Bill Curry on playing for Lombardi and learning about race from teammates

Growing up in Georgia, Curry did not like football. In fact, it was a sport he never wanted to play. But it was the sport he knew could attract the attention of girls in high school (and one in particular Carolyn Newton who he would eventually marry). Even though his dad was a big Georgia fan, Curry would play at Georgia Tech for Hall of Fame coach Bobby Dodd. With the Yellow Jackets, Curry would captain the team in 1964 and become a George Tech Hall of Famer. Later that year, he would be drafted by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers in the final round, as well as the AFL’s Oakland Raiders. When Vince Lombardi told Curry he wanted him to play for the Packers, that’s what Curry did becoming the center for quarterback Bart Starr. As a rookie, he and the Packers won the NFL Championship. He was also the starting center in the Super Bowl I victory in 1966. From 1967-72, Curry would play for another legendary coach when Don Shula traded for him to play for the Baltimore Colts where he snapped to Johnny Unitas and won Super Bowl V (after losing Super Bowl III to the NY Jets and Joe Namath). After stints with the Houston Oilers and LA Rams, Curry retired and started coaching as an assistant at his alma mater before coaching for former teammate Bart Starr back in Green Bay. He would eventually become a head coach first at Georgia Tech (1980-86), then Alabama (1987-89) and finally Kentucky (1990-96). In 1997, Curry joined ESPN where he would become a football analyst for more than 10 years. In 2008, Curry was called back into coaching when he helped start the football program at Georgia State in Atlanta and would serve as their coach through 2012. Curry shares many of his memories with us including the topic of race and how his teammates helped educate him. He also tells us about his wife of almost 60 years and her influence on his life and career. He recounts his first game as head coach and how Paul “Bear” Bryant out-coached him before the game ever started. Plus, he explains why winning the 2007 Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is so meaningful to him.