Curtis Pride
Famous Black Deaf
Black History Month
Curtis John Pride
• Curtis John Pride was
born in Washington
D.C., on December 17,
1968.
• He is the 2nd child of
Sallie Curtis Pride, a
former registered nurse
and John Pride, a
former track star and
specialist in disabilities
at the Human
Resources Department.
How he became deaf
• Sallie contracted rubella (German measles)
during the 1968 nationwide outbreak.
• At 17 months, Curt was diagnosed as
congenitally deaf with a profound
sensorineural loss.
• A hearing aid amplifies the 5% he hears, but
it’s just undecipherable noise.
Curtis Prides’ life
• At 2 years old, the Prides moved to Silver Spring,
Maryland and enrolled him in the Montgomery
County Public School System’s Auditory Services
infant program.
• He spent his grade-school years in specialeducation oral classes.
• “But even as a child, Pride refused to learn sign
language. He saw that as a sign of defeat. He
insisted he not be categorized by his deafness.”
Sports, Schools and Pride
• He was always crazy about sports!
• His parents encouraged him to participate in
sports.
• At 6 years old he joined the local T-ball league. He
loved it!
• When Curt was ready to enter junior high school,
his parents wanted to send him to a special
school for the deaf, but he insisted in enrolling in
a nearby public school.
• He was fully mainstreamed in neighborhood
schools until he graduated.
• He graduated from John F. Kennedy in 1986.
Experience in
the classroom
• Curt experienced many
struggles in the mainstream
classroom.
• Sometimes teachers would
turn their back on him while
lecturing.
• He would try to follow
classmates’ conversations
and would get help from a
shy classmate, Steve Grupe,
his best friend.
• Curt’s reputation as a top
athlete gained him
popularity. He was a
straight-A student.
While in high school
• He broke several county records and virtually
all of the single-season and career records for
soccer, basketball and baseball.
• When he was 16 he toured China with the U.S.
National all-star soccer team, competing for
the 1985 Junior World Cup.
• Kick magazine named him one of the top 15
youth soccer players in the world.
Scholarships and Awards
• He was a Parade All-American in basketball,
which gained him a full scholarship.
• But baseball was his first love.
• He signed a baseball contract before he
graduated from High school, but also worked
out an unusual deal where he could attend
the college of William and Mary on the
basketball scholarship and play baseball parttime.
His career
• He started playing for the New York Mets
• He graduated college in 1990 with a degree in
finance.
• In 1993 Pride developed –or exploded- into the
major-league prospect.
• He joined the AA Harrisburg Senators, a farm club
for the Expos. After an incredible 50 games, he
was promoted June, 21, 1993 to the Expos.
Being Deaf
• He told reporters that being deaf motivated him:
• “My handicap forces me to focus better. It frees
me from unpleasantness around me. I can’t let
my mind wander. All my life, I worked hard to be
normal. To prove I wasn’t stupid. I never thought
there was anything I couldn’t do. I am not afriad
of anything. My handicap taught me not to quit.
Not to need sympathy from people or have them
treat me differently. I think I’ve been fortunate. I
had talent, a good family and people to support
me… I’m lucky.”
Awards
• He received many awards for his
achievements and his community service,
including W&M’s James Kratzer Award, the
National Council on Communicative Disorders;
Youth Achievement Awards, The Washington
Post’s All-Mets Distinguished Alumni Award.
• In January 1995, he was selected by the U.S
Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the 10
“Outstanding Youth Americans”
After Professional Baseball
• Curtis Pride became
a head baseball
coach for Gallaudet
University in
Washington, DC, a
university for deaf
and hard of hearing
students.