Club-record appearance holder Charlie Aitken has died aged 81, Aston Villa confirmed on Sunday 29th October.

During his time with Villa, Aitken made a record 660 appearances across three separate divisions, as the club struggled with relegation throughout the 1960s.

He also played in the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Charity Shield, and the UEFA Cup before playing his final game against Queens Park Rangers in January 1976.

Aitken, born in Edinburgh in May of 1942, played for junior clubs in Scotland before attending a Villa trial in Birmingham aged 17. Having been successful, he made his senior home debut against Sheffield Wednesday in 1961, before establishing himself as a regular left-back for Villa.

Across his tenure, Aitken witnessed six managers – Joe Mercer, Dick Taylor, Tommy Cummings, Tommy Docherty, Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders – as well as scoring 16 goals for his club. 

He was strides ahead of number-two record holder Billy Walker in regards to club appearances, running out for Villa on 120 additional occasions. He also won three under-23 caps for Scotland.

Aitken was part of the Villa squad that won the League Cup in 1975 after beating Norwich. City. The accolade was Villa’s first Wembley win since their 1957 success. 

He missed very few matches, and of the 660 appearances, was included in the starting eleven on 657 of those occasions. 

In a statement, Aston Villa FC said ‘Charlie established a Villa record which will almost certainly never be broken.’

Following his final run out for Villa, the Scotsman spent his last footballing season with the New York Cosmos playing alongside Pele and Franz Beckenbauer.

Aitken resided in the Midlands and received warm welcomes whenever he returned to Villa.

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