OXFORD – John Curtis spent 2 1/2 decades on the sideline as an assistant football coach under Oxford Hall of Fame mentor Tony Abbott. When Curtis got his chance to lead the Blackhawks, he literally took the ball and ran with it.
Curtis died Sunday night after a long illness at the age of 65.
A three-sport athlete at Mount Upton High School, Curtis starred at Cobleskill and later Cortland State playing football and lacrosse. He was hired out of college by Oxford Academy, and taught Physical Education at the primary school for over 35 years before retiring at the end of the 2006-2007 school year.
Curtis was an assistant football coach for Abbott for 25 seasons until Abbott stepped down after the 1995 campaign. Curtis was also a junior varsity and varsity basketball coach at Oxford working under Don Cooper for many years before taking over the varsity job, while Cooper became the varsity girls’ basketball coach.
After Curtis took the reins from Abbott, within five years, Oxford earned three Section IV Class D football championships, the school's only sectional titles under the current playoff format.
"Tony, John, and I worked together for so long, so it wasn't that big of a change," Cooper said, who coached with Curtis for 31 years. "It was seamless."
Abbott brought Curtis into the football program where he was a junior varsity coach and initially a defensive coach for the varsity. Curtis soon moved to offense, while Cooper ran the defense.
The formidable coaching trio helped Oxford win seven league championships, post three undefeated seasons, and compile 147 wins with Abbott leading the way. In his 11 seasons as head coach, Curtis piloted Oxford to 72 wins, seven Section IV Class D finals, and the aforementioned section titles.
"For this area, he was definitely ahead of his time," said Mike Chrystie, who played on Oxford's three sectional championship teams, and is now head football coach of Norwich. "With the type of offense he ran, playing for (John) was exciting."
Cooper, Chrystie, and Abbott all spoke of Curtis' dedication to the Oxford community and the time he spent out of the spotlight helping kids or friends, and volunteering his own time to maintain the sports fields.
It was typical to see Curtis tidying up the grounds, lining the football field, and mowing the grass. Curtis was so dedicated to the field maintenance, he sent samples of the grass to Scott's Turf Builder for analysis.
"Whenever we needed something, John was there," Abbott said. "He was all about Oxford."
Curtis was a familiar face around Oxford, and he was the first Oxford Community Pool director hiring dozens of Oxford Academy students as lifeguards. A quiet man in public, Curtis supported community events nearly all of the school's sports teams at home and away games.
But it is on the football field where Curtis was known best, and he put a formidable product on the field season after season amassing a 67 percent winning percentage and .500-or-better record in 10 of 11 years.
"He was my mentor and my coach, but he was much more than that," Chrystie said. "Not just to me, but to everyone who came into the (football) program. Words can't describe what Mr. Curtis meant to me throughout the years. He was definitely a model of consistency that I am striving to find as a football coach. I hope one day our program can have the consistency that he had at Oxford."
Curtis is survived by his wife, Jean; his children Kristi, Michael, and Allison; two sisters, Charlene and Nancy; and six grandchildren.
An obituary on Curtis will appear later this week in The Evening Sun.