Law’s Last League Game

On this day (April 27) in 1974 Denis law played his last League game on a day that saw Manchester United relegated. Law was in his second spell at Manchester City and, over the years, many myths have developed about his final game and the weeks that followed.

United fans like to say that this game had no bearing on relegation (though pre match United were not relegated and still had a chance of survival) while City fans like to boast that Law’s goal relegated United (mathematically it did not). Many in the media claim Law’s goal was his last in first team football (it wasn’t) and that he retired immediately afterwards (he didn’t). There are other myths about the pitch invasions (there were two not one) and the actions of the ref, so here for the benefit of subscribers is the true story of that day, including quotes from interviews I have performed over the years. Those quoted are Dennis Tueart, Tommy Docherty, Denis law and Willie Donachie.

So get yourself a brew and enjoy this long read on that infamous day:

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content and access everything else on this site when you subscribe today. £20 per year (£1.67 a month) or £3 a month at a time.

Trautmann’s Testimonial

On this day (15 April) in 1964 Maine Road staged a remarkable testimonial for legendary goalkeeper Bert Trautmann. You can read about this incredible night, which set an attendance record for testimonials, below.

This article is for subscribers to the site.

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) to access everything posted since 1 October 2022 or there’s a special annual rate of £20 which gives access to everything posted since the site was set up in December 2020.

If you’d like to know more about subscribing then see:

The 1950s: Manchester City 3 West Ham 1

On this day (30 March) in 1960 Manchester City defeated West Ham United 3-1 with goals from Colin Barlow, Denis Law and Billy McAdams. You can read more on this period for City with a series of articles posted on the 1950s and 1960s. Why not start with the following subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1959-60 season? If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

Denis Law Signs for Manchester City

65 years ago today 15 March 1960) Huddersfield Town’s Denis Law signed for Manchester City for £55,000 – £10,000 more than the previous British transfer record fee.

Here for subscribers is an overview of that transfer plus footage from Law’s debut and other material.

Subscribe to get access

If you would like to read this and all the in-depth articles on this site (including the entire Manchester A Football History book and the audio interview with John Bond) then please subscribe. It works out about £1.67 a month if you take out an annual subscription (£20 per year) or £3 a month if you’d like to sign up for a month at a time. Each subscriber gets full access to everything posted so far and everything scheduled during your subscription.

The 1950s: Film of Law’s Debut

Here’s film of Denis Law making his debut on this day (19 March) in 1960 at Elland Road against Leeds. He was, of course, making his first appearance for Manchester City following his transfer from Huddersfield Town. Notice the photographers lining up to catch him. This was an uncommon sight at football back then and demonstrates how significant Law’s transfer was at the time.

You can read more about Law elsewhere on this site. There’s also a series of articles already posted on the 1950s and 1960s for Manchester City. Why not start with the following subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1959-60 season? If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

The 1950s: The 1959-1960 Season for Manchester City

The series of features on the 1950s continues with this subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1959-60 season. If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

Denis Law’s Anniversary

On this day (24 February) in 1940 Denis Law was born. Law who passed away in January, achieved major success in a glittering career for Huddersfield, Manchester City and Manchester United. He would have been 85 years old today.

There are plenty of articles mentioning Law on this site, here are those tagged with his name:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/denis-law/page/2/

The 1960s: Dave Wagstaffe

Mancunian Dave Wagstaffe was a Manchester City and Wolves star who made his City debut in September 1960. Fifteen years ago I interviewed Dave and spent a really enjoyable afternoon chatting with him about every period of his career. This was a for an article on his time at City and the 3000 word article that eventually came out of that can be read below.

Sadly, Dave died in 2013 after a heart attack. He was only 70.

The following interview is available to subscribers to the site and is published here as it was written back in 2010 with Dave’s words written as he said them.

Subscribe to get access

If you’d like to read this article you’ll need to subscribe. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or join up on an annual basis at the discounted amount of £20 per year. Subscribers get access to everything posted to the site. Why not join up for a month and see what you think?

Continuing the series of features on the 1960s, here’s a subscriber article on Manchester City during the 1960-61 season. If you’d like to read this 1200 word article, plus all other articles on the site, then please subscribe (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

The 1960s: Law’s Expunged Six! 

On this day (28 January) in 1961 Denis Law’s six goals against Luton in the FAC were wiped from the records when the game was abandoned due to waterlogged pitch.  Manchester City were winning 6-2, and lost the replay 3-1 (Law scored City’s consolation). If you want to know more about the 1960-61 season then you can read the following 1200 word article. It’s a subscriber piece and if you want to read it (plus all other articles on the site) then please subscribe (see below).

Subscribe to get access

Read more of this content when you subscribe today. It costs £3 per month (cancel anytime) or sign up for a year at the discounted price of £20 per year (works out £1.67 per month). Subscribers access the 1000+ articles posted so far and the others scheduled during the life of your subscription.

MCFC v Chelsea Today

For those lucky enough to get the match programme for today’s game at the Etihad my programme feature focuses on Tony Book and Denis Law. It’s not extensive as I’m sure they’ll also be featured elsewhere, but I wanted to make sure I made mention of them in my piece too.

City v Chelsea has been an important fixture over the decades with European semi finals played between the sides over fifty years ago for example. Many of these are featured on this website, so why not have a search around. Here’s a link to all articles tagged Chelsea on here:

https://gjfootballarchive.com/tag/chelsea/

1971 ECWC v Chelsea. Tony Book and mascot Paul Todd. Photo by Alan Jubb