Bucky Curtis

Ernest Jackson "Bucky" Curtis, Jr. was an American football player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. He led the nation in several receiving categories in 1950 including a 29.3 yard average per reception,[1] and was selected as an All-American. The team's quarterback was Bill Wade. Curtis was then drafted in the second round of the 1951 NFL draft by the defending NFL champion Cleveland Browns. Curtis made the Browns for the 1951 season, but was drafted for service in the Korean War before the season started.[2] Curtis served his four years in the Navy, expecting to be signed by the Browns for the upcoming 1955 season. When he and the Browns had trouble reaching a contract, he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. He was elected to the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.[1]

Bucky Curtis
No. 85
Curtis at Vanderbilt
Born:3/3/1929
Virginia
Died:10/24/2019
Louisville, Kentucky
Career information
Position(s)End/Defensive back
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight215 lb (98 kg)
CollegeVanderbilt
High schoolRiverside Military Academy
NFL draft1951 / Round: 2 / Pick: 26
Drafted byCleveland Browns
Career history
As player
1947–1950Vanderbilt Commodores
1951Cleveland Browns
1955–1956Toronto Argonauts
Career highlights and awards

Honors

Early years

Curtis attended Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville, Georgia from 1943 to 1947, where his father was a teacher. His father gave later Vanderbilt coach Red Sanders his first coaching job.[3] Bucky is a member of the school's sports Hall of Fame.[4]

On why the nickname "Bucky", Curtis explained "When I was a youngster, I asked for it as a nickname because there was a football player at Notre Dame named Bucky O'Connor. He played for the Irish in the mid-1940s and was kind of my hero. And I never outgrew the nickname."[3]

See also

References
  1. "Ernest "Bucky" Curtis". Archived from the original on 2016-08-25. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  2. "Bucky Curtis".
  3. Bill Traughber (September 28, 2011). "Bucky Curtis was an All-American". Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  4. "RMA Sports Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
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