Crawford leads tributes to Curtis
IPSWICH Town legend Ray Crawford has paid tribute to former team-mate Dermot Curtis, who was a member of Sir Alf Ramsey's Town side which won the First and Second Division championships.
IPSWICH Town legend Ray Crawford has paid tribute to former team-mate Dermot Curtis, who was a member of Sir Alf Ramsey's Town side which won the First and Second Division championships.
Curtis, a forward, was part of the squad which won the divisions in successive years at the beginning of the 1960s. He died on Saturday at the age of 74 after a long illness.
Curtis was called up by the Republic of Ireland and went on to win 17 caps, nine of them while at Portman Road.
Fellow striker Crawford said: “When I joined Ipswich Dermot was in the first team. I had to wait until he played for Eire before I had a chance to play in the first team.
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“Dermot was a great guy, a team player and good company. He was a really good player. I tell people he was a better player than me.”
Curtis was a fringe member of the squad which created history. He made five league starts and scored three goals in the Second Division-winning 1960-61 season and four as the Blues won the First Division championship the following season.
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Overall, the Dubliner made 43 starts and scored 18 goals for the Blues, having signed from Bristol City in August 1958. He moved on to Exeter City in August 1963 and was still living in the city.
Former Exeter City team-mate Alan Banks said: “I first met Dermot when I came here in 1963 and we played together for five or six years.
“He was just a lovely man and it is very sad that all the good guys seem to go early. He was a smashing fellow.”
Prior to his spell with Bristol City, Curtis had started his career with Shelbourne back in Ireland and he also had a year with Torquay United sandwiched between two spells with Exeter.
Late in his career he played for Bideford in the East Devon League before working as a panel-beater.
Curtis is survived by wife Doreen, their children Hazel, Maurice, Chris and Robert and his grandchildren.
