OXFORD – Between teaching and coaching, John Curtis gave his all to the Oxford School District for more than 30 years. Now, four years after his retirement, a former student is spearheading the effort to recognize his contributions to the school and community by refurbishing the scoreboard at Blackhawk Stadium, and dedicating it in his honor.
Sarah Johnson, a 2001 graduate of Oxford Academy, said her former coach and teacher deserves the recognition.
“This dedication is really important because of how dedicated Mr. Curtis was to his students, student athletes, the community of Oxford and its members,” said Johnson, who had Curtis as a teacher and a coach during her Oxford career. She also worked for him as a lifeguard at the Oxford Pool, where he was the director.
“Mr. Curtis always had his students’ and athletes’ best interests at heart,” she said. And now she feels it’s time for those whose lives he has touched to give back.
Johnson, who teaches in the Schenectedy City School District, no longer lives in the area. But she continues to have close ties to the Oxford community her parents, Bill and Diane Troxell, still call home. She’s tapped into those connections to raise the $3,000 needed for the refurbishment and dedication of the scoreboard.
The refurbishment will be done by a Rochester business that specializes in such work, and it is the same company from which the district purchased the board nearly three decades ago.
To raise the necessary funds, Johnson is soliciting donations from the community, all of which will be deposited in a designated account at NBT Bank’s Oxford branch called the John Curtis Scoreboard Dedication fund.
“We have already received generous donations from Blueox Corporation, the Oxford Lion's Club, NBT Oxford and numerous members of the community,” she reported, explaining they already half way to reaching their $3,000 goal.
This weekend, she and others who have joined her in her efforts will host a chicken barbecue and bake sale this Saturday at the American Legion in Oxford, which they hope will help them raise the remainder of the money needed for the project.
“The barbecue will begin at 10 a.m. and will go until all of the chicken is gone,” she said.
Johnson’s efforts have not only attracted the support of former students and athletes, but of his fellow coaches.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said former Oxford Blackhawks head coach Tony Abbott. “John did so much for that athletics program.”
Abbott said Curtis was his assistant throughout the 27 years he spent as head coach. Together, he said, they had a total of seven league championships, of which three were undefeated seasons, and an overall record of 147 wins and 70 losses. They continued to work together for another seven seasons after Curtis assumed the head coaching job following Abbott’s retirement .
“We had a great chemistry for all of those years,” said Don Cooper, who was the third player in the Blackhawk’s coaching triumvirate for 30 years.
According to Cooper, one of Curtis’ strengths as a coach was his “incredible ability” to recall what Oxford’s opponents did on the field, and use it to plan the team’s strategy for later matchups.
“He had a great offensive mind,” said Cooper, who said people from surrounding areas would come to watch Oxford play during Curtis’ years as head coach to see the team’s “almost pro-style of offense.”
During his three decades with the Blackhawks football program, Curtis assumed much of the responsibility for maintaining the school’s fields himself.
“The fields were his babies,” Cooper explained, recalling nights when he’d hear the sprinklers go on at 3:30 a.m. And he said he doesn’t remember ever seeing Curtis walk across the field without stopping to pluck a weed.
From fertilizing to seeding, aerating and even lining the field if needed, “John did it all,” Abbott said. Adding with a laugh, “He kept better care of the fields at the school than he did his own lawn.”
Perhaps Oxford’s current head football coach, Mike Chrystie, sums it up best: “He did anything for the football program.”
Chrystie assumed the head coaching position after Curtis’ retirement in 2006. But their history goes back much further. The former Oxford football star started as the team’s ball boy when he was in second grade. He spent all four of his high school years on the varsity team, playing for Curtis.
“There has been a long winning tradition here at Oxford,” he said, which he hopes to continue.
When Johnson contacted him about refurbishing the scoreboard and dedicating it to Curtis, Chrystie said he was “all for it.”
“Mr. Curtis is worthy of the honor,” he explained.
Chrystie said he’ll make a point of stopping at the Oxford Legion on Saturday to support the fundraiser.
Johnson said donations will still be accepted after the event at the NBT Bank in Oxford. Checks made payable to the John Curtis Scoreboard Dedication may also be mailed to: Bill and Diane Troxell at P.O. Box 369, Oxford, NY 13830.
A tentative date of Friday, Sept. 17, has been set for the dedication.