Charlie Aitken (footballer, born 1942)
Charles Alexander Aitken (1 May 1942 – 29 October 2023) was a Scottish footballer most associated with Aston Villa. Aitken is the West Midlands club's all-time record appearance-maker, having played 660 times for them — 657 of which were from the start. A left-back, he played for Villa from 1959 to 1976, before embarking on a one-year spell with the New York Cosmos.

Aitken played for Villa in the top three tiers of English football, winning the Third Division and the League Cup during his time at the club. He also scored 16 goals for Villa and was capped by the Scotland Under-23s.

Aitken's 660 games have him comfortably atop Villa's appearance charts, with club-record scorer Billy Walker on 531 and European Cup winner Gordon Cowans on 527.

Charlie Aitken died on 29 October 2023, at the age of 81.

References

External links

nasljerseys.com with Aitken's North American statistics
Aston Villa Player Database

1942 births
2023 deaths
Scottish men's footballers
Footballers from Edinburgh
Men's association football defenders
Scotland men's under-23 international footballers
English Football League players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
Aston Villa F.C. players
New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players
Scottish expatriate men's footballers
Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States