Ulysses Curtis

Ulysses "Crazy Legs" Curtis (May 10, 1926 – October 6, 2013) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Toronto Argonauts from 1950 to 1954. He won two Grey Cups with Toronto in 1950 and 1952.

Ulysses Curtis
Personal information
Born:(1926-05-10)May 10, 1926
Albion, Michigan
Died:October 6, 2013(2013-10-06) (aged 87)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Career information
College:Florida A&M
Position:Running back
Career history

Curtis was long considered the Argonauts' first black player.[1] On February 2, 2021, it was revealed that Curtis was only their second ever black player after Ken Whitlock, a halfback & kicker who played only 4 games for the Argonauts in 1948.[2]

Curtis is sixth on the Argonauts all-time career touchdown list with 47 touchdowns, fourth on the Argos all-time rushing list with 3,712 yards on 529 carries, second on the Argos all-time list with most yards in a game with 208 yards, and third on the team list of most 100-yard rushing games with 12.[3]

After retirement from football, Curtis remained in Toronto and raised his family. He owned a cleaning business and later became a teacher and coach in the North York Board of Education. In 1959 he coached the North York Knights, a team that played in the national Canadian Junior Football championships. He also helped coach the York University football team in the 1960s.[4]

He was named to the Toronto Argonauts All-Time Argos List in 2005.[5]

Curtis died October 6, 2013, in Toronto.[1]

References
  1. Haim, George (October 28, 2013). "Ulysses Curtis opened doors in Toronto — and dashed through". Toronto Star. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  2. Hogan, Mike (February 2, 2021). "THE UNTOLD STORY OF KEN WHITLOCK, THE FIRST BLACK ARGONAUT". argonauts.ca. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  3. Wallace, Craig. "Ulysses Curtis". Argos Heroes. Toronto Argonauts Football Club. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  4. "Remembering Ulysses Curtis, the first black Argonaut, who went on to educate many". yahoo.com. Retrieved 2013-10-30.
  5. "ULYSSES 'CRAZY LEGS' CURTIS & DAVE 'SUPERMAN' MANN NAMED TO ALL-TIME ARGO LIST". Toronto Argonauts Football Club. 2005-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2008-04-20.

Notes


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