Culberson’s first year in professional baseball was 1940, when he played for the Kannapolis Towelers of the Class D North Carolina State League. He hit .307 with 14 home runs in 68 games, and was spotted by a Red Sox scout and acquired. In 1941, he played for the Scranton Red Sox of the Class A Eastern League, and hit .232 in 76 games. During the season, he had an emergency appendectomy, which led to six weeks in the hospital. In 1942, he again played for Scranton and raised his average to .286 while playing 120 games. In 1943, he moved up to the Louisville Colonels in Class AA. He struggled in his first 10 games, hitting just 7-for-41 (.171), but was called up to the major league club when they sent down another outfielder, Tom McBride.\n', '

Culberson made his major league debut on May 16, 1943, against the Chicago White Sox. Baseball records for many years credited a career minor league pitcher, Al Olsen, as appearing in the first game of that day\'s doubleheader as a pinch hitter who walked and had a stolen base. Research later found that Olsen did not make any major league appearances, rendering him a phantom ballplayer. Culberson is now credited with the noted appearance in the first game of the doubleheader, although Culberson denied playing in the game. Culberson was the starting center fielder in the second game of the doubleheader, thus his debut date is not in question.\n', '

During the 1943 season, Culberson played in 81 games for Boston, hitting .272 and stealing 14 bases; third best on the team in each of those categories. On July 3, he hit for the cycle against the Cleveland Indians. Batting lead off, he hit a single in the 1st inning, a double in the 3rd inning, a triple in the 6th inning, and a home run (inside-the-park) in the 8th inning. By collecting the hits in that order it was a rare "natural" cycle, the fifth in MLB history. In 1944 his average fell to .238 playing in 75 games, then in 1945 he raised his average to .275 while appearing in 97 games. He played through the war years due to a trick knee condition that rendered him unfit for military duty, and also sidelined him at times.\n', '

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