3 most disappointing trades in KC Chiefs history
By Matt Conner
1. Curley Culp to the Houston Oilers
Things get ugly when egos are involved—that’s true for teams and players alike.
Back in the early ’70s, the Chiefs still leaned on much of the same talent that had brought them all the way to Super Bowl victory in 1969 and another first-place finish in 1971, especially on the defensive side. In 1973, the team had Curley Culp and Buck Buchanan up front, Emmitt Thomas and Jim Kearney in the secondary, and linebackers Willie Lanier and Bobby Bell.
During the next offseason in ’74, Culp was frustrated by his contract and made sure Hank Stram knew all about it. To follow through with some action, he signed to play in the World Football League, a brand new league that had formed in 1974 and was finished in ’75. Stram decided that was enough and in the middle of the next season, he traded his future Hall of Fame defensive tackle along with their first-round pick (No. 6 overall) for John Matuszak and a third-round pick in 1976.
Matuszak, or “Tooz,” had been the first overall selection in the draft in 1973 by the Oilers but had quickly worn out his welcome by also trying to play in the same WFL for which Culp had threatened to leave. Matuszak would last two years in K.C. before he was flipped to Washington two years later for late-round picks in both ’77 and ’78 that both ended up wasted.
The lone upside here for the Chiefs is that third-round pick turned out to be wideout Henry Marshall from Mizzou, who turned in a solid 12-season career with K.C. The downside is basically everything else. Tooz would go on to become a big star for the Oakland Raiders (and winning two Super Bowls in the process) while also becoming an actor. (You might recognize him as Sloth from The Goonies).
As for Culp, he would go on to completely transform the Oilers defense by becoming the prototype for nose tackles under defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Imagine a nose tackle winning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Well, that’s exactly what Culp did in ’75 and he made the next four Pro Bowls after being traded.
The following quote from fellow Hall of Fame player Willie Lanier sums it best looking back at the trade.
"“The Chiefs let emotion get in the way of making good decisions. After we traded Curley, we just started coming apart.”"
To add insult to injury, the Oilers also turned the No. 6 overall pick into linebacker Robert Brazile who was also in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that’s bad.