Curtis Pride gained national fame as the first full-season deaf player in Major League Baseball history. Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Pride enjoyed an outstanding athletic career in three sports. He played for the U.S. Junior National Team in soccer in 1985, received a full basketball scholarship to the College of William & Mary in 1986, and was also drafted by the New York Mets organization.
Pride played for six Major League Baseball teams during his career including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves. Pride, who has been profoundly deaf from birth, 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. During his career, Pride has also hit home runs in old Yankee Stadium for the New York Yankees and Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox. In fact, 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. Coach Pride finished his Major League Baseball career playing with the Angels in 2004, '05 and '06.
After retiring from professional baseball in 2008, he was named the head baseball coach at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., which is a world leader in providing liberal arts education and career development to deaf and hard of hearing students. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Curtis to the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, and in 2012, he was a member of the U.S. Presidential Delegation at the closing ceremony of the London Olympics.
