Twice a European champion, Rimmer never actually finished either final on the pitch — an unlucky footnote to a career the Birmingham Mail once described as perhaps the greatest goalkeeping spell in Aston Villa's history. Both clubs confirmed his death on Friday.
Born John James Rimmer in Southport in February 1948, he joined Manchester United as a schoolboy in 1963 and turned professional two years later, spending 11 years at Old Trafford largely as understudy to Alex Stepney. He was on the bench, rather than the pitch, when United beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley to win the 1968 European Cup — the first English club to do so.
After a loan spell at Swansea City and three years at Arsenal, where he won the club's player of the season award in 1974-75, Rimmer joined Aston Villa for a bargain £65,000 in 1977. He went on to become the club's first-choice goalkeeper for six consecutive seasons, making 229 league appearances and 287 in all competitions, and was ever-present through Villa's title-winning campaign of 1980-81.
He started every game of Villa's run to the 1982 European Cup final too, only for a neck injury to force him off after just nine minutes of the win over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam. In tears in the dressing room as he received treatment, Rimmer was back in the dugout in time to see Peter Withe score the only goal of the game and join the post-match celebrations — a second European Cup winner's medal earned largely from the sidelines. Nigel Spink, his replacement that night, went on to make over 400 appearances for the club himself.
Rimmer earned a single England cap, in a 1976 friendly against Italy, and returned to Swansea on a permanent deal in 1983 after playing his final game for Villa in a Second City derby just after Christmas that year. He later coached in Canada and had two brief spells as Swansea's caretaker manager in 1995-96, having also had short stints at Maltese side Ħamrun Spartans and Luton Town before retiring in 1986.
Both Aston Villa and Manchester United said they were "deeply saddened" by his death, with Villa adding that "the thoughts of everyone at the club are with Jimmy's family and friends at this incredibly difficult time."
Arsenal also paid tribute. His former United team-mate Alex Stepney, the goalkeeper he understudied for over a decade, wrote on social media: "Such sad news to hear Jimmy Rimmer has passed away, rest in peace and lots of love to Jimmy's family x."