Curtis R. McClinton, Junior was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma on June 25, 1939. He moved with his family to Wichita, Kansas in 1943, where in 1960 his father became Kansas' first African American senator. McClinton, Jr. attended Wichita area schools and graduated from Wichita North High School in 1956, helping out in the family grocery store. He attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence and received a bachelor’s of science degree in Education and played on the University of Kansas football team, graduating in 1962.

In 1961, McClinton was picked by the Dallas Texans as a running back. He scored the first touchdown for the Texans in Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers. When the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs in 1962, McClinton stayed on for seven more years until his retirement in 1969.

In 1967, McClinton founded the Kansas City chapter of the Black Economic Union. After retiring from football, Curtis became a registered banker and graduated from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. He served as Deputy Director of the Economic Development administration, part of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development in Washington D.C. He has also owned and operated McClinton Development Company, a construction contracting business based in Kansas City.

Curtis McClinton, Jr. married Devonne McClinton; together they had two daughters, Tobe and Marguerite.