HOUSTON — Hall of Famer and former Houston Oilers star Curley Culp has died after it was announced last week he was battling cancer.
His wife Collette Bloom Culp shared the tragic news Saturday with his followers on Twitter. He was 75.
"On behalf of our family and with a broken heart, I announce the passing of my husband, Curley Culp earlier this morning. We respectfully ask for privacy at this time," she said.
Culp confirmed he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer in a social media post on Nov. 16. In his tweet, he asked for his followers, friends and family to donate to their local cancer organizations.
Culp was one of the most recognizable members of the Oilers Luv Ya Blue days. The former Arizona State star came into the league with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played from 1968 to 1974. He was traded to the Oilers in the middle of the 1974 season.
He played for Houston from 1974 to 1980 and finished his career spending a year and a half with the Detroit Lions.
Culp was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013.