Albert "Abb" Curtis earned respect and admiration during his half-century career as a player, coach, official, and administrator. At Fort Worth Central High School, later known as Paschal, he starred in football, basketball, and baseball. During his senior year at the University of Texas, he played on undefeated teams in football and basketball and was the school's No. 1 scholar-athlete. After graduation, he served as head football coach at Fort Worth Central High School for three years before concentrating on officiating football and basketball. He officiated in some of the most important games in Southwest Conference history, including the 1935 Rose Bowl game between SMU and Stanford and the 1939 Sugar Bowl in which national champion TCU defeated Carnegie Tech. He later served as the supervisor of Southwest Conference football and basketball officials and assistant to the executive secretary for 17 years. Curtis was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1973.