John Curran’s ears pricked up as he listened to the TV coverage of Queen’s Park inflicting a shock defeat on Rangers in the Scottish Cup this month.
Following a terrific penalty save by goalkeeper Calum Ferrie in injury time, the underdogs secured a 1-0 victory over their exalted opponents which, as the commentator said, was “the first time that Queen’s have beaten Rangers since 1948.”
Mr Curran, the honorary president of Highland League club Keith, immediately recalled how his father, also John, had been the man between the sticks when The Spiders beat the Ibrox side 2-1 all of 77 years ago.
This was the upset of upsets
He spoke to the Press & Journal about how his father moved to Aberdeen within a few weeks of that upset.
And, even though his dad died of cancer in 1985, we can now reveal the story of how he was paid a visit in the last few days of his life by none other than one of his long-time admirers – a certain Alex Ferguson.
Curran Snr soon established a reputation as a talented goalkeeper after signing for Queen’s Park, and made his first appearance against Aberdeen in 1948.
He replaced Ronnie Simpson, the future Celtic Lisbon Lion, and was in imperious shot-stopping form as the then-amateur Glasgow club triumphed 3-1.
He was in demand from other clubs, but Aberdeen allowed him to complete his apprenticeship
His son told me: “That debut had obviously impressed the Aberdeen manager, David Halliday, because he pursued John and within a matter of weeks professional terms were signed, but not before the famous league success over Rangers.
“As an amateur, my dad had been free to discuss terms with any club who had shown an interest and had already received offers from Arsenal, Wolves and Blackpool.
“But one compelling factor which helped persuade him was the condition he negotiated with Aberdeen which allowed him to complete his apprenticeship as an engineer.”
The new recruit soon made a positive impact at Pittodrie and was prepared to fling himself into the fray with whole-hearted exuberance.
He was involved in a friendly match which created its own bit of history when Glenavon’s players and officials travelled to Dyce Airport on two Ulster Aviation Company private charter plans: this was the first occasion when an Irish side had journeyed by air to a match in the UK.
He had a cracker at Christmas
Mr Curran added: “One of my dad’s most memorable appearances for Aberdeen was against Celtic on Christmas Day in 1948 when the press reports show he delivered an outstanding performance.
“This was all the more remarkable because he had only got the call at 7am on Christmas morning in Aberdeen telling him he had been selected and he had to be in Glasgow in time for the 3pm kick-off. He made it with just 20 minutes to spare.”
However, his life wasn’t all work, even if his devotion to the Dons was exemplary. In 1950, he found time to marry his sweetheart Eleanor.
Yet, within four hours of the wedding photographs being taken at the registry office, he was back in goal for Aberdeen reserves against their Hearts counterparts and, once again, earning plaudits from the cognoscenti.
He helped rescue the Dons
There was even talk that he might attain the cherished Scotland cap which his father – also called John – had coveted, although it remained frustratingly out of reach.
But Curran’s consistent excellence was one of the main reasons why the Dons escaped from a relegation dogfight in the 1948-49 campaign.
The goalkeeper, who won the Scottish League Cup with East Fife, moved on to other assignments at Shrewsbury Town and latterly a one-year contract at Watford, as the prelude to carving out his own niche in the Highland League in his fourth decade.
Mr Curran said: “At 34, and with a wife and two young children living in Aberdeen, he succumbed to the pull of the Highlands and returned to God’s own country.
He was back in the region he loved
“He soon secured employment as an engineer and turner with The Consolidated Pneumatic Tool Company Limited in Tullos in Aberdeen.
“But that was only the beginning of another chapter in his footballing saga, after he was approached by Keith FC to participate in the Highland League from 1958 onwards.”
He and his colleagues were soon hoovering up honours. The Scottish Qualifying Cup was secured for the first time in the club’s history in 1960-61, a triumph which earned them a civic reception.
Next, they won the Highland League title in 1961-62 – another unprecedented achievement. And, in the Scottish Cup, they comprehensively beat Hamilton Accies 3-0 in 1960 at Kynoch Park.
He played until he was nearly 40
The indefatigable Curran eventually racked up a total of 215 games over the course of five seasons at Keith and his swansong in 1963 at the age of nearly 39 yielded an exciting 4-3 victory over Inverness Caley.
That was his last hurrah as a player, even though he never lost his love for football.
There was a poignant climax to his story when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer towards the end of 1984. He wasn’t keen on seeing former colleagues because of the ravages of the illness.
And yet one evening, 40 years ago, there was a visitor at the door, a quick conversation, and one of the sport’s greatest figures was in the family home.
Mr Curran spoke about the indelible impression that the occasion made on him.
He said: “Alex Ferguson was my next door neighbour during his time as Aberdeen manager and our respective families were friendly.
“There was a knock on my door one evening a couple of weeks before my dad died. It was Fergie with a book of paper cuttings on my father’s career and a request to see him.
The two men had a mutual respect
“I sat in on the two-hour chat that followed, which was mainly about football, but also their reflections on their shared Govan and Queen’s Park FC background, their working-class roots and their values.
“It became abundantly apparent to me that this was not a duty ‘chore’ by a manager on behalf of his employers to an ailing ex-player. This was a strictly personal and genuinely caring visit to a schoolboy hero of his with a view to saying farewell.
It was the mark of a great man
“To this day, I have no idea how Fergie found out my dad was living with the family.
“It’s a side of him that many people don’t know about, but in my eyes, now and forever, stamps him out as a great man.”
This is a fitting time to recall the myriad links between John Curran snr and Queen’s Park and Aberdeen – after all, the clubs have been drawn against each other in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup on Saturday, March 8.
Mr Curran, who recently celebrated his 74th birthday, will be among those taking a special interest in the match at Pittodrie.
And, given his family’s love for the game, it’s no surprise he is relishing the contest.
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