Title supplied by cataloger. Rolland Joseph 'Speedy' Curtis was born in Louisiana in 1922. After serving three years in the Marines during World War II, he and his wife, Gloria, relocated from New Orleans to Los Angeles in 1946. Curtis served four years with the Los Angeles Police Department, but resigned from the force in order to pursue both a Bachelor's and Master's degree from USC. He later became involved in city politics, as an associate of Sam Yorty, and later a field deputy to City Council members Billy Mills and Tom Bradley. He was briefly director of the Model Cities program in 1973. Rolland J. Curtis died in his home in 1979, the victim of a homicide. An affordable housing complex on Exposition Blvd. near Vermont Ave. was named in his honor in 1981, along with a nearby street and park. A young football player (#64) in full uniform poses on the sideline of the gridiron, as three cheerleaders stand on the sidelines along the left; all are unidentified. A score board, building, and parking lot filled with cars are visible at the end of the football field. Photographer Rolland Curtis was known to capture community activities in South Los Angeles, so this player and cheerleaders may be a part of the Baldwin Hills Youth Football Association or the Los Angeles Youth Sports Association, a non-profit organization based at Jefferson High School in South Los Angeles, which sponsored pop warner football for young boys and beginning in the 1970s also added cheerleading for young girls. The location where this youth football game took place is unknown, and no further information has been given. Photograph circa 1975. See images 00130176 through 00130193 for additional photos in this series.
Type
image
Format
1 negative : safety ; 10 x 13 cm. Photographic safety negatives
Youth league football Boys Girls Football for children Football players Football stadiums Football teams Football uniforms Football Cheerleaders Cheerleading Sports for children Sports teams Sports Athletes Athletic fields Parking lots Automobiles Posing Los Angeles (Calif.)
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