Gary Shaw, a member of the Aston Villa team that won the European Cup in 1982, has died at the age of 63.
Shaw scored 79 goals in 213 games for Villa, including 18 in the league in the 1980-81 season as the club won the title for the first time in 71 years.
He also scored three times in Villa’s run to becoming champions of Europe the following year which culminated in a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam.
Aston Villa Football Club is deeply shocked and profoundly saddened to learn that Gary Shaw, one of our European Cup-winning heroes, has passed away.
Gary was one of our own, a talented striker who delighted supporters with his goalscoring exploits which helped fire Villa to… pic.twitter.com/nVjLb4Blfe
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) September 16, 2024
A serious knee injury sustained in 1983 derailed his career and he left Villa five years later for spells with the likes of Klagenfurt, Walsall, Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury.
A Villa statement read: “Aston Villa Football Club is deeply shocked and profoundly saddened to learn that Gary Shaw, one of our European Cup-winning heroes, has passed away.
“Gary was one of our own, a talented striker who delighted supporters with his goalscoring exploits which helped fire Villa to success in the 1980s. Individual accolades would also follow for a player who was idolised by many on the terraces.
“He passed away peacefully earlier today surrounded by his family, who asked Aston Villa to release a statement on their behalf.
“The thoughts of everyone at the club are with Gary’s family and loved ones at this extremely difficult time.”
