Mike Curtis NFL Hall Of Fame Induction Campaign

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 Letter (cut & paste the letter below or send your own letter)

To: Pro Football Hall of Fame - Voters

“Why is Mike Curtis of the Baltimore Colts not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? He certainly belongs there. Equally adept against the run or pass, the 6-2, 235lb linebacker used explosive strength, 4.7 speed, good hands (25 career interceptions) and bone-jarring hits to punish offenses from 1965 to 1978. But it was his demeanor and frenzied style of play that made Curtis one of the most physical and intimidating players in NFL history. Curtis should be in the Hall of Fame alone. He figured prominently in the NFL’s campaign to glorify the violence of the game, and the national press obliged by calling him Mad Dog and Animal and consistently naming him one of the league’s meanest and angriest players. Curtis was a Hall of Fame impact player on a championship team. Who can forget the blitzing Curtis leaping on to Roman Gabriel’s neck against the Los Angeles Rams in 1069? Between 1968 and 1974, he went to four Pro Bowls and was considered one of the best. if not the best, linebacker in the NFL. Baltimore made two Super bowls with him at the heart of its defense, and his accomplishments and longevity compare to peers like Willy Lanier, Dave Wilcox, and former teammate Ted “Mad Stork” Hendricks.
And Curtis played five more seasons and in two more Super Bowls than Butkus, who played in zero. Who knew? Curtis also compares to and in some ways trumps Lewis, another Baltimore linebacker with image problems. Both men, for instance, provided aggressive and physical leadership. Roommate Bill Curry, the union man who likened Curtis to Mussolini, recognized in the volatile enforcer a “purist - totally dedicated to football and to winning. “He embraced the Colts Family and now supports the effort to raise the pensions and medical benefits of retired NFL players. Curtis, like Lewis, was arguably the best player on a great defense. With (Curtis) roaming the turf, in 1968-1971 Baltimore pitched an incredible nine shutouts, including two in the playoffs, and surrendered just 29 points in Super Bowls III and V losing 16-7 to the Jets and beating the Cowboys 16-13. The Colts allowed just 144 and 140 points over fourteen games in 1968 and 1971, a pace equal to the sixteen game record of 165 set by Lewis’ Ravens in 2000. Curtis, like Lewis, excelled in the postseason. He returned a fumble for a touchdown against Minnesota and spearheaded a 34-0 demolition of the Browns in the NFL championship in 1968, a 17-0 spanking of Paul Brown’s Bengals in 1970, and another 20-3 pasting of the Browns in 1971. In Super Bowl V, a Colt fumble on the 3rd quarter kickoff gave the ball to the Cowboys deep inside the Red Zone. On the play that changed the game, Curtis was initially knocked backwards at the goal line but recovered to help jar the ball loose from Duane Thomas. Then, deep in the fourth quarter, Curtis set up the winning field goal with a tricky interception off a deflected pass. Inexplicably, the press awarded MVP honors to Chuck Howley of the defeated Cowboys. The New York chapter of the Professional Football Writers of America corrected this groupthink and voted Curtis, like Lewis, Super Bowl MVP. Curtis continued to play hard as the Colts declined, making the Pro Bowl in 1974 despite a 2-12. One wonders if Curtis and a few other Super Bowl veterans cut by Thomas could have helped Bert Jones and the Sack Pack win at least one playoff game in those years. After all, the young Colts had voted him team MVP as recently as 1974, a clear sign of respect. Instead, Curtis was drafted by expansion Seattle in 1976, became a fan favorite, and blocked a last minute field goal to secure the first-ever victory for the Seahawks. When he retired, Curtis left behind a fearsome reputation and a desire to win that made him a Baltimore icon and one of the most famous, and infamous, men to ever play pro football.

While I’m not a voter for the Hall of Fame, Tippett’s five consecutive trips to the Pro Bowl, 100 career sacks, an 18.5-sack season and 17 career fumble recoveries certainly make him a valid choice, even if his first six years were much more memorable than the rest of his career.

That said, out of the four other linebackers mentioned above, I hope the over site of Mike Curtis is rectified first. During his 14-year career he was one of the most physical and ferocious middle linebackers I’ve seen play the position. With his rance and high-motor, Curtis managed to intercept 25 passes during his career. And his no-holds-barred mentality - during an ear when rules weren’t quite so protective of quarterbacks - made ball carriers brace themselves when they saw Curtis charging in to make a hit.

If you’ve never seen the famous photo of Curtis sacking former Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel, you probably won’t be able to fully appreciate the crazed energy that Curtis brought to the gridiron every weekend and how he pushed his teammates to excel. In that photo, Curtis is captured in midair hitting Gabriel from his right side, with Curtis’ right arm wrapped across the face opening of Gabriel’s helmet putting him in a headlock that twists Gabriel’s upper body backwards as he begins to crumble under the attack.

Even though his teammates and opponents tagged him with a variety of nicknames that reflected his on-the-field persona, including Mad Dog, Iron Mike and The Animal, Curtis is not remembered as a dirty player by any means. He was as a ferocious player that was truly feared, even by legendary Packers quarterback Bart Starr wo once quoted as saying that Curtis was “scarier than (Bears LB Dick) Butkus.”

Mike Curtis is long overdue for induction into the Hall of Fame. He made watching the game of football both exciting and fun.

(By Ed Thompson, Scout.com Senior NFL Analyst, Posted May 22, 2008)

Sincerely,