Curtis Pride, member of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, is a retired MLB outfielder who has played with the Anaheim Angels, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves. Deaf at birth from rubella, he went on to be drafted by the New York Mets after already having accepted a full basketball scholarship to the College of William and Mary. Pride batted .250 and hit 20 home runs and knocked in 82 RBIs in 421 major-league games.
His best season was 1996 with Detroit when he hit .300 with 10 home runs and 11 stolen bases. He hit a home run in his first at-bat for the Red Sox, becoming the seventh player in Red Sox history to do so. In 1998, he hit .252 in 70 games as the Braves advanced to the National League playoffs.
He has received countless awards for his achievements and community service, including being selected by the Baseball Writers Association to receive the Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity through the attributes of spirit, courage, and determination, and being selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as one of the nation's ten outstanding Young Americans.
He is now the head baseball coach at Gallaudet University. In July 2012, Curtis was named to the Presidential Delegation to the Closing Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
- Award-winning chef and restaurant owner in New York City.
- Named one of the world's most influential people by TIME magazine.
- Hit a home run in his first at-bat.
Fun Facts
I met my wife when she was a reporter covering me in the MLB.
I'm a pretty good juggler.
I played basketball and soccer in college.