A FOOTBALLER who led Aston Villa to European and league glory visited Weymouth for the first time since the 1960s for an evening event with local fans.
Footballing legend Gary Shaw visited the Moonfleet 2000 Indoor Bowling Club, at The Marsh Sports Ground, for an Q&A evening with die-hard fans of Aston Villa - a club he helped win the old Division One championship and European Cup during the early 1980s.
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The PFA Young Player of the Year for 1981 was in Weymouth for two days sightseeing before his book-signing event on Friday, September 3 where he spoke to members of Dorset Lions - a south Dorset branch of fans for the West Midlands football club.
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A spokesman from Dorset Lions, said: "Gary spent two days in Weymouth where he played golf - a big passion of his - at Weymouth Golf Club.
"He also had time to go sightseeing around Weymouth and Portland.
"In fact, the last time he was here was in the mid 1960s with his mum and dad - he said he had fond memories and he thoroughly enjoyed it here.
"It was great success with fantastic feedback from the Dorset Lions."
During his early career, the former Villa striker was also handed the Bravo Award as the best under-23 player in European Competitions - an annual award which was handed out by the Italian magazine Guerin Sportivo to the most outstanding young European footballer. The award was discontinued in 2015.
As well as helping Aston Villa win the 1982 European Cup (which is the equivalent to the Champions League) and English football's top division in 1980-81 (the equivalent to the Premier League), Shaw also helped his team lift the European Super Cup in 1982.
Following his team's successful European campaign, his promising Villa career was effectively cut short after sustaining a serious knee injury in an away game against Nottingham Forest in September 1983.
After leaving Villa in 1987, Shaw would then play in Denmark, Austria and Hong Kong.
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