Bill “Sleepy” Curtis, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards during his four-year football career at Arkansas Tech University, has been selected for induction into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Curtis will become the 20th individual with ties to Arkansas Tech to be enshrined in the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame during a ceremony at Verizon Arena in North Little Rock on Feb. 11, 2011.
A native of Marianna, Curtis (photographed, carrying ball) played for the Wonder Boys from 1959-62. He rushed for 2,401 career yards, which is the seventh-highest career rushing total in the 96-season history of Arkansas Tech football.
Curtis was honorable mention All-America and All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference in both 1961 and 1962. He rushed for 1,027 yards during his senior season in 1962, making him one of just six Wonder Boys to ever rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
If one day solidified Curtis’ place in Arkansas Tech history, it was Oct. 21, 1961.
That was the day he carried 25 times for 185 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wonder Boys to a 16-7 win over their arch rivals from Arkansas State Teachers College (now known as the University of Central Arkansas).
Curtis had touchdown runs of 46 and two yards as Arkansas Tech picked up a key win on its path to a second consecutive AIC title.
The Wonder Boys had a cumulative overall record of 31-5-2 during Curtis’ four-year career at Tech.
Below is a list of the other Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductees with Arkansas Tech ties with the sport that they are most associated with and the year in which they were inducted into the ASHOF:
*John Tucker, Football, 1962
*Wilson Matthews, Football, 1971
*Raymond Burnett, Football, 1974
*Charles Clement, Football, 1975
*Eddie Meador, Football, 1978
*Sam Hindsman, Basketball, 1981
*Deward Dopson, Basketball, 1982
*Aubrey Fowler, Football, 1982
*Ragon Kinney, Boxing, 1985
*W. Howard Pearce, Football, 1986
*Raymond Peters, Football, 1996
*Firman Bynum, Football, 1998
*Bill Stancil, Football, 1998
*Clyde Horton, Track and Field, 2000
*Joe Foley, Basketball, 2002
*John Widner, Basketball, 2003
*J.P. Lovelady, Basketball, 2005
*E.C. O’Neal, Basketball, 2006
*Kenny Saylors, Basketball, 2009
