Ernie Curtis

Birmingham Curtis was sold to Birmingham in March 1928 for a £3,000 fee. His transfer was completed in time for him to make his debut for the club in a 4–1 victory over Sheffield United on 12 March, and the Athletic News reported that he "fitted into the side perfectly, and was responsible for some really clever touches". His first full season with the club, the 1928–29 campaign, was disrupted by injury problems; he was stretchered off with a knee issue during a match against Newcastle United on 17 November 1928 that required the attention of a specialist. In the opening months of 1929, Curtis was forced to undergo a knee operation that kept him out of the side for more than a month.

In September 1929, Birmingham had taken a 3–1 lead away to Blackburn Rovers when their goalkeeper, Harry Hibbs, fell over an opposing forward, injured his back, and with his movement severely impaired, conceded three goals in the last ten minutes of the first half. Hibbs was unable to continue, so Curtis kept goal in the second half; he also conceded three, and the match ended as a 7–5 defeat. With Birmingham near the bottom of the league table, Curtis withdrew from international selection in favour of playing for his club in the home match against Blackburn Rovers on 1 February 1930.

For his first two years at Birmingham, Curtis had been used at inside-forward or on the right wing. A month into the 1930–31 season, he was switched to outside-left, and there he settled. He reached the second FA Cup final of his career in 1931 after helping his side defeat Sunderland 2–0 in the semi-final in March 1931. Curtis scored the opening goal of the game, after beating his man on the edge of the penalty area before shooting into the roof of the net, and combined with teammate Joe Bradford to force the ball over the line for his second goal later in the game. During their cup run, Bradford and Curtis scored all but one of Birmingham's 14 goals en route to the team's first ever appearance in the final; Bradford scored seven with Curtis scoring six, including another brace against Watford in the fifth round. However, he was denied a second winner's medal when his Birmingham side went on to lose 2–1 against Second Division side West Bromwich Albion in the final.

Curtis continued as a regular in the side. Over the next couple of seasons he missed around a dozen matches, considerably fewer than at the start of his Birmingham career, and he and Bradford were joint top scorers with 14 goals in the 1932–33 season. At the end of that season, manager Leslie Knighton left for Chelsea. His successor, George Liddell, brought in several new players and was willing to let go those he thought past their prime, one of whom was Curtis. He had contributed 45 goals from 165 appearances in the First Division, and 9 goals from 17 FA Cup ties. He made his first appearance on his return on 2 December in a 4–0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. Cardiff were experiencing a poor run of form on his arrival and Curtis suffered defeats in his first four appearances, scoring his first goal since his return in a 3–1 defeat against Northampton Town in the third of these matches. Curtis featured in 19 consecutive matches in all competitions following his return, scoring 7 times, and took up the captaincy of the squad after Tom Maidment stepped down from the role. However, he became involved in a dispute with the club over wages and was placed on the transfer list in July 1934 after failing to agree terms. Curtis remained contracted to Cardiff until 1935 but did not feature in a senior fixture after March 1934 and even returned to Birmingham where he began running a pub.

He was sold to Coventry City on 8 February 1935, after the club secured his release from his contract, and he made his debut the following day against Bristol City. However, having not played a first team game for nearly a year, Curtis was described in the Coventry Evening Telegraph as "a complete failure". He retired in 1938 after one season at the County Durham side. His second cap came four years after the first, in a 3–2 defeat against Scotland in which he scored both of his side's goals. He gave Wales the lead after converting a penalty kick he had won himself before adding a second later in the game. His third and final appearance came on 4 November 1933 in a 1–1 draw with Ireland. in August 1928 at St. Paul's Church in Cardiff. At the outbreak of the Second World War he joined the 77th Division of the 2nd Welsh Brigade, Royal Field Artillery along with four other footballers: Billy James, Jackie Pritchard, Billy Baker and Bobby Tobin. Their unit was posted to the Far East, where they were captured by Japanese forces in Java in 1941 and spent the duration of the war in a prisoner-of-war camp before being released in September 1945. Curtis later attributed his survival to the fitness obtained from his football career. He died in Cardiff in November 1992, aged 85. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of Cardiff City's 1927 FA Cup final winning team.

Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals

1926–27 1927–28 First Division

1928–29 First Division

1929–30 First Division

1930–31 First Division

1931–32 First Division

1932–33 First Division

1933–34 First Division

1933–34 Third Division South

FA Charity Shield: 1927 Welsh Cup: 1927

Birmingham FA Cup runner-up: 1930–31