Happy 80th birthday, Denis Law!

February 24 marks a significant day for many.

It is, for example, the day in which Sachin Tendulkar scored the first ever double century in One Day International cricket. It’s also the day Elton John was knighted, Estonia declared independence and revolutionist Fidel Castro retired as Cuban president.

Former Scotland and Rangers manager Walter Smith was born on February 24, as was champion boxer Floyd Mayweather and the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

Most significantly for us though, February 24 2020 marks the 80th birthday of our legendary patron, Denis Law.

His football achievements speak for itself; 30 goals in 55 games for Scotland and the only Scot to win the Ballon d’Or in what was a trophy-laden, goals aplenty career. Not only is he one of the greatest footballers that Scotland or Manchester United has ever seen, he’s one of the greatest players the world has ever seen.

He scored, remarkably, a record 18 hat-tricks for Man United. That’s 54 alone, not to mention the additional 183 which puts him third behind Bobby Charlton and Wayne Rooney in the clubs all time chart.

Off the field, Denis has been awarded a CBE, the freedom of birthplace Aberdeen plus honorary degrees from St Andrews, the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University.

He’s been commended for his fundraising work with Cancer Research and Meningitis Now and, of course, plays a significant role in improving the lives of so many young people in Aberdeen as patron of the Denis Law Legacy Trust and its Streetsport programme.

So, with a short album of images since the Trust began, here’s to you, Denis. Happy birthday!