Date of birth 1891 1926–1949 Brentford Place of birth Holloway, England Name Harry Curtis | Years Team Role Footballer 1923–1926 Gillingham Date of death January 31, 1966 | |
Henry Charles "Harry" Curtis (22 January 1890 – 30 January 1966) was an English footballer, referee and manager, best-remembered for his 23 years as manager of Brentford. He is Brentford's longest-serving and most successful manager to date. In 2013 Football League 125th anniversary poll, Curtis was voted Brentford's greatest-ever manager. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.
Contents
- Playing and refereeing career
- Gnome Athletic
- Gillingham
- Brentford
- Tonbridge
- Personal life
- As a manager
- As an individual
- References
Playing and refereeing career
Curtis had a brief spell as a footballer in his teenage years, playing for Romford and Walthamstow Grange. After his retirement from playing, Curtis became a referee and was quickly added to the Southern League list of referees. In 1918, he was promoted to the Football League list and retired from refereeing in 1923.
Gnome Athletic
Curtis began his managerial career as secretary of amateur club Gnome Athletic.
Gillingham
Curtis entered league management when he became secretary-manager of Division Three South side Gillingham in 1923, taking over from Johnny McMillan. After leading the club to three mid-table finishes, Curtis departed Priestfield in May 1926.
Brentford
After a chance meeting with Brentford director and former referee Frank Barton, Curtis took over the managerial job at the Division Three South side in May 1926, signing a 12-month contract. He brought Gillingham trainer Bob Kane with him to Griffin Park. Curtis' debut season saw a run to the fifth round of the FA Cup, which yielded enough money to build a grandstand on the Braemar Road side of Griffin Park. In the 1929–30 season, Curtis' Bees side won all 21 home league games, a record which has never been bettered. Curtis also named the same team for 21 games between November 1929 and March 1930. The most successful era in the club's history began in the summer of 1932, when Curtis signed Jack Holliday, Billy Scott and Bert Watson from Division One side Middlesbrough for £1500. Brentford won the Division Three South title in the following season, the first silverware of Curtis' managerial career. Curtis' Brentford finished fourth in the club's first season in Division Two, before securing a second promotion in three seasons by winning the 1934–35 Division Two title and securing top-flight football for the first time in the club's history. The club won a second piece of silverware during the 1934–35 season, bringing home the London Challenge Cup.
Curtis and recently appointed assistant manager Jimmy Bain guided Brentford to fifth and two successive sixth-place finishes in the club's first three seasons in Division One. Crowds at Griffin Park averaged 25000 and in the 1937–38 season, Brentford led the Division One table for three months and reached the sixth round of the FA Cup for the first time. Brentford's sustained period of success was consolidated by Curtis' man-management abilities and his astuteness in the transfer market, bringing in Scottish internationals Dave McCulloch, Bobby Reid and Duncan McKenzie, Welsh internationals Idris Hopkins and Les Boulter, with Billy Scott and Les Smith going on to represent England. The outbreak of the Second World War and the suspension of professional football in 1939 brought Brentford's golden era to a halt, but Curtis still managed to win further silverware during the war, winning the 1941–42 London War Cup, the Bees' only Wembley success to date. Football League competition resumed in 1946 and Curtis' Brentford were relegated to Division Two in the 1946–47 season and Curtis stood down from the manager's role in February 1949. For his long service, Curtis was rewarded with a testimonial in May 1949, played between Brentford and a team of former players. To date, Curtis is Brentford's longest-serving and most successful manager and a lounge at Griffin Park has been named in his honour. He was posthumously inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in May 2015.
Tonbridge
Curtis rounded out his management career with a spell at Southern League side Tonbridge, joining the club in 1950.
Personal life
Curtis was born in Holloway, London and moved to Walthamstow with his mother after his parents separated. In 1911 he was working as an engineer's clerk and married in 1915, subsequently having two sons. After retiring from football management, Curtis moved to Southend-on-Sea and worked as a personnel manager for a company in the town. He later worked as a journalist.
As a manager
Brentford