Curtis Realious McClinton Jr. (born June 25, 1939) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. 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, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in the 10th round of the 1960

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, 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 The Bluebonnet Bowl was an annual college football bowl game played in Houston, Texas. A civic group was appointed by the Houston Chamber of Commerce Athletics Committee in 1959 to organize the bowl game. It was held at Rice Stadium (Rice Univ ...

. Kansas won the game over

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

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 The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame is a museum located in Wichita, dedicated to preserving the history of sports in the state of Kansas. The museum provides exhibits, archives, facilities, services, and activities to honor those individuals and t ...

, 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 List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911, at Indiana University Bloomington, it has n ...

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 university, public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, United States. It was established in 1892 as a private normal school and became a state institution in 1895. CMU is one of the eigh ...

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, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

, 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

, and is the ninth-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, 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 The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

teams, including the winners of the fourth and final

AFL-NFL World Championship Game The Super Bowl is the annual league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 (with the exception of the Pro Bowl between the 1967 and 2009 se ...

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 th ...

. He was a backup tight end on the Super Bowl IV 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 John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He served as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in Washington, D.C., and owned McClinton Development Company, a Kansas City-based construction contractor. He and his wife Devonne married in 1973 and look forward to celebrating 50 years. 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 Muskogee, Oklahoma Players of American football from Wichita, Kansas American Football League players

See also

References