TRIBUTES have poured in for “one-in-a-million” Mark ‘Curly’ O’Callaghan after his untimely death last week.
The former Southam United and Racing Club Warwick manager, who also served as assistant to Sheffield Wednesday favourite Graham Hyde at Redditch United, passed away at the age of 56 after more than a decade battling chronic lymphatic leukaemia.
‘Curly’ had been given six months to live back in 2018 but defied the disease and was declared cancer free by medics shortly before Christmas.
However, complications arising from his life-saving bone marrow transplant took a toll on his liver and kidneys.
It was that optimistic outlook – in football and in life – that sticks in the mind of friend Scott Easterlow, who played under O’Callaghan in his teenage years and later followed him into the dugout at Warwick.
“My first meeting with Curly was actually about 18 years ago at a Southam training session on a wet Tuesday night,” said Easterlow. “I must have been 17 at the time and walked into a new changing room not really knowing what to expect.
“I remember driving there thinking ‘why have I agreed to train here tonight’ as it was hammering it down.
“You might have been forgiven for not really being that enthusiastic but as soon as I was at the ground, Curly had the whole changing room laughing and joking.
“He was the life and soul of the group and really underlined what Non-League is about. He made sure you grafted but it was always done with a smile on your face.
“Everyone knows he had been ill for a while but he treated it like a match. Numerous times he would say ‘I’ve had set back but we go again, it’s not over until the whistle goes’ and we would laugh.”
