Curtis Fleming

weemoby said:
Curtis Fleming anecdote time (with 3 relevant photos attached below).
This maybe boring for most, but showed me (and my Dad) how humble a gent Curtis is.

Late-90s I was living in Scotland with a load of Irish and Northern Irish lads. And for my 21st they got me an Irish shirt with ‘Fleming 2 Boro’ on the back. (As a side note: One of the lads told me he found the phone number for the FMTTM offices in one of my fanzines and phoned Rob to ask what shirt number Curtis had with us. I can only imagine what Rob made of this phone from a lad with a very thick Belfast accent!!!)

Fast forward many years and the shirt has made its way to the back of a wardrobe in my folk’s house. My Dad exercised very regularly along Castle Eden Walkway and frequently saw Curtis and nattered with him about all sorts of football and non-football stuff.

Then my Dad had an epiphany and remembered the shirt. He popped it in his car (along with a marker pen) ready for the next time he saw Curtis at Castle Eden. Very quickly the two were chatting again and my Dad asked if he would sign a shirt for his lad (me) who was a big fan, obviously he was very obliging and agreed.

My Dad says that when Curtis saw the shirt he was speechless (he was expecting a Boro top) as he said: “I never expected to ever see an Irish shirt with my name on the back!”. My Dad said you could see how happy it made him and he loved the story behind how I got the shirt as a present.

So, there you have it, you could say I’m a massive admirer of the fella :)

Best of luck at Brizzle and UTB (y)
Click to expand...
No, not a boring anecdote. A brilliant one. Thanks for sharing
 
When he first signed he spent a lot of time in Linthorpe with Bernie Slaven who was big mates with next door neighbour and my one meeting with Curtis was him knocking at my door asking if I had a tennis racket he could borrow. He did return it undamaged (y)
 
weemoby said:
Curtis Fleming anecdote time (with 3 relevant photos attached below).
This maybe boring for most, but showed me (and my Dad) how humble a gent Curtis is.

Late-90s I was living in Scotland with a load of Irish and Northern Irish lads. And for my 21st they got me an Irish shirt with ‘Fleming 2 Boro’ on the back. (As a side note: One of the lads told me he found the phone number for the FMTTM offices in one of my fanzines and phoned Rob to ask what shirt number Curtis had with us. I can only imagine what Rob made of this phone from a lad with a very thick Belfast accent!!!)

Fast forward many years and the shirt has made its way to the back of a wardrobe in my folk’s house. My Dad exercised very regularly along Castle Eden Walkway and frequently saw Curtis and nattered with him about all sorts of football and non-football stuff.

Then my Dad had an epiphany and remembered the shirt. He popped it in his car (along with a marker pen) ready for the next time he saw Curtis at Castle Eden. Very quickly the two were chatting again and my Dad asked if he would sign a shirt for his lad (me) who was a big fan, obviously he was very obliging and agreed.

My Dad says that when Curtis saw the shirt he was speechless (he was expecting a Boro top) as he said: “I never expected to ever see an Irish shirt with my name on the back!”. My Dad said you could see how happy it made him and he loved the story behind how I got the shirt as a present.

So, there you have it, you could say I’m a massive admirer of the fella :)

Best of luck at Brizzle and UTB (y)
Click to expand...
Luv it ! no Boro/Curtis Fan could be bored by that weemoby, great craich !
 
He used to get a lot of stick from lads around me in the North stand, I never understood why, I liked his work ethic. Spoke well too. Only met him once but seemed a nice guy.
 
All the time in the world for Curtis, but isn’t it a weird quirk of the Boro how we’ve had so many brilliant left backs but never had a decent right back.

Definitely one of our cursed positions, proper rogue’s gallery. Even in our team of superstars from the 2000s, you’ve got JFH, Viduka and Yak up front, Mendieta and Juninho in the middle, and Stuart Parnaby first choice right back.

Always the position hardest to fill in the greatest Boro XI threads.
 
weemoby said:
Thanks for that, as once I had typed it all out I feared it might be a frightfully dull read.

But I thought board could always do with more 'happy stories', and that was mine!
Click to expand...
Wonderful story. Fantastic man and this is what he did for me.

I had been working on the Sydney harbour bridge for five years and in 95 my wife and I took a year off to travel the world. ( leave without pay )

When I returned to oz and came back to the bridge, there was several new starters, one of them being an Irish painter.
He introduced himself to me and said " I hear that you are a Boro fan ?"
I said yes, who do you support ? He said that he didn't follow any particular team but his step brother was Curtis Fleming, so for the time
being, he followed the Boro.

