When Bill Curry was in the 6th grade he had two goals: to marry Carolyn Newton, the smartest, prettiest girl in his school, and to become a pitcher for the New York Yankees.

Six years later, he would get the chance to achieve one of those goals, Curry told a group of men during the First Baptist Church’s Men’s Power Lunch, Monday.

“I finally got my first date with that girl,” said Curry. “I pursued her relentlessly until finally all the good looking and older guys had graduated. We got together our senior year and have been together ever since.”

In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Curry will celebrate their 46th wedding anniversary on Dec. 15.

“It’s God’s greatest blessing and it’s the reason I’m still alive because of Carolyn Curry,” said Bill.

While Bill had achieved one of his adolescent predictions, he would never go on to play in the major leagues.

“There was only one thing that kept me from pitching in the major leagues: talent,” said Bill.

When Bill was 12 years old, he went to football day camp and soon discovered his true talent may just be in playing a sport that he didn’t even like and for a position no one wanted to fill.

Hesitantly, Bill said he joined the football team.

“It was awful,” Bill said. “They gave us this big pile of equipment, you had to take your clothes off in front of everyone which I had never done before and I was terrified. We had grit, blood, dirt, snot everywhere and I hated every minute of it.”

Bill said he hated it so much, he decided to quit.

“But I had this problem, see, because my dad lived at our house,” said Bill. “He didn’t make me go out for football, but if you started something in our house, you had to finish it. So I had no choice, which is a terrible thing to happen to a short, fat, weak kid.”

That same short, fat, weak kid would be the last player standing to be put into the only open position: offensive center.

“There was only one position left that no one wanted to play and there was only one short, fat, future New York Yankee left over there picking his nose to fill it,” said Bill. “I didn’t care what (the coach) did to me, because I wasn’t going to be here much longer.”

But when his coach told him, “Bill, you’re going to have to learn to hike that ball,” that kid’s destiny morphed from pro-baseball dreams to a pro-football reality.

A Georgia Tech graduate, Bill received a degree in industrial management in 1965 and was a three-year letterwinner.

According to his official biography at www.espn.com, “Curry played pro football from 1965 to ‘74 with the Green Bay Packers (under the legendary Vince Lombardi), Houston Oilers, Baltimore Colts and Los Angeles Rams, and was an All-Pro center with the Colts in 1971 and ‘72.”

Bill also was an assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers. He spent a total of 17 years as a head coach for Georgia Tech, Alabama and Kentucky. “In 1989, Curry led Alabama to the SEC title. He also was the recipient of numerous honors, including ACC Coach of the Year (1985), SEC Coach of the Year (1987 and ‘89) and the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the year (1989).”

He is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, two-time NFL Pro Bowl player, author and commentator for ESPN and is now the new head coach for the new college football program at Georgia State to begin in 2010.

“It’s fascinating installing a sport that has never existed at this particular school which is the second biggest school in the state of Georgia,” said Bill. “There are 28,000 students there and my wife has a masters and Ph.D. from there, so she’s already passionate about it because it was a commuter school when we were growing up...For me to be hired at this age and to get to start something like this is just incredible.”

Bill and Carolyn have two children, Kristin Hunter and Bill Curry, Jr.

Back when Bill coach at Georgia Tech, his daughter was once asked during her sophomore year in college why her father always wore his signature glasses and black clothes while on the football field.

“I think that he thinks that it makes him look cool,” she said.

Although Bill admitted to his audience in the FBC Fellowship Hall Monday that he did in fact think he was cool at the time, his self perception has changed.

“I’m 66 years-old-now and I’ve got a few more miles on me, a few more lumps on my head and a few more Ph.D.s from the school of hard knocks,” said Bill. “I don’t think I’m cool anymore. I know better, but I do think you’re cool, really, really cool and really special and unique.”

“If we were able to do the impossible and take thumb prints of the roughly 6.7 billion people alive today, there wouldn’t be another set like yours,” Bill added. “You put your hand on that ball and that’s the only hand like yours. You are unique. You are precious and God gave you potential that is unmatched. There’s never been anyone like you before. There’s not anyone like you now. There’s never going to be anyone like you and what a wonderful gift.”

There are two things Bill believes. The huddle is the one true place where we are all viewed as equals and there are two pains in life: the pain of discipline and the pain of regret.

It may have not been his original dream, but for Bill Curry football became the change he needed to realize his true talent.

“I graduated from one of the hardest schools in the world, when I had no business being there, because of the football coach,” said Bill. “Now that’s my purpose in life, to show young people their full potential, how they can give beyond themselves to causes greater than themselves beginning with their faith, then their family, then their education, and yes, then to our football team as well. Everyone has a gift and an opportunity to do that with someone in their lives. There are two pains in life. The pain of discipline and the pain of regret. You choose.”

To learn more about Bill’s life and how it was affected by his experiences with football legends like Vince Lombardi and Bobby Dodd, check out his book, “Ten Med You Meet in the Huddle: Lessons From a Football Life.”

The next Men’s Power Lunch will take place Jan. 5 at 11:30 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Gainesville with Dr. Frank Sherwin of the Institute for Creation Research to speak.