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 Denis’s company was a delight.
After years spent marvelling at the skills of a slightly built man who seemed to be able to hang in the air and who was blessed with the heart of a lion the way he courageously refused to back away from hatchetmen, I was intrigued to discover another side to Denis. Full of mischief and inclined to harmless schoolboy-type pranks, Denis was a bundle of fun and a great storyteller who rarely had a bad word to say about anyone.
Denis remains Scotland’s joint top scorer with Kenny Dalglish with 30 in 55 internationals and you can bet that every one of those goals meant the world to him. Pulling on a dark blue jersey added an extra dimension to Denis’ game to the extent that Pele claimed that Law was the only non-national who could have played for Brazil.
The late, great Jim Baxter also discovered just how passionate his team-mate was when it came to playing against England. After refusing to watch the World Cup final the previous year, preferring instead to head to play golf in the knowledge that he would never hear the end of it if England won, Denis was on cloud nine when Scotland led 3-1 against the Auld Enemy at Wembley in April 1967.
Having scored the opening goal and generally run England’s 11 World Cup-winners ragged, Denis was desperate to pile on the agony. Regrettably, Baxter was of a different mind. Slim Jim preferred to showboat with the ball in an effort to humiliate and embarrass the opposition but he earned a series of rebukes from his frustrated team-mate who was desperate for more goals.
Scotland emerged victorious despite Geoff Hurst adding to Jack Charlton’s opener but I am not altogether sure Baxter was ever fully forgiven. For all that Denis will be remembered for his goal-scoring exploits – 227 in 485 domestic games – I was surprised to learn that he never set out to fill the striker role.
He explained: “I regarded myself as an inside-forward, a midfielder, really, but Sir Matt said he wanted me to play up front and that was that. But I never really enjoyed playing that position.”
After football Denis worked in radio and television, established a charity Legacy Trust, collected honorary degrees from the Universities of Aberdeen and St Andrews and Robert Gordon’s and was in constant demand to make public appearances.
An inaugural Inducted into English football’s Hall of Fame in 2002, Denis was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to football and charity, and, in 2017, he received the Freedom of his home city. He also successfully overcame prostate cancer with the support of his wife of many years, Diana and his five children.
But not even Denis was immune from the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia following a diagnosis in 2021. Sadly, Denis was mortal after all.
But a true national treasure, Denis will go on being talked about for generations to come. Only a select few from the world of sport are immortalised in the form of a statue. Incredibly, Denis has three. Two of them stand at Old Trafford including one of Denis alongside Bobby Charlton and George Best dubbed “The Holy Trinity”.
But for the man himself the crowning glory came in 2021 when a life size likeness of him with his arm raised aloft in celebration of his ‘67 Wembley goal was unveiled in the heart of his beloved Aberdeen.
It is inscribed ‘Denis Law, Legend’ on the front of the plinth. Enough said, really.