Gnome Athletic Curtis began his managerial career as secretary-manager of amateur club
Gnome Athletic. He had travelled to
Priestfield to watch a match after missing his train to
Swansea, where he was to have refereed a match at the
Vetch Field that day. Curtis departed the club on 30 March 1926. He brought Gillingham trainer Bob Kane with him to
Griffin Park. Brentford won the 1932–33 Third Division South title, which was the first
silverware of Curtis' managerial career. 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. 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 was named in his honour. The boardroom at the
Brentford Community Stadium is also named after him. In 2013, Curtis was voted Brentford's greatest-ever manager in a Football League 125th anniversary poll and he was posthumously inducted into the Brentford
Hall of Fame in May 2015.
Tonbridge In mid-January 1950, Curtis was appointed secretary-manager of Southern League club
Tonbridge and commenced work on 1 February 1950. He won the 1951–52 Kent Senior Shield and guided the club to the first round proper of the
1950–51,
1951–52 and
1952–53 FA Cups. Interference from the club's board in team selection led to Curtis resigning his position on 5 November 1952, but he continued in the role until the end of the year. == Personal life ==