Joyful sendoff
Curtis celebrated for 42 years as J-M baseball coach
JEFFERSON 无毛视频� John Curtis looked around at the many people at Jefferson Volunteer Fire Department last Saturday and seemed amazed.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 just 无毛视频� wow,无毛视频� Curtis said.
Curtis was being celebrated for his 42 years as head coach of Jefferson-Morgan无毛视频檚 baseball team and former players and friends from several different eras attended his retirement party.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 awesome just seeing the guys from 1981 to 2026,无毛视频� said Curtis, who then chuckled and added, 无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 explain it. It无毛视频檚 like, those guys really liked me? They thought I knew what I was doing? OK. It was great.无毛视频�
Curtis rang up 424 victories, the last of which was a WPIAL playoff win over Union, 6-2, on May 11 at Ross Memorial Park. His final game came on May 15 in a 4-1 loss at the same park to eventual district finalist Greensburg Central Catholic. The Rockets were 12-9 during his final season.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 really going to miss it, the games, the guys, the relationships,无毛视频� Curtis said. 无毛视频淚 not going to miss the 300 batting practice pitches and the 3,800 fungoes because your back just gets a little bit tired,无毛视频� he added with a laugh. 无毛视频淚 knew it was time to get out when a saw a couple of my former players on social security. It无毛视频檚 definitely time to go then.无毛视频�
Curtis coached the Rockets from 1981 to 2003 before moving over to Penn State Fayette as an assistant coach for three years. He returned as head baseball coach at Jefferson-Morgan in 2007 and held that role until this season when he announced his retirement. He无毛视频檚 coached baseball for 45 consecutive years and was a longtime coach of J-M无毛视频檚 golf team as well.
Curtis无毛视频� wife Cindy, sons and former players AJ and Tom, and several grandchildren were in attendance as was former player and good friend Dave Bates.
无毛视频淒ave and my wife put this together and I无毛视频檓 very appreciative of that,无毛视频� Curtis said. 无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l be around. We无毛视频檙e going to travel a lot, though, watching all my grandkids play in Florida and North Carolina.无毛视频�
Curtis noted Tom无毛视频檚 son Tanner was part of a 13-and-under championship Little League All-Star team in Lutz, Florida.
无毛视频淗e has more rings than I do,无毛视频� Curtis said with a laugh, which wasn无毛视频檛 entirely true.
Curtis, a 1975 Penn State graduate, played a key role on Penn State Fayette无毛视频檚 2004 team as a coach under Joe Gessner. The Roaring Lions went 29-2 in winning the program无毛视频檚 lone PSUAC title. That team was inducted into the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame two years ago.
Curtis led the Rockets into the postseason 18 times and reached the WPIAL semifinals in 1986, 1995, 2001 and 2017. The 1986 squad finished third in the WPIAL and won a PIAA game to place fifth in the state.
Curtis chuckled and was emotional at times as he sat through several stories from speakers at Saturday无毛视频檚 event, including former players Kirt Virgin, who served as MC, Chuck Coles, Dale Davis, Drew Adams of his 2026 team, Scott Whetsell, son AJ, Chris Grainey, Jeff Jento, Bob Greenlee, Scott Venick and Bates along with longtime J-M athletic director Scott Moore,
无毛视频淚 want to thank everybody that came today,无毛视频� said Curtis who is a 1970 Carmichaels graduate. 无毛视频淚t just really makes you feel good to see all these people here for you. It无毛视频檚 a good way to go out.无毛视频�
Clippings and memorabilia were scattered across a stage near banners honoring Curtis无毛视频� win total and playoff teams. Former players were presented with a commemorative t-shirt.
无毛视频淒ecorations and that were all Cindy and Kim Coles,无毛视频� said Bates, who presented Curtis with a personalized bat.
无毛视频淚t was good to have all these guys come back,无毛视频� Bates said. 无毛视频淲e had done something like this back in 2008 and had a really good turnout with it. We kind of talked about maybe making it an annual or semi-annual thing but it无毛视频檚 just so hard to do.
无毛视频淏ut this year we realized this, 42, was going to be it for him so we thought we needed to do something for him. We have close to 100 people here tonight.无毛视频�
Bates talked about his relationship with Curtis.
无毛视频淚 played for him during my high school career and then I coached against him for 11 years when I was Carmichaels and three more years when I was at Mapletown,无毛视频� Bates said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e gone at it a few times, but we无毛视频檝e grown to be great friends.
无毛视频淚 always say, if I have to lose to anybody it might as well be John Curtis. We were always there for each other. The Greene County teams have always been like that and that无毛视频檚 made it that much more special.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t all seemed to go by so fast,无毛视频� Curtis said in summation. 无毛视频淚t was a great ride and this here tonight is something I无毛视频檒l never forget.无毛视频