Culp was as successful in Houston as he was in Kansas City. Under Coach Bum Phillips, the Chiefs played a 3-4 defense, which featured three down lineman and four linebackers. As the nose tackle — situated between two defensive ends and opposite the center — Culp revolutionized the position and had his best season in 1975, with 11½ sacks. He was named Defensive Player of the Year by the Newspaper Enterprise Association. And he was chosen for four more Pro Bowls.
Culp remained an integral part of the Oilers’ defense through the 1978 and ’79 seasons, both of which led to appearances in the American Football Conference championship games, each ending in a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Oilers waived him during the 1980 season, and he signed with the Detroit Lions, then played with them through the 1981 season before retiring.
One of his Oilers teammates, defensive end Elvin Bethea, another Hall of Famer, described Culp in action. “Curley had these thick, nasty forearms that were hard as rocks,” he told The Chronicle. “He’d use those forearms to hit centers on the side of the head. He’d knock them off balance and their ears would be ringing.”
He added: “The rules were different then.”
Curley Culp was born on March 10, 1946, in Yuma, Ariz. His father, William, owned a pig farm, and his mother, Octavia (Whaley) Culp, was a homemaker. His parents named him Curley because it rhymed with Shirley, his twin sister, who was born first.
Curley worked on the farm, and during the summer, to earn extra money, he and some of his brothers traveled to farms in California to load watermelons onto trucks.