 Born in Nashville, Tennessee, McCullough batted and threw right-handed and in his playing days stood (182 cm) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).Originally a member of the New York Yankees farm system, he never played for them; instead, he was sold to the Chicago Cubs in September 1939 after toiling for the Yankees' Kansas City Blues farm club.He spent 11 seasons of his 15-year career for the Cubs, except for four years (1949–52) with the Pittsburgh Pirates.