The Scot enjoyed a long and successful career in football, spanning five decades both as a player and as a manager.
But he will always be remembered on Wearside for the moment when he scored the goal which earned Sunderland their famous 1973 FA Cup final victory over Don Revie's elite Leeds United outfit.
Use the comment box at the bottom of the page to pay tribute to Sunderland's FA Cup legend...The 31st minute of the game on May 5, 1973 saw the midfielder take advantage of an uncertain Leeds defence to fire home a clinical right -foot finish - just about the only right-footed goal the completely left-footed player ever scored.
Second-division Sunderland had to rely on a momentous team-effort, not to mention a miraculous double save from Jimmy Montgomery to see them home that day.
But it was Porterfield's goal which ensured the ultimate underdogs lifted the cup in arguably the biggest upset ever in the competition - deservedly beating a team regarded at the time as possibly the best in Europe.
His exploits won him the coveted Golden Boot award for the game, which he asked to be cast in a left-foot, despite the fact that it was his right which had scored the goal.
Although that day was the highlight of his playing career, he went on to spend more than a quarter-of-a-century in managerial hotseats across the globe.
And though he was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year, that did not stop him continuing to carry out his duties as national team manager of Armenia right up to his death.
In fact he left his hospital bed in August to supervise the team's superb 1-1 draw against Portugal - a result which has left Phil Scolari's star-studded side struggling to qualify for the European Championship finals in Austria and Switzerland next summer.
Ian's widow Glenda said today: "He may have been a football man all his life but I know him best as a wonderful human being who was liked by everyone he came in contact with.
"He got his wish, to die in harness.
"Just over two weeks ago we flew to Armenia for the Portugal game and I'll always remember what happened at the open training session at the stadium on the day before the game.
"The stadium was packed to see all the Portuguese stars like Ronaldo, Deco and the rest but when Ian walked out they all stood up and shouted his name.
"It was incredibly moving."
Porterfield's job with the East European country was the last in a number of managerial roles which began at Rotherham in December 1979 and took him around the world to places like Zambia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Trinidad and Tobago and South Korea.
After leaving Rotherham he moved on to Sheffield United before succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Aberdeen after his predecessor left to begin his phenomenal run as boss of Manchester United.
Today, Porterfield was remembered by Ferguson, who said: "His death so young is a tragedy for his family and for football.
"It isn't long ago when he was coaching in Korea that I spoke with him with the intention of getting a few young players
over to United.
"I played against him when he was with Raith Rovers and he was an exceptional footballer, blessed with a lot of natural talent.'
Porterfield's managerial CV was truly impressive and also included a spell at Reading before managing Chelsea for nearly two years in the early nineties.
But his golden moment in the game and his iconic contribution to footballing folklore will always be the moment when his goal at Wembley for Sunderland sparked unforgettable victory celebrations as the Wearsiders turned the formbook inside out to beat the odds-on favourites.
Regardless of his contribution to football, he is remembered by his family as a deeply caring and loving man.
Use the comment box below to pay tribute to Sunderland's FA Cup legend...The full article contains 736 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
