Curley Culp passes away at age 75 (1 Viewer)

[Yogibear]

I have some sad news for longtime fans of the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Oilers.  Earlier this morning, one of the greatest defensive tackles in the history of pro football, Hall of Famer Curley Culp, passed away at age 75.  He played 14 seasons and was selected to 6 Pro Bowls.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2013 as a Senior Nominee.  If anyone has any memories to share of Curley Culp, please feel free to share.

 

[johnnyboy8102]

R.I.P. Mr. Culp

 

[Boston]

I remember two things...one, I thought he had a funny name and two, he was on a good team that just could not get by the Steelers...one thing I can say I did not know was that he was on the Chiefs team that beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV...another thing was he was traded for John Matuzak:

When Culp arrived in Houston, Bum Phillips was the defensive coordinator for Sid Gillman. He had convinced the head coach 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 Oilers acquired Culp and a first-round draft choice in 1975 from the Chiefs for John Matuszak on October 22, 1974. Both Culp and Matuszak had signed contracts with the Southern California Sun and Shreveport Steamer respectively.[5] It became known as one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history,[6] made worse for the Chiefs when the Oilers selected Robert Brazile with the draft pick.[1]

 

[JohnnyU]

I remember two things...one, I thought he had a funny name and two, he was on a good team that just could not get by the Steelers...one thing I can say I did not know was that he was on the Chiefs team that beat the Vikings in Super Bowl IV...another thing was he was traded for John Matuzak:

That was when he was the best Curly Culp.  

RIP

 

[FairWarning]

Didn’t realize he was on that SB team either.  His rookie card was a few years later.   

 

[JohnnyU]

Didn’t realize he was on that SB team either.  His rookie card was a few years later.   

That KC defense was unbelievable.  I watched that Super Bowl and Culp was one of their best players.  He was a pro-bowl player in 1969 with 8.5 sacks.  He had a total of 42 sacks with KC.