A tribute to John Fitzpatrick featuring his hero Denis Law

John Fitzpatrick joined Manchester United as a 15-year-old in September 1961, stepping up from junior football in Aberdeen. He excelling alongside the likes of George Best, David Sadler, Bobby Noble and John Aston Jnr as United beat Swindon Town in the FA Youth Cup final after turning professional in September 1963.
A warrior on the pitch where he excelled as a wing half, Fitzy was a gentleman off it and a proud Aberdonian .His hero was Denis Law who became his friend and team mate.
In this exclusive film we share never seen before footage from a 2010 meeting with the Lawman near Fitzpatrick's family home in Aberdeen.
Also featured is footage from a 2017 interview with filmmaker John Gubba when our hero talks about his claim to fame when he became Man Utd's first ever substitute in a League match. Fitzy replaced his hero Denis Law.
#JohnFitzpatrick #Fitzy #DenisLaw

[@robdee81]

Dennis the king Law was discovered by my team Huddersfield. What an amazing talent.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

❤️

[@stwads]

Denis was Bill Shankly's favourite player!

[@eddybonnar527]

Denis Law pure class

[@daverigby23]

I didn't know he'd died !! He gave everything when he stepped onto the pitch. High energy, always looking to go forward. United hero

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

sorry to break this sad news my friend. his family cherish how he is remembered by the fans

[@daverigby23]

I'm in France so maybe it's only to be expected, but I follow a couple of the fan channels and they didn't mention it, and I don't think the Guardian mentioned it.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

@@daverigby23 most of the guys who run fan channels don't remember Fitzy. And sadly a lot of our old heroes are forgotten by the club until they pass away. That's why I go out of my way to pay tribute to these guys on my channel. JG

[@patrickburns574]

RIP Fitzy 😞😞🙏🙏❤❤

[@tohellorbarbados7119]

Thanks Fitz.

[@MARKETMAN6789]

Thanks for this really enjoyed it ,I started watching them just when Dennis signed ,went to 63,final when I was 13 went all over England with them in the 60s lived and loved football ,Dennis the king fitsy the terrier, I've talked to Dennis twice and would love half an hour with him ,I was over the moon with my five and ten mins talking to him ,remember teacher letting me take my radio in school to listen to the rest of the world v England game ,. What a life he's had and deserved it ,he gave fans what they wanted. excitement as well as goals , a tiger of a player Fitsy had alot of injury problems but gave all

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Thanks for watching and for sharing your memories. You started watching just a few years before me. Producing films is my full-time business and I really need more viewers to be able to spend more time creating free content like this. Your support is very much appreciated. JG

[@stwads]

Fitzty was such a tenacious player like Nobby Stiles. He should have been capped by Scotland!

[@lawmantheonetrueking3739]

Fitz was a worker and shame he had those injuries. Denis was and is still The King. Truly we were blessed to have 3 of the greatest players to ever play the game in the same team at the same time. Fitz said he was in awe and we were too. Makes me laugh when they go on about the old players would not have doing it now. Their skills would have shone in any era. And Paddy and Nobby and the rest would have

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Absolutely agree with you. I’d look at it the other way round. How many of today’s molly cuddled stars would have succeeded playing against the likes of chopper Harris and bite your legs Norman hunter? JG

[@raydoherty1196]

Well said, couldn't agree more. Like you said, Denis is and was the King, the most popular player amongst Utd fans and players, and opposition fans and players to ever play the game. Still miss him not playing! Long live the King!!

[@upperiscopeUK]

How wonderful to see that Denis Law is as gracious and charming as he was gifted as a footballer! A great tribute to them both!

[@paulroddy2323]

Great player denis liked to drop deep pick up the ball and attack which was unusual for the time but also had craft with his long sleeves coming in handy

[@davidfeatherstone5078]

You are so lucky to have met and interviewed the King and his apprentice 😉

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

When I grew up in and around the Stretford End I never dreamed it would be possible. JG

[@stwads]

Denis liked to play like Di Stefano & carry the ball from deep but Sir Matt preferred him in the box!

[@alanmctavish4802]

Tavy@ john fitzpatrick another under rated player! rip john !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Fitzy was such a lovely man, and a warrior on the pitch.

[@lancashirebomber9744]

went to old trafford in 93 with my mate who played for the youth team and found myself sitting next to denis law. amazing player, funny as f""k too.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

That’s brilliant. The Lawman is the most down to earth football icon you could ever meet.

[@davidrhodes2146]

Always played his heart out for United didn't know the meaning of defeat. Bet he will be in heaven talking to Georgie and the Babes wish i could hear the conversation. Miss you Fitzy.Thanks for being a REAL RED !

[@michaelgaskell2031]

2 legends. ❤

[@mnd1955]

I remember the European Cup semi final first leg in Milan when Fitz got sent off for retaliating against Hamrin who gobbed at him. We should have beaten them at home but the ref refused to allow a goal after Law's shot crossed the line and was kicked away by a Milan defender. A damned good player was Fitz. RIP.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Good memory my friend. I was at OT for both legs. The match in Milan was beamed back to big screens on the pitch. Fitzy was a warrior on the pitch and a lovely gentleman off it.

