Curtis Buckley

Buckley was born in Oakdale, Louisiana and then moved to the Southeast Texas town of Silsbee. He attended Silsbee High School where he was a standout in Football. After graduation, he took a scholarship to attend Kilgore College to play Football.

Buckley went undrafted in the 1993 NFL draft but signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Head coach Sam Wyche was preparing to cut him in preseason before Buckley impressed his coaches by performing a flip on the field.[1] Buckley became a fan favorite for his punishing hits on kick coverage and his propensity to perform acrobatics such as backflips in the end zone prior to kickoffs that followed Buccaneers scores. With the addition of Kenneth Gant, the Bucs' other gunner, Buckley and Gant took it upon themselves to stoke the crowd after every score, with Gant's "shark dance" building the crowd into a crescendo that culminated in Buckley's flip just as the ball was kicked. In 1994, Buckley knocked Brian Mitchell unconscious during a Week 14 game.[2] Buckley was not penalized, but was later fined. Both Wyche and Mitchell said that they thought that it was a clean hit. Buckley was waived by the Buccaneers after 4 seasons and spent three seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before brief stints with the Giants and Redskins. He was named a Pro Bowl alternate three times as a special teamer.[3]

Buckley currently works as a behavioral health specialist in Dallas and resides in Mesquite, Texas with his family.