George Curtis (footballer, born 1939)
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | George William Curtis | ||
Date of birth | 5 May 1939 | ||
Place of birth | Aylesham, England | ||
Date of death | 17 July 2021 | (aged 82)||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
Snowdown Colliery Welfare | |||
1955–1969 | Coventry City | 487 | (11) |
1969–1972 | Aston Villa | 51 | (3) |
International career | |||
1956–1957 | England U18 | 4 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1986–1987 | Coventry City | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
George William Curtis (5 May 1939 – 17 July 2021) was an English
After retiring from playing, Curtis returned to Coventry to work on the managerial staff, remaining there until his retirement in 1994. Between April 1986 and May 1987, he was the
Early life
George William Curtis[2] was born on 5 May 1939 in the Kent village of Aylesham, in the Kent Coalfield close to Dover.[3][4] He was the second of seven children born into a coal mining family whose origins were in Newport, South Wales. As a child he played association football for the Dover Boys and Kent Boys teams.[4]
Playing career
Curtis started his playing career with the
In one game against
Despite an early-season blip, which saw Coventry occupy their lowest-ever league position of 91st of the 92 teams in
Finally, in
Curtis suffered a broken leg in Coventry's second game in the First Division, and did not return to the team until Easter of 1968. He came on as a substitute in a game at Highfield Road against Stoke City, before making his first start since the injury in an away game, also against Stoke City, the next day. He suffered a recurrence of the injury and did not play again until October 1968.[3] He continued to play for Coventry for the next year, including scoring in a 2–1 win over Manchester United in April 1969,[21] but at the age of 30, he eventually lost his regular place in the side to Roy Barry.[22] His last appearance for Coventry was as a substitute against Burnley in November 1969. His 543 games in all competitions was a club record at the time, and although it was eventually surpassed by goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic, it remains the highest for an outfield player as of 2021[update].[3]
Curtis's next club was Second Division club Aston Villa, who signed him in December 1969 for £30,000 (approximately £500,000 as of 2021, adjusted for inflation).[22][23] He scored in his debut match for the club, a 1–1 draw against Swindon Town, although Aston Villa went on to be relegated at the end of the 1969–70 season. In their second season in the third tier, the 1971–72 season, Aston Villa were promoted back to the Second Division as champions, with the club's official website later crediting Curtis as being a "key member" of that team, with 24 appearances in the season. He broke his nose in a match at Notts County in March 1972, after which he played only one more game, retiring from the game shortly afterwards under medical advice.[24]
Managerial career
After retirement as a player, Curtis became commercial manager at Coventry City in 1972, going on to become an executive director at the club and then managing director, in September 1983.
Sillett became Coventry's sole manager from the 1987–88 season onwards, although as he had led the team onto the field for the FA Cup final, the club gave Curtis that honour when they returned to Wembley for the season's curtain-raiser, the 1987 FA Charity Shield against Everton.[36] Curtis returned to the managing director role, working on matters not related to the day-to-day running of the team. He remained in that role until his retirement in May 1994.[3]
Legacy and death
Curtis was honoured with the naming of a lounge after him at Coventry's Highfield Road stadium. When that ground closed and they moved to the newly built
Curtis died on 17 July 2021, aged 82.[37]
Honours
As a player
Coventry City
Aston Villa
- Football League Third Division: 1971–72[1]
As a manager
Coventry City
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e "George Curtis". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "George Curtis". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hornby, Mark (18 July 2021). "OBITUARY: George Curtis 1939–2021". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Coventry Evening Telegraph (Football ed.). p. 3. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "George Curtis". UK A–Z Transfers. Neil Brown. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 19 October 1955. p. 24. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 9 December 1955. p. 32. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Dimmer, Sam (21 July 2011). "'Mr Sky Blues' Derek Henderson dies, aged 81". Coventry Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 23 April 1956. p. 11. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 15 May 1956. p. 16. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Match Results Under 18: 1947–1959". England Football Online. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 12. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 August 1958. p. 20. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 April 1958. p. 12. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Brassington 1989, p. 63.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. 18 December 1959. p. 35. Retrieved 18 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Aidan McCartney (2 December 2015). "Look: Jimmy Hill and the Sky Blue Revolution – 1961 to 1967". Coventry Telegraph.
- ^ Brassington 1989, p. 70.
- ^ "Coventry City match record: 1967". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. Promotion souvenir p. 3. Retrieved 19 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Birmingham Daily Post. p. 13. Retrieved 19 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 45. Retrieved 19 July 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "CPI Inflation Calculator – Value of £30,000 from 1969 to 2021". Official Data Foundation / Alioth LLC.
- ^ "George Curtis (1939–2021)". Aston Villa F.C. 18 July 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Brown 1998, pp. 99–100.
- ^ Brown 1998, p. 102.
- ^ Turner, Andy (25 April 2013). "Jimmy Hill and George Curtis named Coventry City Life Presidents". Coventry Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
- ^ "Club Honours – Coventry City". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ Hornby, Mark (16 May 2017). "ON THIS DAY: Oggy looks back on the 1987 FA Cup run". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ a b Brown 1998, pp. 104–105.
- ^ Brassington 1989, p. 111.
- ^ Edwards, Luke (12 May 2020). "The 10 greatest FA Cup finals: Ranked and remembered". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Top 10 greatest FA Cup finals". FourFourTwo. 26 March 2020. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "1987 – City slickers". BBC Sport. 10 May 2001. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- ^ "Archive: Coventry in FA Cup history". BBC Sport. 1 June 2018. Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "Curtis leads out the team". The Pink. 1 August 1987. p. 4.
- ^ "George Curtis: Former Coventry City captain and manager dies, aged 82". BBC Sport. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
- ^ Hornby, Mark (16 May 2018). "On this day: Sky Blues lift the FA Cup in 1987 at Wembley!". Coventry City F.C. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
General bibliography
- Brassington, David (1989). Singers to Sky Blues: The Story of Coventry City Football Club (2nd ed.). Buckingham: Sporting and Leisure Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-86023-452-4.
- Brown, Jim (1998). Coventry City: The Elite Era: A Complete Record. Westcliff-on-Sea: Desert Island Books. ISBN 978-1-874287-03-2.
External links
- Coventry stats and photo at Sporting Heroes
- George Curtis at Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database