TORONTO (AP) — Ulysses “Crazy Legs” Curtis, a two-time Grey Cup champion and the first black player for the Toronto Argonauts running back, has died. He was 87.
The team said in a statement Thursday he died Oct. 6 in Toronto.
Curtis played for the CFL team from 1950 to 1954 and was one of the most productive running backs in the club’s 140-year history. He made nine playoff appearances, winning titles in ’50 and ’52.
Former teammate Nick Volpe is now the team’s football operations consultant. He says Curtis got his Crazy Legs nickname because his knees went so high when he ran he sometimes knocked the ball from his hands.
Curtis retired after the 1954 season and taught in the Toronto school system for 30 years.
He was buried Oct. 16 in Albion, Mich., where he was born.
He is survived by his wife, Catherine, three children, two siblings, six grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.
