BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- From small beginnings in Oildale, to a no-hitter in Philadelphia, to Hall of Fames across Kern County; it's hard to say George Culver's life has been anything but a success. But as he puts it in his new book, "The Earl of Oildale," it's a life that was improbable. Culver moved to Bakersfield with his mother, after his aunt and uncle split up. "My aunt and uncle both wanted me to go with them and I didn't want to break their hearts, so I said, 'Ok, I'll go live with my mom,'" said Culver. "Well, the best thing that ever happened to me was moving to Bakersfield." Houchin Community Blood Bank sends blood to New Orleans after terrorist attack; needs help increasing supply Bakersfield is where Culver met many of his mentors and father figures that helped him get to the majors. A five-sport athlete at North High, who continued playing baseball at Bakersfield College for two years, Culver said himself he was never a superstar. Despite that, he made the pros in 1963, signing a $2,500 amateur deal with the New York Yankees. Culver made his major league debut against the Boston Red Sox in 1966, playing for the then-Cleveland Indians. In 1968, with the Cincinnati Reds, he would cement himself in the annals of baseball history with Major League Baseball's 165th no-hitter -- a 6-1 victory against the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. "It was one of them days where God said, 'Hey, this is going to be your day, don't screw it up,'" laughed Culver. "I was pretty nervous, I think I walked a couple guys in the eighth inning, the manager came out and told me, 'You walk one more guy, you're coming out of the game.' I said, 'I got a no-hitter going, you can't take me out of the game!' So I beared down and got out of the inning, and the ninth inning went 1-2-3 no problem, but it's quite a thrill, I'll tell you what." But perhaps more interesting than his career was the road. From Culver's mouth himself, it's one you wouldn't expect would end at three athletic Hall of Fames in Bakersfield. A young George Culver fell into the trap that befalls some athletes. "Doing a lot of drinking, a lot of running around. And I wasn't doing what I should've been doing in terms of baseball," said Culver. "I did everything possible to destroy my career, and I still survived, I don't know how I did it." Survive he did, and good grace followed him still. The subtitle on his book, "Why me?", isn't a cry against unfairness, but a question to God on his good fortune. Bakersfield isn't just where he met his coaches, it's also where he met his wife, whose ballplaying son helped start his next chapter after his playing days were over; coaching. "Finished playing baseball and was kind of like, 'What am I going to do now?'" said Culver. "Because without baseball, I didn't know anything. So I married her, and her son played baseball, I started getting involved with him and coaching and all of a sudden I get a job with the Phillies and later the Dodgers." A career that came full circle, which he says happened in spite of himself. "Thank you," Culver laughs while looking up to the heavens. "Why me? Why me?" Why him? Well, why not him?