A former Aberdeen teacher is hoping to track down pals from his own schooldays – because no one else believes he shared a classroom with football legend Denis Law.
Bill Gordon, 75, who taught English at Powis, Hilton and Aberdeen Grammar Schools, has suffered years of taunts from regulars at his local pub who claim he never knew the famous forward.
But now Mr Gordon reckons he can have the last laugh – after finally tracking down a photograph of the first year class at Powis in 1954 featuring himself and the Manchester and Scotland hero.
He said: “I’ve been getting stick about this for a while so I wanted to prove it finally.
“Some folk say ‘pull the other one’ when I tell them I used to play around with him in the same school year.
“I used to play football with John Hewitt in Hilton too, so maybe people think I’m a bit of a fame-seeker.”
Mr Gordon also liked to play as a striker but said he “couldn’t get a game” because of the future star.
He said: “He was just a freak when it came to football – his talent was totally unbelievable.
“I remember the first time I saw him play and I just couldn’t believe my eyes.
“He was ridiculously competitive about everything – if you beat him at table tennis he’d virtually cry.
“His drive was phenomenal, he’d be down that school an hour before it opened playing football with a tennis ball before anyone arrived.
“Many years later when I was a teacher I’d tell the first year kids that I was a better player than him for a bit of a joke.
“Then they’d go home and tell their fathers that I was better than Denis Law, and they’d come in the next day and say “my father says you’re a fool.”
Now Mr Gordon is wondering how many of the class of ’54 are still around.
He said: “I’m wondering now how many of these folk are still alive. It would be good to find out.”
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