Curtis Johnson excelled in three sports in his years at Stivers, coming to us from Central School. While at Stivers he accumulated 9 letters, three each in track, football and basketball. He was named to Dayton Daily News Special Recognition both as a defensive back and an offensive end.
In a win over Tecumseh, he intercepted a pass just before the end of the first half and returned it 97 yards for a touchdown. One of Curtis’s proudest achievements was being named Co-Captain of the football team along with Bill Wikle. In basketball, he achieved 2nd team All-City and Honorable Mention All-Greater Dayton. His sophomore year he was moved up to Varsity as their sixth man.
He went on to lead the Tigers his junior and senior campaigns to some nice wins, including an upset of the Dayton Daily News 2nd rated Stebbins Indians in 1964. Curtis went on to average 19.7 points in City League play and 16.5 overall along with averaging 12 rebounds per game with a couple of 20 rebound games to his credit. He also was the top track performer for 3 years.
He competed in both high and low hurdles, high jump and the 440 relay team. An article from 1963 Stivers News states, “Curtis Johnson, junior runner was 1st in 110 yard high hurdles going at a pace of 16:9. He was also 1st in low hurdles with a time of 14:6 and in high jump 5’8.” Also, in 1964 Stivers News, “In the meet against Wilbur Wright, Curtis Johnson was the only Tiger to win all of his events that he participated in.”
Curtis went on to play both football and basketball in the Army. He was named to an All-Army basketball team averaging 41.0 per game.
Currently Curtis lives in the City of Dayton and is the proud father of Curtis Johnson, Jr. and daughter Nikki Johnson-Pannell, and grandfather to Tania and Gena.
He was and still is respected by classmates, teammates and coaches. Welcome to the Stivers High School Athletic Hall of Fame.