A view of the Sporting Champions gallery at Provost Skene’s House
Footballer Denis Law CBE, who has died at the age of 84, is one of Aberdeen’s greatest icons. Born and raised in the Printfield area of the city, he attended Powis Academy, before moving to play for Huddersfield Town when he was 16.
In his hugely successful career, he went on to play for Manchester United, Torino and Manchester City. He earned 55 caps for Scotland and scored 30 goals, a record that still stands as Scotland’s joint top goal-scorer of all time.
Denis Law was always extremely proud of his Aberdeen roots and in November 2017 he described receiving the Freedom of the City as one of his life’s highlights. He returned to his hometown again in 2021 for the unveiling of his bronze statue which stands proudly in Marischal Square, next to Provost Skene’s House.
#Yes Ball Games sign, Aberdeen City Council (Archives, Gallery & Museums collection)
In the View of Aberdeen exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery you can see one of the #Yes Ball Games signs. From the 1960s onwards, No Ball Games signs appeared in green spaces across the UK. The Denis Law Legacy Trust joined forces with Aberdeen Greenspace, Aberdeen Play Forum and the City Council to campaign against them. In 2015, the Council became the first city authority in Scotland to have them removed and Denis Law was on hand to remove the first one. Communication Design students from Gray’s School of Art upcycled the negative notices to mark the victory.
In the Sporting Champions gallery at Provost Skene’s House you can see a number of fantastic objects related to Denis Law. These include his Scotland cap from the 1965-66 season and the programme for his debut Scotland game against Wales in 1958, signed by Denis, whose name was spelt wrongly in the player details. You can also see a replica of the Ballon D’Or which was awarded to Denis in 1964. This is one of football’s most prestigious individual awards and honours the male player deemed to have the best performance of the previous year. We are grateful to the Denis Law Legacy Trust and to the family of Denis Law, to whom we send our condolences.
