960 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–0 5–2 BHC 1961 British Home ChampionshipThe 1961 British Home Championship international football tournament saw a series of high scoring games, with 40 goals scored in just six matches - a ratio of 6.66 goals per game. England took the British title after a final match at Wembley in which they put nine goals past Scotland, who returned...4 26 September 1961 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
2–2 3–2 WCQG8 5 26 September 1961 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
3–2 3–2 WCQG8 6 20 October 1962 Ninian Park Ninian ParkNinian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
2–1 3–2 BHC 1963 British Home ChampionshipThe 1963 British Home Championship football tournament came after disappointment for the home nations in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, for which only England qualified, only to be beaten 3–1 in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil...7 7 November 1962 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–1 5–1 BHC 1963 British Home ChampionshipThe 1963 British Home Championship football tournament came after disappointment for the home nations in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, for which only England qualified, only to be beaten 3–1 in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil...8 7 November 1962 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
2–1 5–1 BHC 1963 British Home ChampionshipThe 1963 British Home Championship football tournament came after disappointment for the home nations in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, for which only England qualified, only to be beaten 3–1 in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil...9 7 November 1962 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
3–1 5–1 BHC 1963 British Home ChampionshipThe 1963 British Home Championship football tournament came after disappointment for the home nations in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, for which only England qualified, only to be beaten 3–1 in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil...10 7 November 1962 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
5–1 5–1 BHC 1963 British Home ChampionshipThe 1963 British Home Championship football tournament came after disappointment for the home nations in the 1962 FIFA World Cup, for which only England qualified, only to be beaten 3–1 in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Brazil...11 8 May 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
3–0 4–2 Friendly 12 8 May 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
4–0 4–2 Friendly 13 4 June 1963 Brann Stadion Brann StadionBrann Stadion is a football stadium in Bergen, Norway. It was constructed in 1919, and has been the home of the football club Brann ever since. The stadium lies south of the centre of the city, at the foot of Mount Ulriken....
, Bergen1–1 3–4 Friendly 14 4 June 1963 Brann Stadion Brann StadionBrann Stadion is a football stadium in Bergen, Norway. It was constructed in 1919, and has been the home of the football club Brann ever since. The stadium lies south of the centre of the city, at the foot of Mount Ulriken....
, Bergen2–2 3–4 Friendly 15 4 June 1963 Brann Stadion Brann StadionBrann Stadion is a football stadium in Bergen, Norway. It was constructed in 1919, and has been the home of the football club Brann ever since. The stadium lies south of the centre of the city, at the foot of Mount Ulriken....
, Bergen3–3 3–4 Friendly 16 13 June 1963 Bernabeu, Madrid MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
1–1 6–2 Friendly 17 7 November 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–1 6–1 Friendly 18 7 November 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
2–1 6–1 Friendly 19 7 November 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
3–1 6–1 Friendly 20 7 November 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
6–1 6–1 Friendly 21 20 November 1963 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
2–0 2–1 BHC 1964 British Home ChampionshipThe 1964 British Home Championship international Home Nations football tournament was an unusual affair in which victory was shared between the England, Scotland and Ireland national football teams after all teams scored four points by beating Wales and then winning one and losing one of their...22 21 October 1964 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–0 3–1 WCQG8 23 10 April 1965 Wembley Stadium, London LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1–2 2–2 BHC 1965 British Home ChampionshipThe 1965 British Home Championship was an outright victory for the English football team in the run up to the 1966 FIFA World Cup which was held in the country...24 23 May 1965 Silesia Stadium Silesia StadiumSilesian Stadium is a sport stadium located between Chorzów and Katowice, Silesia, Poland. It opened on 22 July 1956 and has since hosted crowds of over 120,000 for both football matches and motorcycle speedway world championships...
, ChorzówChorzówChorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
/ KatowiceKatowiceKatowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
1–1 1–1 WCQG8 25 2 April 1966 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–2 3–4 BHC 1966 British Home ChampionshipThe 1966 British Home Championship was a cause of great excitement as it supplied spectators and commentators a view of England prior to their contesting the football 1966 FIFA World Cup on home soil at which they were one of the favourites...26 22 October 1966 Ninian Park Ninian ParkNinian Park was a football stadium in Leckwith, Cardiff, Wales. Until 2009, it was the home ground of Cardiff City F.C., who compete in the English Football League Championship...
, CardiffCardiffCardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
1–1 1–1 BHC 1967 British Home ChampionshipThe 1967 British Home Championship has remained famous in the memories of British Home Nations football fans ever since the dramatic climatic match at Wembley Stadium, where an unfancied Scottish team beat England on the same turf they had won the 1966 FIFA World Cup a year before...
/ ECQG827 15 April 1967 Wembley Stadium, London LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1–0 3–2 BHC 1967 British Home ChampionshipThe 1967 British Home Championship has remained famous in the memories of British Home Nations football fans ever since the dramatic climatic match at Wembley Stadium, where an unfancied Scottish team beat England on the same turf they had won the 1966 FIFA World Cup a year before...
/ ECQG828 6 November 1968 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–1 2–1 WCQG7 29 26 April 1972 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
2–0 2–0 Friendly 30 20 May 1972 Hampden Park Hampden ParkHampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...
, GlasgowGlasgowGlasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
1–0 2–0 BHC 1972 British Home ChampionshipThe 1972 British Home Championship was the first such Home Nations football tournament , to suffer during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, when death threats from the Provisional Irish Republican Army were sent to the Scottish Football Association and Scottish players who were scheduled to play at...
External links
- Photos & stats at sporting-heroes.net
- Short biography on the official Manchester United website
- Comprehensive listing of books about Denis Law
- Short biography on Manchester Online
- English Football Hall of Fame Profile
- UEFA.com – Scotland's Golden Player
- BBC Archive Collections:Football Legends - Denis Law