Claude B. Humphrey (June 29, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who played as a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

and

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

. Humphrey was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in 2014. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tenness ...

Professional career

Humphrey was drafted out of

in the first round of the

1968 NFL Draft The 1968 National Football League draft was part of the common draft, in the second year in which the NFL and AFL held a joint draft of college players. It took place at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City on January 30–31, 1968. The Min ...

with the third overall choice by the Falcons. Humphrey was a little All-American in 1967. Humphrey's stellar career included being named first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

five times (1971–74, and 1977), second-team All-Pro three times (1969, 1970, 1976), and All-NFC six times (1970–74, 1977). He was second-team All-NFC in 1976 when Humphrey unofficially recorded a career-high 15 quarterback sacks. In addition, Humphrey was named to the

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

six times over the span of his career (1970–74 & 1977). Humphrey finished out his career with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1979 to 1981. In 1980 Humphrey was a designated pass rusher, recording a team-high sacks helping the Eagles become NFC champions and earn a spot in

Super Bowl XV Super Bowl XV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Philadelphia Eagles to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for ...

. He finished his career with an unofficial career sacks with the Falcons and Eagles. He retired in 1981, the season before sacks were recorded as an official NFL statistic. During Super Bowl XV, when Humphrey was called for roughing the passer against

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

quarterback

Jim Plunkett James William Plunkett (born December 5, 1947) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. He achieved his greatest professional success during his final eight seasons with the ...

, he picked up the penalty flag and fired it back at referee

Ben Dreith Ben Dreith (February 1, 1925April 25, 2021) was an American professional football on-field official who worked from 1960 to 1969 in the American Football League (AFL) and from 1970 to 1990 in the NFL. Prior to his teaching and officiating career ...

. Humphrey was a member of the Georgia Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Hall of Fame. His alma mater (Tennessee State University) retired his number and inducted him into their Hall of Fame, and his high school also retired his jersey and inducted him into their Hall of Fame. He is a member of the Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor. The

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...

named Humphrey to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2009. Humphrey was a member of

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students with nine other Howard students as char ...

. Humphrey died on December 3, 2021, at the age of 77.

Outside Football

Humphrey also had a guest appearance on

The Dukes of Hazzard ''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television series ...

episode "Repo Men" in which he portrayed Big John, a counterfeiter.

Pro Football Hall of Fame

Humphrey was a final 15 candidate in 2003, 2005, and 2006. On August 27, 2008, he was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2009 Hall of Fame election. In August 2013, he was named as one of two senior candidates for the 2014 Hall of Fame election. In February 2014, Claude Humphrey was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the senior ballot. On August 2, 2014, Humphrey was officially inducted at the Enshrinement Ceremony where his bust, sculpted by

Scott Myers Scott Myers (born 1958, USA) is an American painter and sculptor who lives and works in Texas. He graduated Texas A&M University in 1984 with a doctorate in veterinary medicine. He studied sculpture throughout Italy focusing on Florence, Veni ...

, was unveiled.

References

External links

Biography
as a finalist for the

in 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphrey, Claude 1944 births 2021 deaths American football defensive ends Atlanta Falcons players Philadelphia Eagles players Tennessee State Tigers football players National Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League Defensive Rookie of the Year Award winners NFL Europe (WLAF) coaches Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Memphis, Tennessee