Kurt Stapleton
(Class of 1989)
A boyhood dream and one team, one game changed the direction of Kurt’s life. Kurt Evan Stapleton was born 1/9/71 to Cecil and Audrey Stapleton. Immigrants that hailed from St. Vincent and Guyana, respectively. Growing up in a house full of love, with siblings, many aunts’ uncles and cousins, he enjoyed Through grade school Kurt attended St. Catherine of Genoa. His parents forced him to take the entrance exam for Brooklyn Tech. Kurt did not want to go but mom and dad had different ideas. Kurt wanted to attend John Dewey. As luck would have it, Kurt was put on waiting lists for every public High School he applied to except for Brooklyn Tech and John Dewey. Dewey did not have a football team. It was fate.
Kurt attended Brooklyn Tech from 1986-89 and was a computer science major. The first time Kurt ever played organized football was his tryout at Tech. It was like a dog that had been chasing a car for years and finally caught it. Kurt wore his first pair of shoulder pads, a helmet, mouthpiece, and cleats. Not having any knowledge of the terminology of football, it was like learning a foreign language, a pulling guard, a-gap, mesh points and other common jargon. Always being fifth in line, he watched what everybody else did and mimicked. Adam Speaks, a WR, quietly translated everything the coach said at practice that first year. From those humble beginnings, Kurt went on to play 4 years of football at Brooklyn Tech – 3 on varsity. He lettered in every year. He played and at one point started at every position on the field (except for interior line and QB). He was named freshman of the year in 1986 (as a WR and LB?). Kurt scored touchdowns on offense (WR, RB), defense (DE), and special teams (KR). His high school career was capped by being named to the Brooklyn Big 44 team and winning the Adam J. Cirillo Scholarship his senior year.
Kurt went on to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he majored in Management from 1989-93. Kurt continued his football career in college. At RPI Kurt started for 4yrs on varsity. He was named freshman of the year (’89), offensive MVP (’91), captain (’92), and was fullback of the decade (1990’s). The most significant accomplishment during his college career was being a part of the first team in over one hundred years of football history at RPI to reach the post season. Kurt was the MVP of the 1992 ECAC playoff game – his final football game.
Kurt currently lives in Saratoga Springs, NY. He works for National Tire Wholesale where he has worked for over 20 years. Holding numerous positions within the company from Customer Service Representative, to Salesman, to Dealer Development Manager. Kurt’s life is filled with many varied interests, but he still remembers his boy hood dream. Now that he has grown up (sort of), his interests have changed, but Brooklyn Technical High School is and will always be a special place. The friends, teammates, coaches, teachers, and staff provided a foundation. Even more important than the wonderful education received, it was the people and the life lessons they provided that are drawn upon daily.