I was blown away and the handshake had now become a bloody big hug.

He told me that he would tell Curtis about me.
A few weeks later as I walked in the main pylon entrance, he was waiting for me with a brown paper parcel and handed it to me.
I asked what is this ?. He said open it.

It was a Fleming, match worn, grass stained shirt with the message To ***** from all the lads at the Boro with his and all the players autographs on it.

Only a couple of years ago my wife and I were in the process of selling our house and downsizing to an apartment but needed an electrician before doing so.

When the young electrician arrived and introduced himself, the first thing I said to him, noting his northern accent, was who's your football team?
He replied with " you've probably never heard of them but, Middlesbrough."
He must've wondered what the hell was going on as I grabbed him and gave him a big hug and said, me too, in my pretty much Aussie accent that I've
acquired over the past fifty years.

I decided after he did such a good job on my house to give him the shirt as it had been tucked away in a drawer for about twenty years.
He couldn't believe it and kept on saying no, no no mate, I can't. I had to insist and told him that I would be thrilled for it to go to a good home
and that I dont have children of my own, and have nobody to pass it on to.

He was nearly in tears and hands shaking with the shirt in his hands when he said " I promise to look after it, I will have it framed and will take
place of pride in my loungeroom.

I was as thrilled as him with that result and with Curtis too for making two complete strangers very happy men indeed.
 
redblood said:
Wonderful story. Fantastic man and this is what he did for me.

I had been working on the Sydney harbour bridge for five years and in 95 my wife and I took a year off to travel the world. ( leave without pay )

When I returned to oz and came back to the bridge, there was several new starters, one of them being an Irish painter.
He introduced himself to me and said " I hear that you are a Boro fan ?"
I said yes, who do you support ? He said that he didn't follow any particular team but his step brother was Curtis Fleming, so for the time
being, he followed the Boro.

I was blown away and the handshake had now become a bloody big hug.

He told me that he would tell Curtis about me.
A few weeks later as I walked in the main pylon entrance, he was waiting for me with a brown paper parcel and handed it to me.
I asked what is this ?. He said open it.

It was a Fleming, match worn, grass stained shirt with the message To ***** from all the lads at the Boro with his and all the players autographs on it.

Only a couple of years ago my wife and I were in the process of selling our house and downsizing to an apartment but needed an electrician before doing so.

When the young electrician arrived and introduced himself, the first thing I said to him, noting his northern accent, was who's your football team?
He replied with " you've probably never heard of them but, Middlesbrough."
He must've wondered what the hell was going on as I grabbed him and gave him a big hug and said, me too, in my pretty much Aussie accent that I've
acquired over the past fifty years.

I decided after he did such a good job on my house to give him the shirt as it had been tucked away in a drawer for about twenty years.
He couldn't believe it and kept on saying no, no no mate, I can't. I had to insist and told him that I would be thrilled for it to go to a good home
and that I dont have children of my own, and have nobody to pass it on to.

He was nearly in tears and hands shaking with the shirt in his hands when he said " I promise to look after it, I will have it framed and will take
place of pride in my loungeroom.

I was as thrilled as him with that result and with Curtis too for making two complete strangers very happy men indeed.
Click to expand...
Fantastic
 
redblood said:
Wonderful story. Fantastic man and this is what he did for me.

I had been working on the Sydney harbour bridge for five years and in 95 my wife and I took a year off to travel the world. ( leave without pay )

When I returned to oz and came back to the bridge, there was several new starters, one of them being an Irish painter.
He introduced himself to me and said " I hear that you are a Boro fan ?"
I said yes, who do you support ? He said that he didn't follow any particular team but his step brother was Curtis Fleming, so for the time
being, he followed the Boro.

I was blown away and the handshake had now become a bloody big hug.

He told me that he would tell Curtis about me.
A few weeks later as I walked in the main pylon entrance, he was waiting for me with a brown paper parcel and handed it to me.
I asked what is this ?. He said open it.

It was a Fleming, match worn, grass stained shirt with the message To ***** from all the lads at the Boro with his and all the players autographs on it.

Only a couple of years ago my wife and I were in the process of selling our house and downsizing to an apartment but needed an electrician before doing so.

