| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Hugh Patrick Curran[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1943-09-25)25 September 1943 (age 82) | ||
| Place of birth | Carstairs,Lanarkshire, Scotland | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1954–1960 | Home Farm | ||
| 1960–1962 | Shamrock Rovers | ||
| 1962 | Manchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1962–1963 | Third Lanark | 9 | (4) |
| 1963–1964 | Corby Town | ||
| 1964–1966 | Millwall | 57 | (26) |
| 1966–1969 | Norwich City | 112 | (46) |
| 1969–1972 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 82 | (40) |
| 1972–1974 | Oxford United | 70 | (28) |
| 1974–1977 | Bolton Wanderers | 47 | (13) |
| 1977–1979 | Oxford United | 35 | (11) |
| Total | 412 | (168) | |
| International career | |||
| 1969–1971 | Scotland | 5 | (1) |
| Managerial career | |||
| Banbury United | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Hugh Patrick Curran (born 25 September 1943) is a Scottish formerfootballer who spent the majority of his career in theEnglish Football League. He played in five full international matches forScotland between 1969 and 1971.
Curran began his career atHome Farm when his family moved toDublin in 1954. After 6 years playing at all grades he moved toShamrock Rovers to gain experience. After a period as an apprentice atManchester United he was released and returned to his native Scotland withThird Lanark as a semi-pro where he struggled to see much first team action, instead joiningCorby Town.
Spotted byMillwall, Curran signed professional forms atThe Den in March 1964. Finishinghis first full season with 19 goals, he was the club's leading scorer as they won promotion from the fourth tier in 1965. This proved to be his only full campaign for Millwall, as he moved toNorwich City in January 1966. Serving theCarrow Road club for three years in the second flight, Curran scored 53 goals in total and was voted theirplayer of the year in 1968.
In January 1969, Curran joinedWolverhampton Wanderers in a £60,000 deal. He finished his first full season in theFirst Division as the leading goalscorer atMolineux with 23 goals, adding a further 20 in the following campaign. Curran scored the first goal in an English league match to be broadcast live in Norway, Denmark and Sweden, when he netted the only goal of a game againstSunderland on 29 November 1969.[2]
During his time atWolves, Curran was selected to represent theScotland national team; making his debut on 5 November 1969 in a 2–0World Cup qualifying loss inAustria. He won five caps in total, over an 18-month period, his one goal coming againstEngland in a 3–1 defeat atWembley in May 1971.
The emergence ofJohn Richards atWolves saw Curran's appearances limited to just eight matches during the1971/72 season. His final game for the club was in the second leg of the1972 UEFA Cup Final where they lost out on the trophy to their countrymenSpurs. Out of contention, Curran departedWolves with the impressive tally of 47 goals from his 98 appearances.
Curran leftWolves in September 1972, joining second-flightOxford United for £50,000. Despite being their leading scorer in both the1972/73 and1973/74 campaigns – with 17 and 14 goals respectively – he departed theManor Ground in September 1974, joiningBolton Wanderers for £40,000. After three seasons, in which he featured more than 50 times for theBurnden Park club, Curran returned toOxford United in 1977, where he remained until retiring due to injury in 1979.
After football, Curran went into business in his nativeCarstairs Junction, before running a hotel with his brother Ronald inCarnwath,Lanarkshire. He then entered the licensing trade, running four pubs, all of which were called The Red Lion; three in Oxfordshire (Marston,Horton-cum-Studley andIslip) and one in London. After six months of retirement in 2005, Curran was "bored to tears" and decided to get a job as a supervisor at Oxford's Thornhill park-and-ride service.[3]
