Sports Poets Society

IMMORTAL - Law with fellow Man United heroes  Bobby Charlton  and George Best. Below, statue of trio Former team-mates pay tribute to ‘unbelievable’ strike ace.. the only footballer from our nation to be crowned world’s best thoughts are with your family. thanks for the great memories. My hero Kenny Dalglish on all-time great 18 gen 2025 - Daily Record BY JOHN-PAUL CLARK TRIBUTES have been paid to Denis Law, the only Scot to have ever won the ballon D’Or, after his death at 84.  The former Manchester United and Scotland striker’s family announced the sad news last night after he lost his battle with Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. A family statement said: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle but finally he is now at peace. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently. “We know how much people supported and loved him, and love was ...

In 2016, The Herald ran an exclusive interview with Denis Law. After the death of the Scotland and Man United legend at the age of 84, we’ve reprinted it in full here... Being able to play and send a couple of quid home to my mum was a big thing for me. There was just this thrill every time I played and that stayed with me throughout my career. I never at any point got fed up with it 18 Jan 2025 - Herald Sport Graeme Macpherson Football writer EVEN on a midweek afternoon in the middle of the close season, the concourses around Old Trafford still echo to the sound of excited continental chattering. Groups of tourists, many clad head to toe in Manchester United merchandise, throng from one landmark to another, their passage around the outside of the stadium interrupted only by the need to stop at frequent intervals to lift their phones for the now ubiquitous selfie shots. Among the most popular attractions is the statue of the United Trinity, three of the club’s greatest players immortal...

18 gen 2025 - Daily Record ARCHIE MACPHERSON ON SCOTLAND HERO DENIS LAW »Broadcaster pays tribute to icon who plundered so many goals in the dark blue »From the highs of 1961 Czechoslovakia win to lows of 1974 World Cup and beyond any time denis represented his country, he carried the possibility of victory for us     - ARCHIE ON LAW’S IMPACT FOR SCOTLAND A GOAL by Denis law was no mere statistic. It could be like you were witnessing a comet flashing across the sky, his blond mop a beacon of crowning glory as he would turn away from the achievement, his hand raised in triumph like he had just fulfilled his side of a bargain he had set with the terracing masses with whom there was mutual devotion. I witnessed this for the first time on September 26, 1961, when Scotland were trailing a great Czechoslovakia team 2-1 in the second-half at Hampden. Denis’s two goals to win the match, particularly his searing second, was like he had endowed himself with a special responsibility...

A famous miss by the only Scot to win the Ballon d’Or against the Auld Enemy at Wembley spurred the fiercely patriotic Law on to score in a historic victory against the World Cup champions The finest Scottish one player of the and the world greatest ever has seen 18 Jan 2025 - Daily Record By DAVID McCARTHY SIR ALEX TRIBUTE FERGUSON TO LAW THERE’S a famous photo of Denis Law stretching every sinew in his left leg to volley goalwards on the day Scotland dethroned the world champions in their own Wembley back yard. Martin Peters looks on helplessly, reduced to hoping that just for once The Lawman would miss the target. And he did. Law’s shot rippled the side netting with Gordon Banks posted missing and the goal gaping. It was a collector’s item; the one that got away. The Scot pounded the turf in frustration, but not in despair. Law knew another chance would come and a lack of self belief was never an accusation that could be hurled at the Aberdonian. When it did, he struck with the veno...

18 Jan 2025 Daily Record JIM BLACK PAYS TRIBUTE TO HIS FRIEND AND HERO Pele claimed that law was the only non-national who could have played for brazil DENIS LAW played with his jersey outside his shorts and his heart on his sleeve. He may have developed an unusual accent that was a mix of Oxford English and Scots, lampooned by comedians, but he never completely lost his Aberdeen twang – or love of country. I first encountered Denis as a young journalist and I remained in awe of a player many regard as the finest to represent his country. The King, the Lawman, Denis The Menace … call him what you like, the man was quite simply a class individual. After years of brief encounters and telephone interviews, I had the good fortune to get to know Denis up close during the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He was there in his role as a radio commentator while I was representing my newspaper. They say that you shouldn’t meet your heroes for fear of being disappointed. But spending time socialising in D...

