By Frank Cooney, The Sports Xchange
Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee on Wednesday named defensive tackle Curley Culp and linebacker Dave Robinson as finalists for election into the Hall of Fame with the Class of 2013.
Culp and Robinson will join 15 modern-era candidates on the list of finalists from which the Class of 2013 will be selected on Feb. 2, 2013, the day before Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, La.
Even as Green Bay Packers fans welcomed Robinson’s nomination, they complained that guard Jerry Kramer, most famous for his block on the winning touchdown against Dallas in the 1967 NFL Championship Game known as the Ice Bowl, was once again not named.
Culp is known as the NFL’s first great nose tackle, and some say the best ever.
Robinson, a defensive linemen in college, was moved to outside linebacker and took pride in being one of the first black players at that position.
Culp was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round in 1968, but was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played six seasons and became a key player in the Super Bowl IV championship.
Coach Hank Stram used Culp, an athletic former NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion at Arizona State, as a nose tackle in that game, creating a mismatch for the talented but undersized Minnesota Vikings center, Mick Tinglehoff.
That was really only the beginning. After being traded to the Houston Oilers in 1974, Culp made his biggest impact at nose tackle in defensive coordinator Bum Phillips 3-4 alignment. Culp was dominant in the middle and was named NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1975 by Newspaper Enterprise Association.
Culp was selected to six Pro Bowls and earned first-or second-team All Pro five times. He finished his NFL career with the Detroit Lions.
Robinson, the Packers’ first round draft pick in 1963 out of Penn State, not only moved from his college position of defensive lineman to outside linebacker, but he also helped as a kicker, a position he had not played since high school.
“I wanted to do whatever I could to make myself valuable,” Robinson said.
Robinson had rare athleticism for a 6-3, 245 pounder and made an immediate impact at linebacker alongside middle man Ray Nitschke. Robinson helped Green Bay to three consecutive NFL championships, including victories in Super Bowls I and II.
After 10 seasons with Green Bay, Robinson closed his career playing two more years with the Washington Redskins. He was selected to three Pro Bowls, earned All-NFL acclaim three times, and was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s. Robinson recorded 27 interceptions from his linebacker spot during a 155-game career.
A senior nominee for the Hall of Fame is one whose career ended at least 25 years ago.