the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the sport, athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's Varsity team, varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Divisi ...

Curley Culp (March 10, 1946 – November 27, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL) and

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, where he was also an NCAA heavyweight

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

champion. He played football in the AFL for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in 1968 and 1969, and in the NFL for the Chiefs,

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

, and

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

. He was an

AFL All-Star The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the lea ...

in 1969 and a six-time

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players. The format has changed ...

er.

Early life

Curley Culp grew up in

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

, the youngest of 13 children including a twin sister, Shirley. At Yuma Union High School, he was a standout first in

and then in

, winning Arizona high school wrestling state titles at heavyweight in 1963 and 1964.Randy Covitz
"Former Chiefs great Curley Culp muscles his way into the Hall of Fame"
''Kansas City Star'', August 2, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2021.

on March 28, 2019.) He was recruited to

to play both sports.

College career

Wrestling

At Arizona State, Culp amassed a 84–11–1 record, three

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

championships, and was the 1967 NCAA heavyweight champion, winning the Gorriaran Award for scoring the most pins at the

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The NCAA Division I Men's Wrestling Championships have been held since 1928. In addition to determining the national champion in each weight class, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships also determines All-American wrestlers for each weight ...

Football

Under legendary Arizona State football coach Frank Kush, Culp played nose guard, including on the 1967 team that allowed opponents an average of only 79.8 yards per game. He won All-America honors in football, as well as wrestling.

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs

The

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

drafted Culp in the second round of the 1968 NFL Draft, but considered him too small for the

defensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

at 6'1" and 265 lbs. After trying him at guard, they dealt him during training camp to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick ( Mike Schnitker).J.W. Nix
"Crazy Canton Cuts = Curley Culp"
''Bleacher Reports'', May 2, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2021. He played for Kansas City for seven seasons, appearing in 82 games, achieving nine

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

s in 1973 with nine QB takedowns, and also recovering five

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

s during his career with the team."One-on-One with Chiefs Hall of Famer Curley Culp"
Kansas City Chiefs, August 3, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2021. Culp's role as a nose tackle in the pros actually took root in Super Bowl IV, where he was a starting

. Chiefs coach Hank Stram, in an attempt to nullify the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

' quick outside rushing attack, decided to line Culp directly nose-to-nose with Vikings center,

Mick Tingelhoff Henry Michael Tingelhoff (May 22, 1940 – September 11, 2021) was an American professional football center who played for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) from 1962 to 1978. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall o ...

. The smaller Tingelhoff could not block Culp one-on-one and had to be helped by the other linemen. This freed teammates Buck Buchanan,

Willie Lanier Willie Edward Lanier (born August 21, 1945), is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) from 1967 through 1977. He ...

, and other Chiefs defenders to get into the Vikings offensive backfield and shut down their running game. The effectiveness of the Chiefs' defensive game plan helped continue the growing popularity of the 3–4 scheme in the 1970s from the college to pro ranks.

Houston Oilers

When Culp arrived in Houston, Bum Phillips was the

defensive coordinator A defensive coordinator (DC) is a coach responsible for a gridiron football team's defense. Generally, the defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second level of a team's coaching structure, wit ...

for

Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wid ...

. He had convinced the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

to try a 3-4 defense, employing three down linemen and four linebackers, eschewing the standard 4–3 fronts of the day. In basically an exchange of defensive tackles who had threatened to jump to the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 in sports, 1974 and most of its second in 1975 in sports, 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a w ...

, the Oilers acquired Culp and a first-round draft choice in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

from the Chiefs for John Matuszak on October 22, 1974. Both Culp and Matuszak had signed contracts with the

Southern California Sun The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in Anaheim, California, that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13–7 in 1974 and 7–5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. Th ...

and Shreveport Steamer respectively. It became known as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history,John McClain
"Oilers Hall of Famer Curley Culp says he has stage 4 pancreatic cancer"
''Houston Chronicle'', November 16, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021. made worse for the Chiefs when the Oilers selected Robert Brazile with the draft pick. Culp was so strong he required two and three players to

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

him, opening lanes for Elvin Bethea, Gregg Bingham, Ted Washington, Sr. and later Brazile. Houston won seven of their remaining nine games after Curley came to Houston. As Phillips later said, "Curley made (the 3–4 defense) work. He made me look smart." Playing as a nose tackle, Culp suffered injuries, and age began to take its toll. Midway through the 1980 season, Culp was released and was claimed by Detroit, where he stayed an additional season before closing out his 14-year NFL career. So great was his impact that the ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' named Culp to the All-Century teams of both the Kansas City and Houston/Tennessee franchises. Hall-Of-Famer center

Jim Otto James Edwin Otto (January 5, 1938 – May 19, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a center for 15 seasons with the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played coll ...

of the Raiders called him "perhaps the strongest man I ever lined up against".

Legacy

Culp is regarded as the NFL's greatest nose tackle. He played a total of 13 seasons in the AFL/NFL, and was selected to a total of six AFL All-Star Games or Pro Bowls. He was twice honored as the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Defensive Player of the Week. In 1975, he won

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

honors and was chosen NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary new ...

and as such received the George Halas Trophy. He was inducted into the Arizona State University Sports Hall of Fame at its inception in 1975, and was named Greatest Athlete in the history of Arizona during the state's centennial in 2006. Culp is a member of the Kansas City Chiefs 25-Year All-Time Team, and in March 2008 was inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame. On August 3, 2013, he was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

Death

Culp announced on November 16, 2021, that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. He died eleven days later at the age of 75.Dave Skretta
"Hall of Fame defensive lineman Curley Culp dies at 75"
Associated Press, November 27, 2021. Retrieved November 28, 2021.

References

External links

Curley Culp
Pro Football Hall of Fame * {{DEFAULTSORT:Culp, Curley 1946 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Yuma, Arizona American football defensive linemen Arizona State Sun Devils football players Arizona State Sun Devils wrestlers Kansas City Chiefs players Houston Oilers players Detroit Lions players American Football League All-Star players American Conference Pro Bowl players Players of American football from Arizona American Football League players Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees American twins Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Texas