[@mnd1955]

@@ManUtdTheReligion I was there for the second leg but didn't go to the televised match. I was right behind the goal in the Stretford End and I know that was a goal. It got a bit hairy after that and I got hit with something thrown from the back that fell short of the pitch. I remember the Milan goalie lying on the ground and the coppers and even the St. Johns lads picking up stuff from the pitch.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

I was still young and there with my dad. Then decades later featured this match in 2 big documentaries. One about denis law. The other was my paddy crerand film. Even the old black and white footage seemed pretty clear that it was a goal.

[@mnd1955]

@@ManUtdTheReligion I was 14 at the time. I went to the final in 68 with my dad but I was going to home games with my mates from 66 on. The juniors entrance at the Stretford End was where we'd meet our mates from other parts of town and we'd all go in together. I'll have to watch your film on Paddy. My first ever home game was his debut against Blackpool in 1963. Went with my granddad and it was freezing. Can you supply a link please?

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

@@mnd1955 you’re a little older than me and I watched 68 at home with my dad. Paddy is a good friend of mine and the film I made was his official documentary for mutv. It’s only available on their channel.

[@tohellorbarbados7119]

The best game that I saw Fitz play was at Hillsborough versus Leeds in the FA Cup Semi against Leeds In 1970. Tremendous performance by Fitz because we were frightened by Leeds's midfielders... 0-0 and on to Villa Park... the ground at Sheffield was a nightmare because we were in the Leppings Lane and were crushed together terribly going out down the left side by the utterly incompetent police control of the exit gates. I've never been so squashed in a crowd in my life. Many times that day there, getting out was a severe crush, Eventually we were allowed to be released. It was an increasingly crowded police prison. I understand the Liverpool fans' complaints completely. Completely. It was incompetent murder in 1986.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Fitzy was a real diamond. Thank you for sharing your memories. I remember standing at 2 fa cup semi finals at Hillsborough in the mid 70s and it was like you said.JG

[@davidfeatherstone5078]

This is brilliant! Thanks so much John! My two United heroes 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍🏻

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Thanks David. I remember that day with Fitzy and the King like it was yesterday. Treasured memories and it's a privilege to share them. JG

[@billyclough2310]

A great player if it hadn't been for the injuries he would have been a legend.of are great club .and would have won Scotland cap's galore 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿.

[@silverlace12]

With John's injuries and Bobby Noble's car crash injury we lost 10 years of these up and coming players

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Sad but true

[@tohellorbarbados7119]

Bobby Noble was the captain. We lost so much.

[@airzulu2733]

Great player was John.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

And a lovely man. On the pitch he was a warrior. Off it an absolute diamond. JG

[@jonathanhall7815]

In spite of all the skill of the more famous Man Utd players of the 60's, they still needed the workers like Stiles, Crerand and Fitzpatrick. But even those players had a level of skill.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Absolutely right. And they were not short of skill either. Paddy was Paul Scholes like with his passing.

[@tomburroughes9834]

Two superb footballers. A nice video. Thanks for doing this.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Thank you for watching. And commenting. Trying to make sure our old heroes are remembered. JG

[@barblessable]

Denis is genuinely embarrassed when people praise him.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

it’s an endearing characteristic

[@MrMegan1962]

Thought they were gona fight over that tenner, being Scotsmen haha

[@robertbrown7408]

Dennis didn't mention Tommy Docherty...he found out watching TV on holiday that Docherty had given him a free transfer after promising him a testimonial.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Robert it wasn’t the right occasion for that conversation but you’re absolutely right. JG

[@johnfarrell5075]

Whats the name of this Hotel in Aberdeen???

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Marcliffe

[@robbiethepict2783]

Aberdeen Loons.

[@ysgol3]

John's loss through injury was a disastrous blow for United after they won the 68 European Cup. He, like George, was young in an ageing team, and he was a fantastic, tough, fearless player - just what the team needed to get the ball and give it to the Big Three up front. And it was all Busby's fault for making him play when his knee wasn't right away against Gornik on a frozen pitch. He was never right after that. One of the many reasons I can't stand Busby and have no respect for his memory.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Fitzy was a lovely man and so passionate about our club and his iconic team mates. Football managers were a lot more powerful in those days and I think it was common for players at all clubs to be bullied into playing when they weren’t fit. It’s a shame because I think many have really suffered in later life. JG

[@alanmctavish4802]

Tavy@ denis does get a bit mixed up now and then. A remember the new years 'only an excuse' wich every one loved and watched. I would start about an hour and a half before the bells and was on for 40 minutes a thinck. And it would just take the piss out of the well known faces of football and one year round about 1992 or 93 jonathan watson started doing denis law and he was saying how good man utd were doing while looking to the side of him and putting his arms out to describe a goal he saw two days before, then he just said "eh what was a talking about there again" and we were in knotts with laughter.

[@ManUtdTheReligion]

Denis is great on camera. He’s naturally shy but once we start rolling he’s a born performer. Just like he was naturally a football genius.