Colts LB great Mike Curtis RIP

[bomont]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29073605/colts-super-bowl-v-hero-mike-curtis-dies-77

One of the best LBs to never get into the HOF easily 

[bzane]

Will always be remembered for flattening drunken fan who tried to steal the football and disrupt a game:

 

[swede700]

I remember the NFL Films episode where he was talking about flattening that guy.  He had long been retired by then, but you could still feel the energy that came out of Curtis about that as well as his play in general.  

[Dome]

2 hours ago, bzane said:

Will always be remembered for flattening drunken fan who tried to steal the football and disrupt a game:

 

Lmao he dislodges the ball from the fan and the ref caught it like they’d practiced that move a million times 

[Awsi Dooger]

Tough guy but I didn't think he was a Hall of Famer, not given the incredible depth of superb middle linebackers in that era. Curtis probably wasn't helped that his peak years were slightly before the merger. Once the merger occurred and now all of a sudden the first team All Pro stuff includes competition like Willie Lanier, a guy with more limited range and ability like Curtis wasn't going to fare as well.

Plus let's face it, the guy could be a jerk. I remember his comments very well. There's at least one or two clips where former teammates describe his belief system. Curtis wasn't shy about expressing some of those off field opinions, in an era in which it was not as common and didn't come across well. Media members who vote on Hall of Fame would have remembered those comments as well.

I remember the incident with the fan. It was late during a dreary afternoon in Memorial Stadium in which the older Colts had completely shut down the young Miami offense. Kind of a shock, actually. The Dolphins had reached a point they thought they were immune to that type of thing. Miami's defense fought hard. It was a low scoring physical game very typical of the run oriented '70s. I can still hear the booming chants of C-O-L-T-S from the stands. 

There had been several recent episodes of fans running onto the field. Nothing ever happened except the guy escorted away. The networks were still showing the entirety at that point instead of shifting the cameras away to avoid publicity and hopefully discourage that type of thing. So Curtis' blast was covered in full and gained tons of coverage, including outside the sports world. It became what he was known for far beyond his overall career.

BTW, the 1971 AFC Championship Game rout was sweet revenge for the Dolphins a month or so later. Orange Bowl fans had no trouble serenading Mike Curtis during that game. But then the Miami offensive woes showed up in the Super Bowl against Dallas, almost identical to what the Colts had done to Miami in early December. 

[bomont]

1 hour ago, Awsi Dooger said:

Tough guy but I didn't think he was a Hall of Famer, not given the incredible depth of superb middle linebackers in that era.

So because there were other great LBs then he shouldn't get in? 

Quote

Plus let's face it, the guy could be a jerk. I remember his comments very well. There's at least one or two clips where former teammates describe his belief system. Curtis wasn't shy about expressing some of those off field opinions, in an era in which it was not as common and didn't come across well. Media members who vote on Hall of Fame would have remembered those comments as well.

So he's a jerk because he wasn't shy about talking about his "belief system?" 

And even if true, since when does being a jerk matter to the HOF? Do you know how many people you'd have to eject (which would be fine with me btw)? 

It's generally agreed he was one of the best LBs of his era. Sounds like HOF material to me, but w/e, not a thing to me

As for flattening the doofus who ran on the field, yeah he'd be arrested today. Too bad. That was back when it was OK to put dipshats like that in their place.

[DaWg_LB.]

On Behalf of the Brown's Forum, I'd like to offer our Condolences. Rest In Peace to the "Mad Dog" Mike Curtis.

He was impactful personally on me as a kid...he played the game Linebackers were supposed to play the game. I know that's not popular in today's culture....but there was a time when Men were MEN....and didnt apologize for it.....or feel ashamed about it...

[AKRNA]

5 hours ago, bomont said:

So because there were other great LBs then he shouldn't get in? 

So he's a jerk because he wasn't shy about talking about his "belief system?" 

And even if true, since when does being a jerk matter to the HOF? Do you know how many people you'd have to eject (which would be fine with me btw)? 

It's generally agreed he was one of the best LBs of his era. Sounds like HOF material to me, but w/e, not a thing to me

As for flattening the doofus who ran on the field, yeah he'd be arrested today. Too bad. That was back when it was OK to put dipshats like that in their place.

I always liked Curtis. That said he wasn't in the top tier of his generation.  **** Butkus, Willie Lanier, Nick Buonicotti,  all played about the same time frame and he wasn't in that class.

He was in the level that included guys like Bill Bergey, Tommy Nobis, Lee Roy Jordan, all great MLB's but not HOF caliber

[TecmoSuperJoe]

11 hours ago, Awsi Dooger said:

Tough guy but I didn't think he was a Hall of Famer, not given the incredible depth of superb middle linebackers in that era. Curtis probably wasn't helped that his peak years were slightly before the merger. Once the merger occurred and now all of a sudden the first team All Pro stuff includes competition like Willie Lanier, a guy with more limited range and ability like Curtis wasn't going to fare as well.

Plus let's face it, the guy could be a jerk. I remember his comments very well. There's at least one or two clips where former teammates describe his belief system. Curtis wasn't shy about expressing some of those off field opinions, in an era in which it was not as common and didn't come across well. Media members who vote on Hall of Fame would have remembered those comments as well.

I remember the incident with the fan. It was late during a dreary afternoon in Memorial Stadium in which the older Colts had completely shut down the young Miami offense. Kind of a shock, actually. The Dolphins had reached a point they thought they were immune to that type of thing. Miami's defense fought hard. It was a low scoring physical game very typical of the run oriented '70s. I can still hear the booming chants of C-O-L-T-S from the stands. 

There had been several recent episodes of fans running onto the field. Nothing ever happened except the guy escorted away. The networks were still showing the entirety at that point instead of shifting the cameras away to avoid publicity and hopefully discourage that type of thing. So Curtis' blast was covered in full and gained tons of coverage, including outside the sports world. It became what he was known for far beyond his overall career.

BTW, the 1971 AFC Championship Game rout was sweet revenge for the Dolphins a month or so later. Orange Bowl fans had no trouble serenading Mike Curtis during that game. But then the Miami offensive woes showed up in the Super Bowl against Dallas, almost identical to what the Colts had done to Miami in early December. 

Wasn't he not fond of Johnny Unitas as a teammate? Also, I remember his comments about winning the Super Bowl on the episode of America's Game. He seemed pretty despondent regarding the victory, because he was still caught up on the loss to the Jets in Super Bowl III. He never got over it.