BALTIMORE (AP) — Mike Curtis, a hard-hitting, no-nonsense linebacker who helped the Colts win a Super Bowl during a 14-year NFL career spent predominantly in Baltimore, has died. He was 77.
Curtis died Monday in St. Petersburg, Florida. Son Clay said on Twitter his father died of "complications from CTE," a degenerative brain disease.
Curtis earned the nickname “Mad Dog" because of his fierce play in the middle of a strong Baltimore defense.
“One of the game’s most legendary non-Hall-of-Famers. Ferocious on the field, a gentleman off the field," Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay wrote on Twitter.
Curtis' interception in the waning minutes of the 1970 Super Bowl set up the winning field goal in the Colts' win over Dallas.
