George Curtis (5 May 1939 – 17 July 2021)
Affectionately known as ‘The Iron man’, George Curtis was undoubtedly the greatest centre-half and captain in Coventry City's history.
The son of a Welsh miner who had moved to the Kent coalfield in the 1930s, George was born in Dover in May 1939, months before the outbreak of war. He joined the club's groundstaff in October 1955 from Snowdown Colliery Welfare as a 16-year-old, on the recommendation of former player Harry Barratt who was managing Snowdown at the time. Barratt, a club legend from the post-war years himself, had already supplied goalkeeper Alf Bentley and defender Eric Jones to Coventry and shortly afterwards was appointed as the club's Chief Scout.
Within days George was in the Youth team who were playing in the inaugural season of the FA Youth Cup and he starred in a 4-0 home win over Kidderminster Harriers. A debut for the reserves followed before Christmas, a 2-2 draw at Southampton's Dell, where his teammates included Bentley and Jones, Lol Harvey and Frank Kletzenbauer. Seven days later his promising career almost came to an end when he was dropped after a 5-0 home defeat to Millwall's reserves. To be fair it was a very young team against an experienced Millwall side. He was back in the 'stiffs' in February, as a forward, and managed a goal in a home win over Swindon. After just 16 reserve games he was called up for the first team for the trip to Newport on 21 April 1956, becoming the youngest player for the club at that time, aged 16 years 11 months.
City lost 4-2 at Newport in a dramatic Division Three South game. City's England goalkeeper Reg Matthews was carried off early in the game, with defender Roy Kirk going between the posts as well as a player from each side being sent off (a rare occurrence in those days). Kirk did save a penalty but let a couple of soft goals in. Nemo in the Coventry Telegraph did however find space to commend the debut boy:
'George Curtis made a memorable debut at left back. After a shaky opening Curtis settled down to give a splendid showing after the interval when his constructive clearances were outstanding. Definitely a hopeful prospect is Curtis – indeed the best we have known for some while.'
His performance ensured he played the final two games of the season including a home debut 0-0 draw with Reading. England scouts had noted his progress and he was selected to play for England Youth at the end of the season, winning two caps alongside future stars such as John Barnwell and Chris Crowe. Two more caps came in 1957 and he played alongside a young Maurice Setters. The following season, with City under a new manager, Harry Warren, saw the club finish 16th in Division Three South, the club's lowest final position since the 1920s. George was in and out of the team under Warren and made 22 league appearances in 18 months before Warren's replacement, Billy Frith, brought him in at centre-half, a career changing decision for George. Despite only being 5 feet 10 inches, George was commanding in the air as well as being physically strong in the challenge. Within weeks Nemo was waxing lyrically about him – after a 1-1 draw at Aldershot he wrote:
'Mark the date: Saturday, April 18th, 1958. Mark the ground: the Recreation Ground at Aldershot. For it was there that George Curtis, Coventry City's boy footballer, became George Curtis the man. Curtis shone light the beam of a lighthouse through the swirling fog over the sea. It was he who stopped the Aldershot forwards when it seemed they might well overrun City's defence, and by his example set the pattern of a rugged defensive show to follow.'
City had been 'relegated' to the new Division Four on the reorganisation of the league in 1958 and after a poor start to the new season Frith recalled George and he played 43 games as City roared to promotion at the first attempt. At the age of 19 he had established himself as the regular centre-half and was to miss only six league games in the next nine seasons. During this period he became one of the most feared defenders in the Football League. Considered by many opposition fans to be over-physical, he always maintained he played the game in a fair but hard manner. He turned out for Coventry on many occasions when lesser mortals would have gone sick and his style epitomized the spirit of the club during this period. Some fans would argue that he often won games single-handedly. In the meantime George did his National Service, mainly at Bridgnorth from where he often took precarious motorcycle journeys to play for City.
George helped City lift the Southern Professional Floodlit Cup in 1960 and early the following season scored his first senior goal – an injury time headed winner against Reading. Jim Douglas remembers listening to a radio commentary of City's FA Cup game at Anfield in 1961 in which the commentator described George as the man with the 'billiard table legs'.
Jimmy Hill arrived in November 1961 and instantly recognised that George was not only the man to build his side around but the captain he needed both in the dressing room and on the pitch. George played the role perfectly, acting as the go-between between the players and JH but clearly knowing who the gaffer was. He had first captained the side on Christmas Day 1959 as a 20-year-old and JH's faith in him was rewarded as George captained the side to the Third and Second Division Championships. A stickler for discipline and a leader by example, Hill knew George would keep the dressing room in order and as a result had few problems in his six years as manager.
Shaking hands with Colchester captain Duncan Forbes in the famous 1964 game
Following his England youth caps as a teenager George had fallen off the international radar but his performances in 1961-62 impressed the England selectors enough for him to be named as a reserve for the Under 23 side and George travelled to Holland but didn't play nor get called up again. Many City fans believed George could have graced an England number five shirt in 1966!
