John Fitzpatrick, Man Utd's first EVER substitute in 1965, dies aged 74

John Fitzpatrick, who died on Monday at the age of 74, will go down in history as the first substitute ever used by Manchester United in a league match.

In fact, only six of Fitzpatrick's 147 appearances for United in the 60s and early 70s came off the bench.

Born in Aberdeen, Fitzpatrick was an uncompromising player who was equally comfortable in defence or midfield. He came through the club's youth system with his close friend George Best, winning the FA Youth Cup together in 1964.

The Scotsman went into the record books the following season when he replaced Denis Law in a 5-1 defeat to Tottenham at White Hart Lane in October 1965. The first of his 10 goals for United also came against Spurs at Old Trafford three years later.

Fitzpatrick played twice in the successful 1968 European Cup winning campaign - against Sarajevo and a fine performance in freezing conditions away to Polish club Gornik Zabrze in the quarter-finals - but he was not selected for the final.

He became a regular in the 1970-71 season after replacing Shay Brennan at full-back but was forced into premature retirement at the age of 26 due to a knee injury.

Fitzpatrick returned to Scotland and became a wine merchant. However, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, joining a growing number of United players from that era to suffer with dementia.

Nobby Stiles and Tony Dunne have also passed away this year, while Sir Bobby Charlton's family confirmed his diagnosis last month.

United offered their condolences to Fitzpatrick's family on Monday and his teammate Alex Stepney paid tribute on social media.

'So sad to hear that John Fitzpatrick has passed away,' wrote the former United goalkeeper.

'John was a fantastic man and a terrific footballer. RIP John, one of the good guys, all my love to family x.'