Curtis James Stewart (June 4, 1963 – July 3, 1996) was an American 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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

and

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a tota ...

Early life

Stewart attended Jefferson Davis High School. He posted 1,430 rushing yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He helped the team achieve a 10–0 regular season record and reach the state's 4A playoff semifinals. He was a highly recruited football player in Alabama, but his grades didn't meet the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's standards to receive a scholarship.

College career

Stewart enrolled at

Ferrum College Ferrum College is a private college in Ferrum, Virginia. The college was established in 1913 as the "Ferrum Training School" (also referred to as the "Ferrum Institute" by its board of trustees) for primary and secondary education to serve the ...

to improve his grades. He was the team's leading rusher as a freshman, transferring at the end of the season to

. As a sophomore, he didn't see much action in a team that had future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

players

Bo Jackson Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball and American football, football player. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an All-star#Sports, All-Star in Major professio ...

Brent Fullwood Brent Leanrd Fullwood (born October 10, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round (fourth overall pick) of ...

Tommie Agee Tommie Lee Agee (August 9, 1942 – January 22, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as th ...

and

Tim Jessie Timothy LaWayne Jessie (born March 1, 1963) is a former gridiron football running back in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins and in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He played college f ...

at the

position. As a junior, although he was listed as the third-string

behind Jackson and Fullwood, he was used predominantly as a blocker, registering 37 carries for 199 yards and one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. In 1986, because of the talent level at the

position, he was tried briefly at

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

, before being

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

to extend his college eligibility. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

senior, the starter James Joseph cracked his left kneecap in September, opening the door for Stewart to be one of the players employed in a

by committee approach. He was fifth on the team with 54 carries for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns. He scored 2 rushing touchdowns against

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

. He finished his college career with 92 carries for 383 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Professional career

On February 3, Stewart was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

by the

after the 1988 NFL draft, to be used as a fullback. He was placed on the

injured reserve list The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in t ...

on August 23. He was released on September 4,

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

. In October

, he was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

. On November 21, he was promoted to the active roster. He wasn't re-signed after the season.

Coaching career and death

In 1992, Stewart was named a volunteer assistant coach and strength coach at Jefferson Davis High School, contributing to the team winning a state championship in 1996. On July 3, he died from injuries suffered in a traffic accident on

U.S. Route 80 U.S. Route 80 or U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) is a major east–west United States Numbered Highway in the Southern United States, much of which was once part of the early auto trail known as the Dixie Overland Highway. As the "0" in the ...

, between Selma and Montgomery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Curtis 1963 births 1996 deaths American football running backs Auburn Tigers football players Chicago Bears players Dallas Cowboys players Ferrum Panthers (junior college) football players High school football coaches in Alabama Players of American football from Montgomery, Alabama Coaches of American football from Alabama Road incident deaths in Alabama