Mike Curtis

James Michael Curtis was born March 27, 1943 in Rockville, Maryland. Mike went on to excell at playing collage football for Duke University as a fullback (see photo below) where he was a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.

He was then drafted as a fullback in the first round of the 1965 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Colts. Mike played fourteen (14) seasons in the NFL primarily with the Baltimore Colts but also played with the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins. Mike was a leader and team captain for most of his Baltimore Colt career.

In 1970, he had five (5) interceptions and that same season made a key interception that set up the game winning field goal in the Colt’s Super Bowl V win over the Dallas Cowboys. He was named NFL’s AFC Player of the Year voted by the national sportswriters that season. He went on to become a four (4) time NFL Pro Bowler (1968, 1970, 1971 and 1974). Mike was known for his fierce competitiveness and was considered one of the toughest players of his era.

Curtis was named the Colts' Most Valuable Player in 1974. He was drafted by the Seahawks in the 1976 expansion draft and played one season with them before retiring with the Redskins in 1978.

Mike Curtis wrote one book about his career called Keep off My Turf. In it, he states that the New York Jets, who upset the Colts in the Super Bowl III, "were lucky that day," and that the 1968 Colts were "twice as good as the Jets."