Curtis was born in Washington D.C. on December 17, 1968. By the age of nine months, audio logical tests confirmed that he was profoundly deaf from birth. At age two, his parents moved to Silver Spring, Maryland and enrolled Curtis in the Montgomery County Public School System's Auditory Service infant program. He was then fully mainstreamed into his neighborhood schools from seventh grade until his graduation from John F. Kennedy High School in 1986.

In addition to graduating with a 3.6 GPA, Curtis was an outstanding high school athlete, excelling in the sports of baseball, basketball and soccer. He was a first team All-American soccer player and a member of the United States National Team that played in the Junior World Cup in Beijing, China. As a result of his play in that tournament, Curtis was named as one of the top 15 youth soccer players in the world in 1985.

After already accepting a full basketball scholarship to the College of William and Mary, Curtis was drafted in baseball by the New York Mets. Through a unique arrangement negotiated among the Pride family, the Mets and William and Mary, Curtis signed with the Mets as a professional baseball player while he also attended college as a full-time student athlete. From 1986 to 1990 Curtis was a four-year basketball starter at William and Mary while also playing baseball part-time in the Mets organization. He graduated from William and Mary in 1990 with a degree in finance.

In 1992, Curtis signed with the Montreal Expos as a minor league free agent. On September 23, 1993 he recorded his first major league hit - a memorable double that resulted in a five minute standing ovation from a capacity crowd at Montreal's Olympic Stadium.

Curtis has subsequently enjoyed a successful career in professional baseball, and played with the following major league teams: Detroit Tigers, 1996-1997; Atlanta Braves, 1998; Boston Red Sox 1997 and 2000; and Montreal Expos, 1993, 1995 and 2001. In 349 major league games, he has compiled a .256 batting average with 18 home runs, 76 RBI's and 28 stolen bases.

Curtis receives hundreds of letters each year, primarily from young men and women with disabilities or their parents, and he personally tries to answer each and every letter. In addition, he makes numerous community appearances on behalf of children with and without disabilities. His remarkable story has been featured by Dan Rather on the CBS television show 48 Hours, and in publications and newspapers such as Readers Digest, Sports Illustrated, The Sporting News, the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Boston Globe.

Curtis has received countless national and local awards for his community service and achievements. Several of the more noteworthy honors include being selected by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce as one of the nation's ten outstanding Young Americans; the Alexander Graham Bell Association's "National Role-Model-of-the-Year" and Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award for outstanding community service and Tony Conigliaro Award for overcoming adversity through the attributes of spirit, courage and determination.