Frank Curcio

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Frank Curcio
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Personal information
Birth 25 November 1912, Melbourne, Victoria
Recruited from Christian Young Men's Society
Height and weight 185 cm / 86 kg
Death 11 November 1988,
Playing career¹
Debut 1932, Fitzroy vs. , at
Team(s) Fitzroy (1932-36) (1938-43) (1945-48)
  • 249 games, 17 goals
¹ Statistics to end of 1948 season
Career highlights

  • Fitzroy Captain 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941.
  • Fitzroy Team of the Century
  • Italian Team of the Century
  • VFL interstate representative (3 games)

Francis 'Frank' Eduardo Curcio (November 25, 1912 –11 November 1988) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Fitzroy Lions. He captained the club for 4 seasons, from 1938 until 1941.[1]

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Recruited from the Christian Young Men's Society in 1931, Curcio was a tough, hard ruckman, who also played well in the back line. He was renowned for protecting his smaller team mates.[2] A bass violinist, Curcio combined his musical talents with his football prowess, but stood out of the game in 1937 to concentrate on his music. Ever conscious of safegarding his hands to work the strings of the bass violin, he once famously told North Melbourne's Fred Fairweather, Hit me as hard as you like, but don't hurt my fingers.[3]

Regrettably, WW2 military service cost Curcio a place in Fitzroy's 1944 premiership team and three broken fingers sustained in a services match in 1945, effectively ended his musical career.[3]

Curcio played his best football in an era when Fitzroy's best and fairest records were either lost on not kept, arguably robbing him of an opportunity to be recorded and remembered as a great player in the record books.[1] On 27 April 1946, Curcio became the first Fitzroy player to play 200 league games.[4]

Curcio retired in 1948, after 15 seasons and having played 249 VFL games, all with Fitzroy, collecting 27 Brownlow Medal votes.[5] Curcio's club games record stood for 23 years at Fitzroy until surpassed by Kevin Murray. No player in the history of the VFL/AFL competition has worn guernsey number 18 in more matches than Curcio.[3] With the club now defunct, he sits in fourth position in the record books for most games played for Fitzroy.[6]

[edit] Career highlights

On 3rd May 2001, Curcio was named in Fitzroy's Team of the Century, in the back pocket position.[7]

Frank Curcio (right) listening to the 1944 VFL Grand Final while stationed at Dutch New Guinea, with former Collingwood player, Ron McCann.
Frank Curcio (right) listening to the 1944 VFL Grand Final while stationed at Dutch New Guinea, with former Collingwood player, Ron McCann.

After Fitzroy and Brisbane combined their respective histories in 2001, the club unveiled a new 200 game honor board at the Gabba which included Fitzroy, Brisbane, and Brisbane Lion players. The board was hung in the players' rooms with a replica for the members' area. The board itself was christened the 'Curcio-McIvor' board, in honor of past players Frank Curcio and Scott McIvor.[8]

Curcio was the first VFL player of Italian background to really emerge as a great footballer.[9] In 2007, Curcio was named in the VFL-AFL Italian Team of the Century, in the back line.[10][11][12] Also in 2007, the Lions recognised Curcio as one of the best 10 players from the era 1927 to 1956.[13][14] He represented Victoria on 3 occasions.[3]

[edit] Passing

Curcio died in 1988, 14 days short of his 76th birthday.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Brisbane Lions (2008). Fitzroy Football Club Honour Board 1897 - 1996. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.
  2. ^ Fitzroy Football Club (2008). Fitzroy: Team of the Century Nominees. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e Italian Team of the Century (2007). Player details: Frank Curcio. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  4. ^ Fitzroy Football Club (1996). Chronology of Fitzroy Football Club 1883 - 1996. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.
  5. ^ AFL Stats (2008). AFL Players: Frank Curcio. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.
  6. ^ Brisbane Lions (2008). Fitzroy: Club Records. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  7. ^ Footy Stamps (2006). Fitzroy's Team of the Century. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  8. ^ AFANA Footy News (2005). Brisbane News. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  9. ^ The Catholic Weekly (2002). Dad had to face racism on field. Retrieved on 8 May 2008.
  10. ^ Australian Football League (2007). Italian Team Of The Century - 31 May 2007. Retrieved on 7 May 2008.
  11. ^ Australian Football League (2007). The VFL/AFL Italian Team Of The Century. Retrieved on 6 May 2008.
  12. ^ ABC News (2007). Ricciuto named captain of Italian team of the century. Retrieved on 7 May 2008.
  13. ^ Brisbane Lions (2007). Our Kings of the Pride. Retrieved on 7 May 2008.
  14. ^ Sports Australia (2007). Kings of the Pride Award winners. Retrieved on 7 May 2008.