In December 1962 George's run of 174 consecutive appearances came to an end when he suffered a bad ankle injury on a rock hard pitch at Brighton. He manfully finished the game (moving into attack) but couldn't recover before the next match. He missed one game out of 57 in that memorable season when the Sky Blues reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup. It would be another two years before he missed another game. That Cup run effectively revolutionised the club with some success after many years of stagnation and the famous victory over Sunderland will be remembered forever by those present. With eight minutes left City trailed the Wearsiders 1-0 then Dietmar Bruck equalised with a speculative lob that sailed over the keeper and three minutes later George came up for a free-kick and sent one of his bullet headers into the net to send Highfield Road wild.
In 1964 George captained the side to the Division Three title and promotion and was named Midland Footballer of the Year. He easily took to life in Division Two enjoying physical battles with a higher standard of centre-forwards including Preston's Alex Dawson, Bolton's Wyn Davies and Portsmouth's Ron Saunders, without ever looking second best. His importance to the team was illustrated in December 1964 in a League Cup tie with Leicester City at Highfield Road. George pulled a ligament early in the game but gamely carried on till half-time. Just before the break he sliced a cross into his own goal to make it 3-0 to the visitors but without their captain the Sky Blues slumped to a record 8-1 defeat. Four days later, a Curtis-less City were taken apart by Rotherham and lost 5-3. Thankfully George had recovered by the following game and didn't miss another game until he broke his leg at Nottingham in 1967.
The 1967 promotion season was the pinnacle of his playing career. George's never-say-die attitude rubbed off on the whole team and whilst the football was rarely spectacular the team ground out results every week and went unbeaten in 25 league games from November until the end of the season. With his shorts hitched up and chest pushed out George led the team out of the tunnel at a run every week and the opposition knew that they were in for a hard game. George upset the fans at away grounds, none less than at Charlton's Valley in February 1967. George and Charlton's Matt Tees went for a ball near the halfway line and the City captain cleared it into touch with one of his trademark bullet headers. In his momentum, Tees went on to the track and hit the trainer's hut. Charlton manager Bob Stokoe got up and angrily pushed Curtis away and then the referee took George's name despite first telling him it was a fair challenge. The abuse rained down on Curtis and his team-mates and the London press accused City of being a 'rough' and 'dirty' side. Before the famous Wolves game the pundits were predicting that Derek 'The Doog' Dougan would take George to the cleaners. An early mistake by George let in Peter Knowles for the first goal but George recovered, put 'the Doog' into the front row at the old Covered End and won virtually every header from that point. To this day older City fans say it was noticeable that Dougan didn't fancy the battle that day.
Few First Division centre-forwards were relishing the arrival of George Curtis in the summer of 1967 but sadly he broke his leg in the second game of the season at Forest's City Ground. A picture of George on the stretcher epitomises the man – he was sitting up smiling whilst he must have been in severe pain. Many City fans present never forgave Frank Wignall for the challenge that night, believing that it was an illegal late tackle but George never blamed Wignall, more evidence of a great sportsman. Six months later George was back playing a reserve game and over 8,000, more than double the average crowd, watched his first comeback game. Just over a month later he came on a substitute for the first team against Stoke and received a phenomenal ovation from the crowd. Twenty four hours later he hobbled away from Stoke's ground after being substituted at half-time with fears that he had broken the same leg again but it was only bad bruising and he was soon fit again.
Whilst recovering George had lost his place to Maurice Setters (who had performed miracles for the team) but by November 1968 Curtis had regained the number 5 shirt and playing a key part in the club's survival in Division One as well as nurturing a young Jeff Blockley alongside him. The writing however was on the wall and George's place was under threat after manager Noel Cantwell signed Roy Barry from Dunfermline in October 1969. His last appearance was at Burnley as a substitute in a 0-0 draw when City finished the game with George, Barry, Setters and Blockley all on the pitch – a true hardman's convention.
In early December Aston Villa manager Tommy Docherty signed George for a £25,000 fee and although he scored three goals in 18 games that season, including a debut goal, he couldn't stop Villa being relegated to Division Three. Two years later he played 25 games as Villa won promotion back to Division Two but missed the run in after suffering a bad broken nose. Approaching his 33rd birthday he decided to hang up his boots.
Within weeks he was back at Highfield Road becoming commercial manager and in 1983 becoming managing director. When Don Mackay left the club in April 1986 with City on the verge of relegation, chairman John Poynton asked George to fill the breach and in tandem with John Sillett they managed to breath some life into what had been a doomed team and kept City up.
The following season, with the duo still in charge, was perhaps the most successful in the club’s history with the FA Cup lifted for the first time. After the final George stepped back into his executive role and John was appointed team manager.
George pictured at the 1967 reunion in 2007 with Jim & JH
George survived the board room changes in the early 1990s and took a well earned retirement in 1994 spending much of his time in Spain and on the golf course.
For many George was Mr Coventry City, a larger than life character with a happy welcoming face at the club for sponsors, staff, players and visitors of all kinds. Over the years speaking to former players the vast majority would always ask 'How's George Curtis?' Every player who played with him or under him have a George story to tell and remember him with fondness. Whilst he hasn't been seen much at games in recent years his passing still leaves a massive hole in the club's history but George Curtis is a true Coventry City legend.
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