He Played, He Taught, He Conquered

Former Baseball Player Decides to Teach Instead of Going Pro

Nathan Goergen

It was a sweltering June day across the country, but for 26 MLB teams, this was a far more important day. It was the day of the 1985 MLB draft, where every baseball team takes a chance on high schoolers and college students with an exceptional level of talent, and to try to mold them into the best player they can possibly be. In the 35^th round, the Baltimore Orioles decided to take a chance on Curry Harden, a high school pitcher from College Station, Texas.

Harden was a baseball coach at HSE for 14 years, 7 of those years he served as the head coach. Currently, he teaches Freshman English and Science Fiction Literature, and the passion he has for teaching is still as bright as it was decades ago.

Harden had amazing potential at the game and could’ve made it to the majors with the right development. He had been playing and perfecting his game since he was young. However, after playing at the University of Texas, he ultimately decided to pursue a career in education.

“I got started when I was 6 or 7,” says Harden, “I got started on our farm in Mississippi, and there wasn’t much to do, so I got interested in Baseball.”

Harden would continue playing and was on the verge of walking on to Mississippi State, however, at the last minute, he got an offer from the University of Texas.

“I met him at UT when I was a freshman and he was a sophomore,” says former teammate Brian Dare. “He definitely had the potential to go pro in my opinion.”

Dare played with Harden for three years and enjoyed Curry as a person on and off the field.

“He was a really personable and funny guy, he always did his homework on the competition and worked hard every day.”

When he was entering his final year of draft eligibility, Harden decided that he didn’t want to play baseball. He always had an interest in teaching and coaching and was drawn to that career option rather than the former.

“Well, I had always been interested in coaching, and teaching, and I later went back to school to teach. I just really enjoy seeing the development of young people and seeing them grow, whether it’ on a field, or in a classroom.”