By Dominic Scianna

Eddie Curry is a baseball lifer in every sense of the word. He was honored by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Hall of Fame last year with the Mike Herbert Distinguished Service Award for his exemplary work in Chicago Public School’s (CPS) for the past 24 years as an Athletic Program Administrator for Chicago Public League (CPL) Baseball. 

This year, he is once again being lauded but this time by the Chicago 16-Inch Softball Hall of Fame in Forest Park, Ill., in his dual role as the Athletic Program Administrator for 16-softball, shedding light on the origin of the Midwest’s 16-inch game in Chicago. Curry was a catalyst in getting the CPL to endorse the sport, which is now a City Championship Series competition each year. 

Now a part of two Hall of Fame honors, Curry is thrilled to be still working in sports and has dedicated his life, now 70 years of age, to assisting and helping CPS student-athletes play the games they love with sportsmanship and the joy the games deserve.

“What an honor to receive an award that has the name Richard J.Daley on it, one of the most prestigious mayors, not only in Chicago but in the United States,” said Curry. “And I know Mayor Daley was a big fan of softball here in Chicago and that means so much to me to have my name associated with him and this sport.”

Curry honed his skills as a youth in Chicago. He was introduced to 16-inch softball in 1963 in third grade by the late, legendary Hall of Fame Simeon baseball coach LeRoy Franklin. 

He fell in love with both sports and as he grew older, played both while in high school at Englewood on the City’s Southside. His baseball prowess as a senior would take center stage as the 17-year-old grew to 6-7 and was a sought-after left-handed pitcher entertaining scholarship offers from across the country. 

“Both games were very dear to my heart. I grew up in an area where there were gangs and all kinds of problems in my neighborhood, but I had a mental block that prevented me from getting caught up in those outside problems. I chose to focus my mind on my dream of playing baseball and succeeding in it,” admitted Curry.

He would pick Jackson State University in Mississippi for his collegiate choice and after a successful NCAA Division I career and a senior year (1977) that saw him undefeated in Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) play, Curry would be drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th Round that same year in the Major League Baseball Draft. 

“When I got the call at home from the Astros this big smile came over my face and told my Mom (Pandora Curry) you have to hear this,” recalled Curry. “I was on top of the hill that day and it was something I’ll never forget. I thought there was nothing but great things ahead for me now.”

He would immediately report to the minor leagues for a stint in the Gulf Coast League where he had 11 starts in Rookie Ball. The following year he was moved up to Triple A ball and got a taste of spring training where he would be introduced to his idol and fellow Astros pitcher, and eventual Hall of Famer, J.R. Richard.

“J.R. was 6-9 and a right handed pitcher and I was 6-7 lefty,” laughed Curry. “The Astros thought we’d be the 1-2 pitchers on both sides of the mound for a long time to come but that never came to be.”

While in Triple A he would suffer an arm injury and ultimately have Tommy John surgery. That surgery would end his playing career and his dream of playing at the Big League level, but Curry wasn’t detoured.and took solace in knowing that his life would still center around baseball because it would always be in his blood.

“I got a call from Paul Vallas who ran the CPS Office of Sports Administration in 2000. He knew of me and my time at CPS and told me we need good people who know the City and our athletics programs. He asked if I’d be interested in helping run some of their sports programs and I jumped at the opportunity to be back in sports in my hometown again,” added Curry.

Curry will enter his 25th year at CPS in 2025 as he once again coordinates all baseball and softball CPL City Championship contests with the passion and verve that he had his entire life.

“I’ve been involved with more than 140,000 kids down through the years, and I’m proud to have met and mentored so many great  young men and women at CPS,” said Curry when thinking of his long tenure with the Chicago Public League. “But it’s not just the athletes. It’s the coaches too who have become lifelong friends. That’s what I enjoy the most about the job and still being associated with CPL baseball and softball.”

A Hall of Famer through and through with a passion for his craft who is still involved with the sports he loves. That’s the mark of a Hall of Fame career that keeps getting better and better with time.