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Curley Culp, a Hall of Fame defensive lineman who won a Super Bowl with Kansas City, died Nov. 27 of pancreatic cancer, his family announced on Twitter.
"On behalf of our family and with a broken heart, I announce the passing of my husband, Curley Culp early this morning,” his wife Collette Bloom Culp tweeted on her husband’s account. "We respectfully ask for privacy at this time.”
Culp, 75, had used his Twitter account on Nov. 16 to announce he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
“To my followers, family and friends I have stage 4 pancreatic cancer,” he tweeted. “Do donate to your local cancer organizations so this dreaded disease is eradicated. Love life, family and friends. Pray to God for all physical and spiritual healing. Love, Curley Clup HOF#13"
Considered one of the best defensive linemen of his era, Culp was voted to the Pro Bowl six times and was a five-time All-Pro. He played 14 years in the NFL with the Chiefs, the Houston Oilers and the Detroit Lions. Originally drafted by Denver in 1968, he was quickly traded to Kansas City where he was part of a tenacious defense that battered the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV. He was subsequently traded to Houston in 1974 where he was part of Oilers "Love ya blue" growth into a playoff contender under Bum Phillips.
Culp was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Besides the football career he was noted for, Culp was a national heavyweight wrestling champion at Arizona State.