Curley Culp
| No. 61, 78, 77 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 10, 1946 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Yuma, Arizona | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | Arizona State | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: |
1968 / Round: 2 / Pick: 31 (by the Denver Broncos) |
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| Career history | |||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Sacks: | 68 |
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| Forced fumbles: | 14 |
| Fumble recoveries: | 10 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Curley Culp (born March 10, 1946) is a former professional American football player. An offensive and defensive lineman, he played college football at Arizona State University, was the NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion while at ASU, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1968 and 1969, and for the National Football League Chiefs, Houston Oilers, and the Detroit Lions. He was an AFL All-Star in 1969 and a six-time AFC–NFC Pro Bowler.
On Saturday, August 3, 2013, Culp was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
At 6'1" and 265 lbs, Culp was considered a bit too short for the defensive line and a bit too slow to play linebacker. He moved from Denver to Kansas City in search of a team that could properly utilize his unique talents. Culp's play as a nose tackle actually took root in Super Bowl IV. Chiefs coach, Hank Stram, in an attempt to nullify the Minnesota Vikings' quick outside rushing attack, decided to line Culp directly nose-to-nose with Vikings center, Mick Tingelhoff. 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, 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.
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