When the young electrician arrived and introduced himself, the first thing I said to him, noting his northern accent, was who's your football team?
He replied with " you've probably never heard of them but, Middlesbrough."
He must've wondered what the hell was going on as I grabbed him and gave him a big hug and said, me too, in my pretty much Aussie accent that I've
acquired over the past fifty years.

I decided after he did such a good job on my house to give him the shirt as it had been tucked away in a drawer for about twenty years.
He couldn't believe it and kept on saying no, no no mate, I can't. I had to insist and told him that I would be thrilled for it to go to a good home
and that I dont have children of my own, and have nobody to pass it on to.

He was nearly in tears and hands shaking with the shirt in his hands when he said " I promise to look after it, I will have it framed and will take
place of pride in my loungeroom.

I was as thrilled as him with that result and with Curtis too for making two complete strangers very happy men indeed.
Click to expand...
That’s absolutely brilliant 🙂
And what an amazing gesture by you to pass the shirt on 👍
 
weemoby said:
That’s absolutely brilliant 🙂
And what an amazing gesture by you to pass the shirt on 👍
Click to expand...
Cheers mate.

It was a no brainer for me to give the shirt to another Boro fanatic.

I often wondered what would become of it if I had kicked the bucket before her indoors.
I could just picture her handing over my clothes and stuff including my precious Boro shirt at some charity shop and
gleefully rubbing her hands together, and thinking, " well that's the last of him gone " :)

I wanted better for that shirt and the thought of that shirt still hanging on a loungeroom wall long after I'm gone and the
thought of him telling friends and visitors who came to his house that that shirt is the mighty Boro and tells the tale of how I
acquired it and how he acquired it absolutely thrills me.

The wife thought that I was crazy and reminded me that it was a gift to me and that I would regret it.

As per usual, she was wrong.

UTB
Regards from Oz.
 
jonny_greenings_sock said:
All the time in the world for Curtis, but isn’t it a weird quirk of the Boro how we’ve had so many brilliant left backs but never had a decent right back.

Definitely one of our cursed positions, proper rogue’s gallery. Even in our team of superstars from the 2000s, you’ve got JFH, Viduka and Yak up front, Mendieta and Juninho in the middle, and Stuart Parnaby first choice right back.

Always the position hardest to fill in the greatest Boro XI threads.
Click to expand...
You're forgetting John Craggs.
 
jonny_greenings_sock said:
All the time in the world for Curtis, but isn’t it a weird quirk of the Boro how we’ve had so many brilliant left backs but never had a decent right back.

Definitely one of our cursed positions, proper rogue’s gallery. Even in our team of superstars from the 2000s, you’ve got JFH, Viduka and Yak up front, Mendieta and Juninho in the middle, and Stuart Parnaby first choice right back.

Always the position hardest to fill in the greatest Boro XI threads.
Click to expand...

Danny Mills was pretty good, albeit not with us for long.
 
weemoby said:
Curtis Fleming anecdote time (with 3 relevant photos attached below).
This maybe boring for most, but showed me (and my Dad) how humble a gent Curtis is.

Late-90s I was living in Scotland with a load of Irish and Northern Irish lads. And for my 21st they got me an Irish shirt with ‘Fleming 2 Boro’ on the back. (As a side note: One of the lads told me he found the phone number for the FMTTM offices in one of my fanzines and phoned Rob to ask what shirt number Curtis had with us. I can only imagine what Rob made of this phone from a lad with a very thick Belfast accent!!!)

Fast forward many years and the shirt has made its way to the back of a wardrobe in my folk’s house. My Dad exercised very regularly along Castle Eden Walkway and frequently saw Curtis and nattered with him about all sorts of football and non-football stuff.

Then my Dad had an epiphany and remembered the shirt. He popped it in his car (along with a marker pen) ready for the next time he saw Curtis at Castle Eden. Very quickly the two were chatting again and my Dad asked if he would sign a shirt for his lad (me) who was a big fan, obviously he was very obliging and agreed.

My Dad says that when Curtis saw the shirt he was speechless (he was expecting a Boro top) as he said: “I never expected to ever see an Irish shirt with my name on the back!”. My Dad said you could see how happy it made him and he loved the story behind how I got the shirt as a present.

So, there you have it, you could say I’m a massive admirer of the fella :)

Best of luck at Brizzle and UTB (y)
Click to expand...
Lovely story weemboy, got a lump in my throat reading tge final sentence

Curti really is a genuine bloke
 
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