Mad Dog Mike Curtis Baltimore Colt (32) to the hall of fame?

**livegonzo** · 03-17-2014, 07:57 PM

Since we have all have the emotions of the past come up with the arrest of Irsay and the Baltimore Colts, I thought I would post a push on the net to get Mike Curtis into the hall of fame. As great as a player as Ray Lewis was in Baltimore. I think Mike was more aggressive and nasty, right up there with Butkus. I think we are blessed to have had linebackers like this come out of Baltimore, and I think Mad-Dog Mike belongs in the HOF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8AwfReVeyU

http://www.mikecurtisfootball.com/

http://ravensroost44.blogspot.com/20...l-of-fame.html

**AirFlacco** · 03-17-2014, 09:17 PM

Originally Posted by livegonzo

Since we have all have the emotions of the past come up with the arrest of Irsay and the Baltimore Colts, I thought I would post a push on the net to get Mike Curtis into the hall of fame. As great as a player as Ray Lewis was in Baltimore. I think Mike was more aggressive and nasty, right up there with Butkus. I think we are blessed to have had linebackers like this come out of Baltimore, and I think Mad-Dog Mike belongs in the HOF.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8AwfReVeyU

http://www.mikecurtisfootball.com/

http://ravensroost44.blogspot.com/20...l-of-fame.html

I didn't know that.

He was our Ray Lewis to be sure but never had his speed or range or go side line to side line
or cover like Ray but he was just as tough and nasty as Ray. Mike did play RB at Duke and made a big interception, I think it was in SB 5 and said he put on an old FB move to get by the guy. Shula moved him over in SB3 to cover for the weak side but it was too little too late. I'm not sure Mike has Ray's numbers to get in or he would be in by now. Arty, Lenny and the guys made it right away, but he has my vote for HOF.

One thing about him the Jets noted after the game that Mike was smiling while the rest of the Colts looked like zombies but that was Mike. He was always smiling even when he met me-lol.

He also talked Rick Volk's son into going to Duke. Apparently he could play like his dad and had a lot of offers. Mike said go to Duke is like going to Harvard. You get a great job anywhere you want so he picked Duke instead of his dad's school in Michigan. Volk was our Ed Reed w/o his great numbers, speed and skills but he could sure hit like ED. One of his very first plays in pros was a 99 yard interception for a TD in Chicago but RB Emerson Boozer hit him so hard in SB 3 that he went into convulsions on the side line and the trainer had to hold his tongue with his fingers to keep Rick from swallowing it. The trainer saved his life but Namath said it was the hardest hit he ever saw in football.

It still pisses me off that Colts never retired Mike's, Matte's or Bubba's numbers. They're still in use and I can't stand seeing them in Indy.

I INVITED BUBBA OVER FOR DINNER AND HE DRANK ALL HE BEER AND ATE ALL THE FOOD EVEN THE TABLE AND CHAIRS.

MIKE CURTIS

**livegonzo** · 03-17-2014, 09:40 PM

Cool! didn't know these things, Yea I think ray was faster etc ..... but I think Mike was more aggressive and just nasty, like Dick Butkus. He should be in the HOF.

**ravenmaniac1123** · 03-17-2014, 11:39 PM

Grew up watching Mike roam sideline to sideline and there were none better, not Butkus, not Nitchke, nobody. It's a crime he isn't in the Hall.

**AirFlacco** · 03-18-2014, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by ravenmaniac1123

Grew up watching Mike roam sideline to sideline and there were none better,

Sorry but Mike didn't have half the speed or dropping back skills that Ray had. There was nobody better at MLB and probably never will be and I saw them all from the 50s on.

They were all the toughest, Bednarak, Pellington, NItchke, Butkus, Mike, Ray but nobody as fast as Ray from sideline to sideline which is why he'll go in on the first ballot and why MIke isn't in. He doesn't have HOF numbers, just like Pellington.

**GOTA** · 03-18-2014, 05:38 AM

Didn't the Colts leave Mike Curtis open to the expansion draft and he ended up becoming an original Seahawk?

**AirFlacco** · 03-18-2014, 07:52 AM

Yes. He was part of the house cleaning by Joe Thomas and Irsay. Mike injured his knee but he claimed Thomas hated him. He was left unprotected for the expansion draft and was claimed by Seattle. Finished his career with Skins -UGH! Other greats from the SB teams shipped out included Unitas, Mackey, Matte, Hendricks who went into the HOF as a Raider, not a Colt and picked up an extra ring or two along the way, Bubba who also ended up in OAK and the movies as the famous HighTower of the Police Academy movies plus others. Mike said Thomas could have had a first round draft choice but just dumped him like he did Hendricks.

**AirFlacco** · 03-18-2014, 08:07 AM

Anyone remember this, when Mike decked the fan for running on the field and picking up the ball on national TV. The fan sued him but there wasn't a juror in the city that would side with him. He didn't just deck him, he clothes lined him. He talks about it on the vid.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=...2F42815CFAD27F

**livegonzo** · 03-18-2014, 04:18 PM

Yea, I posted a few times with that video. I was 11 years old and was watching the game with my 32 jersey on ( I still have it along with a new one) and was in dis-belief when I seen it go down WOW!!!!! That was the coolest thing I ever seen in the NFL to date. Like I was saying Mike Curtis was much more aggressive then Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis was a better athlete but Mike was more of a straight out animal on the field by far.

