Curtis Realious McClinton Jr. (born June 25, 1939) is a former collegiate and professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player. His father, Curtis McClinton Sr., served in the Kansas Senate. McClinton attended Wichita North High School in Wichita, Kansas before attending the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. A three-time All- Big Eight selection as a Jayhawk, McClinton led the team in rushing in 1959 and rushed for 1,377 yards during his college career. Though he was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

in the 10th round of the 1960

NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

, McClinton returned to Kansas for his senior season, helping them to a record of 7-3-1 and a berth in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl. Kansas won the game over

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universit ...

by a score of 33-7, with McClinton scoring KU's third touchdown of the game. He was selected to the Sporting News and Pro Scouts All-American teams in 1961 and signed with the Dallas Texans after the season ended, having been drafted by them in the 14th round of the 1961 American Football League draft. In 1969, McClinton was selected to KU's All-Time Team in football. In 2001, he was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, and in 2004 he was inducted into KU's Ring of Honor, with his name now permanently displayed at KU's Memorial Stadium. While at Kansas, McClinton was also a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, creed ...

fraternity, and a standout on the track team, winning the Big Eight championship in hurdles all three years he competed. He graduated from KU in 1962, and later received a master's degree from

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

and a doctorate from Miles College. McClinton went on to become one of the early stars of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

, with the Dallas Texans, and with their successors, the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

, and is the sixth-leading rusher in franchise history. He had 762 rushing attempts for 3,124 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also caught 154 passes for 1,945 yards and 14 touchdowns. He played in three

AFL All-Star games The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

, following the 1962, 1966 and 1967 seasons. He was named the Outstanding player of the 1962 affair. He was a member all three of the franchise's AFL title clubs and both

Super Bowl teams, including the winners of the fourth and final AFL-NFL World Championship Game in January 1970. McClinton was named American Football League Rookie of the Year in 1962, when he rushed for 604 yards and caught 29 passes for 333 yards. He was the first AFL Player to score a touchdown in a Super Bowl, catching a 7-yard pass in the second quarter of

Super Bowl I The first AFL–NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super BowlI and referred to in contemporaneous reports, including the game's radio broadcast, as the Super Bowl) was an American football game played on January 15, 1967, at the ...

. He was a backup tight end on the

Super Bowl IV Super Bowl IV was an American football game played on January 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was the fourth and final AFL–NFL World Championship Game in professional football prior to the AFL–NFL merger taking eff ...

championship squad. He wore number 32 for the Chiefs, and is a member of the Chiefs' Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. After his football career, McClinton became a registered banker and graduated from

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public a ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in Washington, D.C., and owned McClinton Development Company, a Kansas City-based construction contractor. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife Devonne. He has two daughters and six grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McClinton, Curtis University of Kansas alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Kansas Jayhawks football players Dallas Texans (AFL) players Kansas City Chiefs players American football tight ends American Football League All-Star players American Football League Rookies of the Year 1939 births Living people Players of American football from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Muskogee, Oklahoma Players of American football from Wichita, Kansas American Football League players

See also

References