Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 38 -- Isaac Curtis' Speed Changed the NFL

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

38. ISAAC CURTIS

Years at Cal: 1969 to 1971

Sport: Football

Pro team: Cincinnati Bengals

Age: 74

Hometown: Santa Ana, Calif. 

Why we ranked him here: The 15th pick of the first round by the Bengals in the 1973 NFL draft, Curtis became one of the game’s great deep threats.

As a rookie in 1973, he had three games of 100-plus receiving yards, including in his final two games: 5 catches, 117 yards, 3 touchdowns vs. Cleveland, and 2 catches, 144 yards and 2 TDs vs. Houston. To combat his world-class speed, NFL defensive backs in 1973 began bumping, holding and pushing Curtis all along his pass routes. That prompted Browns general manager and coach Paul Brown to push the league to enact “The Isaac Curtis Rule,” which allowed defenders to only bump him within the first 5 yards of the line of scrimmage. "He changed the game," said former Bengals teammate and wide receiver Cris Collinsworth. ”There’s no question because no one could keep up with him. They put in the five-yard bump rules and all that crazy stuff that it all eventually became.” Among his 30 receptions as a second-year pro in 1974, 10 went for touchdowns. Curtis played in four Pro Bowls — 1973, ’74, ’75 and ’76. He was an AP All-Pro second-team selection in 1973, ’74 and ’75. He played in the Super Bowl following the 1981 season, catching three passes for 42 yards in the Bengals’ 26-21 loss to the 49ers. Curtis had 416 career receptions for 7,101 yards — a 17.1-yard average — with 85 touchdowns, and recorded 20 career games of at least 100 receiving yards. He is a member of the Cincinnati Bengals Ring of Honor and was named to their 50th anniversary team. After his retirement, former Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson said Curtis was “Jerry Rice before Jerry Rice.”