**GOTA** · 03-18-2014, 04:32 PM

Originally Posted by AirFlacco

Yes. He was part of the house cleaning by Joe Thomas and Irsay. Mike injured his knee but he claimed Thomas hated him. He was left unprotected for the expansion draft and was claimed by Seattle. Finished his career with Skins -UGH! Other greats from the SB teams shipped out included Unitas, Mackey, Matte, Hendricks who went into the HOF as a Raider, not a Colt and picked up an extra ring or two along the way, Bubba who also ended up in OAK and the movies as the famous HighTower of the Police Academy movies plus others. Mike said Thomas could have had a first round draft choice but just dumped him like he did Hendricks.

Joe Thomas was one of the worst executives ever. In a couple of years with the Colts he destroyed two decades of winning. He then went to the 49ers and crippled them. That guy was just terrible.

**Greg** · 03-18-2014, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by GOTA

Joe Thomas was one of the worst executives ever. In a couple of years with the Colts he destroyed two decades of winning. He then went to the 49ers and crippled them. That guy was just terrible.

I don't like how Thomas did things but he was the guy who built the mid-70s teams that won the division 3 times straight. Then he was forced out and the Colts were never the same again.

**AirFlacco** · 03-18-2014, 09:58 PM

Yea, those were Irsay's glory years. Joe Thomas also built up Shula's Dolphins before he got there and he had that perfect season but the entire city hated him for shipping out all its stars after just winning the SB. It was Thomas who actually discovered Irsay via Culverhouse the famous tax atty in Tampa who was Rosey's atty and did the tax deal for Rosey to trade the Colts to Irsay for the Rams. They saved millions in capital gains taxes by trading instead of selling the team. I don't think that was ever done before. Then Culverhouse became the owner of Tampa's expansion team. Irsay became the owner of the Colts and Thomas was his GM as part of the deal.

Rosey met Culverhouse when he tried to move the Colts to Tampa. Remember the bumper stickers that said DON'T TAMPA WITH OUR COLTS. He played an exhibition game there vs Piss and Bubba busted his knee there running out of bounds and crashing into the chain gang and getting his leg twisted up in the chains. Rosey wanted to move then but Pete Rozelle said no but when the league expanded he remembered TB and gave them an expansion team.

Marchibroda had a power struggle with Thomas and they met with Irsay on his yacht. Irsay said he had to keep them from thowing each other off the boat. Irsay was leaning to keeping Thomas but the entire team revolted led by Bert Jones the QB so he had to keep Ted. Then the talent stopped coming in. Thomas brought in the Sack Pack of Joe Ehrmann, Cook and John Dutton who left for Dallas after a bitter contract dispute with Irsay. He was so thankful to Landry for wanting him that he would have done anything for him short of murder, unless it was Irsay. Ehrman hated Irsay too and so did Bert.

And while he might have gotten into the POs they lost to Piss and then OAK in 77 and there was the infamous plane crash after the Piss game. A nutty pilot tried to land a plane on the playing field and he almost made it. He landed in the upper deck. The stadium was near empty or empty at the time but Mista T of this forum was there and he heard the crash. He was drinking something but said he never drank it again. Pretty scary stuff for those who were there. The pilot was a former flight instructor too but ended up in a mental institution after that one.

Colts didn't do anything in late 70s and March was fired and Mike McCormick was the coach. Dick Sysmansky-sp was the GM after Thomas and was a former linemen of the Colts glory years.

McCormick endured one of the most humiliating experiences ever when Irsay called the plays from the press box. Funny thing was he actually moved the offense and said he used basic business principles. Mike was fired too and Frank Kush was the last coach here and went to Indy where he didn't do well. More chaos came with Kush. He saw that Irsay was shopping the team and got the leaders in Phoenix to make an offer. Irsay went out there. Then INdy made their offer with a new stadium already in place. Irsay still didn't budge until Schaeffer tried to pass the eminent domain law. Schaeffer got the law passed but the guv had to sign it the next day which gave Irsay enough time to get out of town really fast but like I said, he had a place to go to.

Then Kush had the nerve to say moving in the middle of the night was the most bizzare moment of his coaching career. Hell, he started the move by bringing Phoenix into the mix so he could go home but he ended up in INdy. The city got an injunction from Judge Schneider of the federal court but it had to be signed by both parties and filed in the clerk's office by 5 pm. Irsay's lawyer anticipated the move and pulled everyone out of the bldg with signature authority. The city signed their part but the Colts had no one left to sign so the injunction was never enforced.

Under Irsay Colts drafted Art Schlester-sp as #1 draft pick as QB who was jailed for gambling and then of course Elway which really prompted the move to Indy. Irsay took so much heat from the media that he blamed Steadman and Jackman for forcing him to move.

Make no mistake about it. The place was a mad house starting with Irsay and Thomas even during their 3 glory years and Irsay's version of the party boat-lol.