Curtis Mcclinton
Running Back
Career: 1960-1967
Induction: 1994
When comedian Rodney Dangerfield coined the phrase, "I get no respect," he may have been referring to former Chiefs running back Curtis McClinton. These days in pro football unsung heroes, the guys who do the dirty work to help the team win, get no respect.
Curtis McClinton was one of the original unsung heroes of football. Back in the days when there were two professional football leagues, huge contracts didn't matter and intricate victory dances didn't follow every play, McClinton was the prototype for his position. A runner who could do it all McClinton could block as well as a lineman, he could run through holes and over defenders with the greatest of ease, and he had hands like a pillow that would cradle the ball out of the backfield and punch it into the end zone.
After being picked by the Dallas Texans in 1961, the 6-foot-3, 227 pound back went on to have a brilliant career that included countless accomplishments. He scored the first ever touchdown in Super Bowl I on a 7-yard pass from Len Dawson against the Green Bay Packers. He scored the first ever touchdown in Chiefs history, a 73-yard run against the Buffalo Bills in a pre-season game in 1963. Plus, he was Rookie of the Year in the AFL with the Dallas Texans in 1962, and he was the MVP of the All-Star game that very same year.
McClinton was a respected and valued member of every team he played on. He came to play every game, and did whatever the team needed to win. As Lamar Hunt commented, McClinton was a "tremendous contributor with the Chiefs during our glory years." He indeed was more than simply a "contributor." He was a pivotal part of a team that won three AFL titles, played in the first ever Super Bowl, and won the fourth.
He ranks fifth all-time on the Chiefs rushing list with 3,124 yards and possesses the Chiefs single game receiving record with a 42.6-yard average on five catches for 213-yards in a game against Denver in 1965.
Curtis McClinton is currently a registered investment banker and owner of the McClinton Development Company, Inc. He graduated from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and is still active in the Kansas City Community.
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