Hugh Curran won the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy in 1968.
Born in Scotland
He was born in Carstairs, Scotland on 28 September 1943.
When he was aged 11 he moved with his family to Dublin. He played hurling and Gaelic football. He played for Home Farm in Dublin before joining Manchester United as an apprentice in 1959/60. After being released by Manchester United he joined Shamrock Rovers in 1961 while working as an upholsterer. He moved back to Scotland with his family and joined Third Lanark in 1962, playing 9 times and scoring 4 goals.
Trials by Millwall and Morton
He was given trials by Millwall and Morton before joining Corby Town in July 1963. While with them he worked in the steelworks and as an industrial window cleaner. On 9 March 1964 he was transferred from Corby Town to Millwall for a reported fee of £3,000 and played in 67 League and Cup matches, scoring 28 goals.
Transferred to Norwich City
He was transferred to Norwich City from Millwall on 10 January 1966 for a fee (as confirmed by City’s accounts ledgers) of £12,000. A centre forward or inside forward. He was awarded the Barry Butler Memorial Trophy for being voted City’s ‘player of the season’ for 1967/68 by the club’s supporters.
On to Wolves
On 30 January 1969 he was transferred from Norwich City to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee reported as £60,000, the most City had received for a player, but shown by City’s accounts ledgers as £55,000. He said later that his weekly wage at Norwich had been £32 10/- and that it increased to £100 on moving to Wolverhampton. He played in 98 League and Cup matches for them, scoring 47 goals. His last match for them was in the second leg of the Union of European Football Associations Cup Final in 1971/72 in which they lost to Tottenham Hotspur.
He played 5 times for Scotland between 5 November 1969 and 14 June 1971, scoring once in the match against England at Wembley Stadium on 22 May 1971.
On 14 September 1972 he signed for Oxford United from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported fee of £50,000 and played in 80 League and Cup matches, scoring 32 goals, before joining Bolton Wanderers. While at Oxford he was the proprietor of 2 hairdressing establishments, 1 of which was in Bicester. He was transferred from Oxford United to Bolton Wanderers on 12 September 1974 for a reported fee of £40,000 and played in 52 League and Cup matches for them, scoring 13 goals.
Retirement
He announced his retirement as a result of a knee injury at the end of 1976/77 but after undergoing a cartilage operation in the summer he was persuaded to resume playing and he rejoined Oxford United on 6 July 1977. He played in another 41 League and Cup matches for them, scoring 11 goals, before leaving in March 1979. While with Oxford he also was running the King’s Arms public house in Horton-cum-Studley and the Red Lion in Islip.
He became player/manager of Banbury United in July 1979. He then managed Thame United. He became licensee of the Red Lion at Kidlington and also worked at, or was the licensee of, the Cavalier Public House, Marston, and the Nuffield Arms at Cowley. He returned to Lanarkshire in 1985 and he ran the
Old Bush Hotel in Carnwath, Lanarkshire with his brother Ronald. Later he also ran 2 grocery shops.