Tag: mike curtis

Mike Curtis, inaugural Seattle Seahawk, passes away at age 77

Former Baltimore Colts linebacker Mike Curtis, who was a member of Seattle’s first NFL team in 1976, passed away on Monday at age 77.

Longtime NFL linebacker Mike Curtis, who played for the Seattle Seahawks in 1976, passed away on Monday morning. He was 77 years old.

Curtis spent the vast majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts, getting selected 14th overall in the 1965 NFL draft out of Duke University.

He went on to play 11 seasons with the Colts, serving as their middle linebacker and making four Pro Bowls while being named an All-Pro twice.

Perhaps his most famous moment was in 1971 when he laid out a fan on the field during a Dolphins game. He also recorded an interception in the closing minutes of Super Bowl V, which set Baltimore up to kick the game-winning field goal.

Curtis joined Seattle’s team in expansion in 1976, starting 14 games for them and recording a pair of interceptions. He then spent two more years in Washington before hanging up his cleats at age 35.

Curtis never made the Hall of Fame, although he could still find his way into Canton posthumously after a stellar NFL career.

We wish his family the best after his passing.

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Baltimore Colts linebacker Mike Curtis, who famously clobbered fan on field, dies at 77

Mike Curtis, who famously clobbered a fan during a Baltimore Colts game, has died at age 77.

Mike Curtis, who provided one of the most memorable cult moments in NFL history, died at the age of 77.

The former Baltimore Colts linebacker provided an unforgettable memory when he clocked a fan who ran onto the field during a game against the Miami Dolphins in 1971.

When criticized, the Hall of Famer responded: “[The fan] shouldn’t have been out on the field,” Curtis said.

Curtis also helped set up Jim O’Brien’s game-winning field goal in Super Bowl V with an interception in the final minute.

Curtis played 11 seasons with the Baltimore Colts before joining the Seattle Seahawks expansion team and then for two more years with the Washington Redskins. He wore No. 32 because the Colts drafted him as a fullback out of Duke before converting him to linebacker.