Full name Ernest Robert Curtis Name Ernie Curtis Place of birth Cardiff, Wales Role Footballer | Place of death Cardiff, Wales Years Team | |
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Date of birth (1907-06-10)10 June 1907 Date of death November 1992 (aged 85) Died November 1992, Cardiff, United Kingdom | ||
Ernest Robert "Ernie" Curtis (10 June 1907 – November 1992) was a Welsh professional footballer. During his career he made over 250 appearances in The Football League and was the youngest ever winner of the FA Cup to that date when he played in the 1927 FA Cup Final for Cardiff City aged 19 years and 317 days.
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Club career
A Welsh schoolboy international, Curtis was playing amateur football with Cardiff Corinthians, also working as an electrician, when he signed for Cardiff City in 1926, winning both the FA Cup and Welsh Cup in his first season. The following year, Curtis also played in the 1927 FA Charity Shield on 12 October 1927 before moving to Birmingham soon after. He returned to Cardiff in 1933 but soon found himself in a dispute with the club over wages and retired from football for a short while before returning in 1935 to play for Coventry City. He finished his career at Hartlepools United, retiring in 1938 after one season at the County Durham side.
International career
Curtis made his debut for Wales on 29 October 1927, scoring in a 2–2 draw with Scotland in the 1928 British Home Championship. He won a further two caps for Wales, his final appearance coming on 4 November 1933 in a 1–1 draw with Ireland.
International goals
Results list Wales' goal tally first.After retirement
At the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the Royal Artillery and was posted to the Far East. While serving, he was captured by Japanese forces in 1941 and spent the duration of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp. During his time in the camp, Curtis would teach Japanese officers how to play football with a ball made out of paper in order to obtain food.
Returning to Wales after the war ended he again joined Cardiff, this time as a trainer. He continued to work for the club in various positions as well as running a number of pubs in the Cardiff area.
Curtis died in Cardiff in November 1992, aged 85. At the time of his death he was the sole survivor from Cardiff City's 1927 FA Cup final winning team.