Chicken Soup for the Sole: Curtis Pride

Playing professional sports is tough: that’s why so few people are able to do it. Even fewer people are able to do it while overcoming a lifelong disability, and former major league baseball player Curtis Pride is one of them. Despite having his sense of hearing taken away as a child, Pride spent 13 years in the major leagues, inspiring people along the way. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to be inspired by the story of Curtis Pride!

Curtis Pride Reaches the Big Leagues

Pride lost his sense of hearing to rubella at birth, but this setback never prevented him from excelling in life. He became an excellent lip reader, and is able to speak clearly thanks to his 5% residual hearing. It didn’t take long for Pride to start excelling in various sports, including baseball, basketball, and soccer. However, it was baseball that Pride found the most success: so much in fact that he made it to the major leagues in 1993 as a member of the Montreal Expos. He became known as an excellent fielder who found a niche as a pinch hitter thanks to his speed and patience at the plate. Luckily, being deaf didn’t really affect Pride’s ability to play the game of baseball. Nonetheless, he was only the third and most recent deaf major leaguer and the first since 1945.

Still Impacting Lives After Baseball

In 1996, Pride received the Tony Conigliano Award, which is given to the major leaguer who inspires others through their ability to overcome adversity. After retiring from the major leagues in 2006, Curtis Pride continued to touch lives through his Together With Pride foundation, which provides resources and programs for underprivileged, hard-of-hearing children. These programs include life skills and literacy development programs, and of course, a baseball clinic. The mark of a great athlete is their ability to succeed as a competitor and role model, and Curtis Pride definitely embodies this.

My name is Jessica Cox, and I believe that there is no obstacle that can truly deny you the opportunity at a happy and meaningful life. If you’re interested in letting me tell my story at your convention, meeting, or faith-based gathering, please call me at 520-505-1359 or contact me on my website.