The Lawman rose above a poverty-stricken childhood in Aberdeen and a squint to be lauded as Europe’s best player, a Manchester United hero and Scotland’s joint highest goalscorer of all time "The boy was a freak.  Never did I see a less likely prospect – weak and puny"    - ANDY BEATTIE On first seeing Denis LAW 18 Jan 2025 - Daily Record BY JIM BLACK WHEN The King was born in wartime Aberdeen in February 1940, shoes were for Sunday. The youngest of seven kids – four boys and three girls – Denis Law’s impoverished background in a tenement flat in the Woodside area of the Granite City was in stark contrast to his future life as football royalty. It is said that the son of a fisherman went barefoot until the age of 12 and wore hand-me-down shoes throughout his early teens. He certainly never denied the claim or the suggestion that his first pair of boots were a second-hand birthday present from a neighbour. But in a classic case of pauper to prince, Denis rose above his hum...

18 Jan 2025 - The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) BY JENNA SCOTT HE WAS A PLAYER YOU LOVED  TO WATCH AND HATED TO MARK!     - Former England player  and       manager Sir Bobby Robson The impact Denis Law has had on the beautiful game will last for generations. A Tartan Army and Man United legend, the only Scot to win the Ballon D’or, a striker at his peak who was feared and revered in equal measure around the world, Hampden Hall of Famer, community champion, charity crusader... the list goes on and on.   Denis’s statue unveiled in 2021 outside Provost Skene’s House. His passing will leave a huge hole in the lives of his loved ones as well as the wider footballing community. But we can cherish the memories he has left for us – whether that be spearheading Scotland’s attack as we declared ourselves unofficial world champions with that wonderful Wembley victory against England in 1967 or his tireless efforts to promote grass...

18 Jan 2025 The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) BY MARC THOMSON TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY  STRUGGLING IN LIFE IS REALLY WONDERFUL.  YOU ARE GIVING SOMETHING BACK    - Denis Law Denis Law’s former team-mates and rivals were all in agreement on one thing: You would rather play with him than against him. As affable and engaging as he was away from the pitch, on it he was a fearless and ferocious competitor. It is this steely will to win of a man hewn in granite that helped Law tackle serious health scares for both himself and his family and come to terms with personal tragedies of losing so many much-loved friends from his playing days. Every time a potentially fatal condition has touched the Law family, it simply gave him the resolve to campaign to heighten awareness and raise funds to find cures. In the early 1990s, Law’s son Andrew was 24 when he was struck by meningitis. Andrew, who had served in the Merchant Navy, was working at a hotel in Cornwa...

18 Jan 2025 The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) BY MARC THOMSON DENIS WAS MY HERO. HE EPITOMISED  WHAT A SCOT WAS – AS A FOOTBALLER  HE HAD COURAGE, HE WAS DASHING    - fellow Old Trafford icon Sir Alex Ferguson The esteem in which Aberdeen holds one of its greatest sons was immortalised in November 2021 when a 16ft statue of Denis Law was erected in the heart of the city. Law returned to his birthplace to witness the accolade as his likeness – named Legend – was unveiled next to Provost Skene’s House. The sight of the then-81year-old Law beaming with pride and looking happy and relaxed as he joked with onlookers belied his Alzheimer’s diagnosis just months earlier. He admitted “the memory is not as good as it used to be” but also declared the city “means everything” to him. Dons great Sir Alex Ferguson accompanied his idol to the ceremony as the statue of Law in famous figure-pointing goal-celebrating pose was revealed. The former Aberdeen and Manche...

18 Jan 2025 The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire) MY DAD IS MISCHIEVOUS.  HE’S GOT THIS NAUGHTINESS,  THIS TWINKLE IN HIS EYE.  HE LOVES TO MESS ABOUT.    - Law’s daughter Diana jnr MATCH   MADE IN HEAVEN:  Denis Law returned to Aberdeen in December 1962  to marry his sweetheart Diana Thomson. December 11 1962 – it was one midweek match which Denis Law could not miss as he and his bride Diana Thomson tied the knot in Aberdeen.   Diana Thomson lived on Great Western Road, Aberdeen. The day when one of Scotland’s greatest footballers married the love of his life in what would be regarded as a low-key ceremony by today’s standards. However, there was a huge swell of excitement around the city for the wedding with crowds gathering to wish the happy couple well. Granite City prodigy Denis, who went on to win 55 caps for his country and became the only Scot to secure the prestigious Ballon d’Or two years later, was the picture of ...