Funeral for former Villa striker Gary Shaw takes place in Birmingham today

Former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw died last month.

Author: Molly HookingsPublished 7 hours ago
Last updated 5 hours ago

Friends and family of former Aston Villa striker, Gary Shaw, will gather in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, today to pay their respects at his funeral.

The 63-year-old died in hospital on 16 September following a fall.

Gary was a member of the Villa side that won the First Division title in 1981 and the European Cup the following year.

At the time of his death, 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."

Solihull-born Shaw joined Villa as an apprentice and went on to score 79 times in 213 appearances, including 20 in their title-winning campaign, after which he was named PFA Young Player of the Year.

He was then an important part of the team that won the European Cup with victory over Bayern Munich in the final in 1982. Shaw scored three goals in the competition including a quarter-final strike against Dynamo Kyiv.

He left Villa in 1988 with his career also taking him to Denmark, Austria and Hong Kong before he retired in 1992. He later worked as a statistical analyst and was a matchday ambassador for Villa.

His funeral is taking place at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium at 2:30pm today.

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