Curley Culp
| Curley Culp | |
|---|---|
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Position (s): Defensive tackle |
Jersey numbers: 61, 78, 77 |
| born March 10, 1946 in Yuma , Arizona | |
| Career information | |
| Active : 1968 - 1981 | |
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NFL Draft : 1968 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31 (from the Denver Broncos ) |
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| College : Arizona State | |
| Teams | |
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| Career statistics | |
| Sacks | 68 |
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Forced fumbles |
14th |
| recorded fumbles | 10 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
| Stats at pro-football-reference.com | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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| Pro Football Hall of Fame | |
Curley Culp (* 10. March 1946 in Yuma , Arizona ) is a former American American football poker players. After playing college football as an offensive and defensive lineman at Arizona State University and winning the NCAA wrestling championship, he played as a defensive tackle in the AFL and NFL . From 1968 to 1974 he played it first for the Kansas City Chiefs , next from 1974 to 1980 with the Houston Oilers and finally from 1980 to 1981 with the Detroit Lions .
He was elected to the Pro Bowl several times for his achievements and, after his playing career in 2013, to the Pro Football Hall of Fame .
Football career
Kansas City Chiefs
After Culp was selected by the Denver Broncos in the 1968 Draft in 31st place, the Broncos wanted to retrain him as a guard , because he with his 120 kg and a height of 1.88 m as a bit too small for the defensive line and a bit was viewed too slowly for the linebacker's position . But the experiment failed and they traded Culp to the Kansas City Chiefs shortly before the 1968 season . There he played in the position of nose tackle and thereby helped the team to win Super Bowl IV . Chiefs Head Coach Hank Stram put Culp against the Vikings Star Center Mick Tingelhoff . However, Tingelhoff could not do anything against Culp in the 1 against 1, which is why he had to be blocked by two players. This opened up the uncovered teammates Buck Buchanan , Willie Lanier or other defenders to penetrate into the Vikings' backfield and stop the running game there. The effectiveness of this 3-4 defense style of play by the Chiefs helped the scheme to assert itself in the professional field against the otherwise established 4-3 scheme .
During his seven seasons and 82 games with the Chiefs, he was the anchor of the defensive line. During this time he played in the AFL All-Star Game in 1969 and was elected to the Pro Bowl in 1971. Even if the number of sacks was officially counted only from 1982 onwards, he was able to achieve nine in 1973 , making the most of the team that year. In addition, he was able to conquer five Fumbles during his time with the Chiefs .
Houston Oilers and Detroit Lions
After Culp had signed a so-called future contract with the Southern California Sun in the World Football League in 1974 , the Chiefs traded him to the Houston Oilers during the season and thus rolled off the new contract negotiations to Houston. In return, John Matuszak and a first-round pick were traded to Kansas City. Since the new head coach of the Oilers Sid Gillman wanted to switch the defense to the 3-4 scheme with his defensive coordinator Bum Phillips , they were very interested in Curley Culp as a nose tackle, which is why the change in retrospect was one of the Oilers' best trades . With outside linebacker Robert Brazile (first round pick of the Oilers from 1975), defensive end Elvin Bethea and the talent of Culp, the Oilers were able to improve from a weak 1-13 record in 1973 to a 10-4 record in 1975 . The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) voted Culp Defensive Player of the Year for the season because he was able to score 11.5 sacks and a touchdown after a fumble . With the later top drafted running back Earl Campbell , Culp and the Oilers reached the AFC Championship Game twice , but both were lost.
The position of the nose tackle was notorious for a short career as you were attacked from every direction. For Culp there were also injuries and his age that took their toll. After 98 games, the Oilers fired him during the 1980s season and he moved to the Detroit Lions . There he played a few more games before ending his 14-year career after the 1981 season.
During his time with the Oilers, he was elected to the Pro Bowl four times in a row . Because of his strength, it was always necessary that two or three players had to block him at the same time, which Jim Otto , Hall of Famer and Center of the Oakland Raiders, also found out:
"Curley Culp was perhaps the strongest man I ever lined up against."
"Curley Culp was perhaps the strongest player I have ever played."
During his career, Curley Culp was able to score 68 sacks, force 14 fumbles and pick up 10 as a nose tackle. How he shaped the position of the nose can u. a. to Vince Wilfork , two-time Super Bowl winner and multiple pro bowler. He was able to achieve "only" 16 sacks during his career.
Other sports
During his time at Arizona State University, Culp took part in wrestling competitions. In 1967 he won the Gorriaran Award for most pins as heavyweight champion in the NCAA Division I championship .
Honors
In March 2008, Clark Hunt , owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, decided that Culp would be inducted into the Chiefs Hall of Fame as the 38th member that year .
On August 22, 2012, Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson were nominated by the Seniors Committee as Seniors nominees for the 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. On February 2, 2013, he and six other former players and officials were elected to the Hall of Fame and officially admitted there on August 3, 2013. He is the fifth member of the Chiefs' impressive defense at the time , along with linebackers Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell , defensive tackle Buck Buchanan and cornerback Emmitt Thomas . The quintet were all starting players in Super Bowl IV for Kansas City.
Web links
- Curley Culp in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website
- on pro-football-reference.com
- Curley Culp in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Individual evidence
- ↑ 1968 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com. Pro-Football-Reference.com, accessed July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Stefan Feldmann: Legends - Defensive Linemen: Curley Culp. bigplay.ch, May 13, 2013, accessed on July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Curley Culp - # 78 - Houston Oilers. Retrieved July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Christopher Hansen: Curley Culp: Remembering the Career of Legendary NFL Defensive Tackle. bleacherreport.com, August 2, 2013, accessed July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ 37th NCAA Wrestling Tournament - 3/23/1967 to 3/25/1967 at Kent State. (pdf) wrestlingstats.com, accessed July 7, 2017 .
- ↑ KCChiefs.com - Hall of Fame. (No longer available online.) KCChiefs.com, archived from the original on June 25, 2017 ; accessed on July 7, 2017 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Culp and Robinson named 2013 senior nominees. profootballhof.com, accessed on July 7, 2017 (English).
- ^ Bill Williamson: Curley Culp's long HOF wait is over. In: ESPN . August 3, 2013, accessed July 7, 2017 .
- ^ Russell S. Baxter: Top 10 Moments of Curley Culp's Career. bleacherreport.com, August 1, 2013, accessed July 7, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Culp, Curley |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American football player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 10, 1946 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Yuma (Arizona) , Arizona , United States |