Denis Law: Remembering 'The King' of Manchester United and 'Holy Trinity' icon
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The story of Denis Law's life is a tale of the pauper who became 'The King'. The Manchester United and Scotland great, who has died aged 84, was the youngest of seven children when he was born in Aberdeen on February 24, 1940. His arrival came just as the harsh realities of the Second World War were hitting Britain and Law was not just penniless for most of his childhood, but shoeless too.
Raised by fisherman father George and mother Robina in a tiny council flat, he went barefoot until the age of 12 and, when he finally did receive his first pair of shoes, they were hand-me-downs that had previously belonged to his three brothers. He did not receive his first pair of football boots until the age of 16, but those frugal beginnings did nothing to limit a career that would one day see him crowned the best player in Europe.
In the early days, though, such visions were hard to imagine for a wiry teenager whose sight was badly affected by a serious squint. Having turned down a place at Aberdeen Grammar School - where rugby was the only sport on offer - the football-obsessed youngster got his big break in 1954 when he was spotted by Huddersfield scout Archie Beattie, who by chance was visiting a relative in the Grannite City when he came across Law.
A trial with the then First Division giants was offered, but a contract was by no means a certainty given Law's sight problems meant he would often dart about the pitch with one eye shut just to see straight. "The boy's a freak," Terriers manager Andy Beattie was quoted as saying at the time. "Never did I see a less likely football prospect - weak, puny and bespectacled.".
