For defensive end Claude Humphrey, the Atlanta Falcons’ all-time sack leader, the decades-long wait is finally over.
On the eve of Super Bowl XLVIII between Seattle and Denver, Humphrey was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Humphrey, 69, will be the first long-time member from the early days of the Falcons to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio.
It was an uphill climb for Humphrey, in part because the Falcons’ history of losing during his era. He retired from the NFL in 1981 and was an unsuccessful Hall of Fame finalist in 2003, 2005 and 2006, and also fell short in 2009 as a senior candidate.
Of his first 10 seasons in Atlanta (1968-77), only two were winning ones. Overall, those Falcons went 53-84-3. He played one season with the Philadelphia Eagles and reached the Super Bowl before retiring.
Humphrey will join Tommy McDonald (1967), Eric Dickerson (1993), Chris Doleman (1994-95) and Deion Sanders (1989-1993) as the only Falcons in the Canton, Ohio.
After being selected with the third overall pick in the 1968 AFL/NFL Draft out of Tennessee State, he went on to terrorized quarterbacks in the NFL.
Humphrey was a part of the Falcons’ “Grits Blitz” defense of 1977 that set an NFL record for fewest points allowed.
The sack was not made an official statistic until after Humphrey’s retirement, but a film review of his career determined that he finished as the Falcons’ all-time leader in that category with 94.5 sacks.
During his 11th season, when he grew weary of losing, he abruptly quit the team.
“One day I was sitting in the locker room and said, you know, this thing isn’t getting any better,” Humphrey told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently. “I put my stuff in the locker and left, it was just that simple. I wasn’t mad at anybody because there was nothing I could do as a player but do what I did. They said they weren’t going to trade me. That was obvious.”
The Falcons rebounded from 1-3 start that drove Humphrey away in 1978 and went on to make their first trip to the postseason.
In 2008, Humphrey was added to the Falcons’ ring of honor.
Late in his life, Humphrey has been confronted with significant health issues: diabetes; the loss of a kidney to cancer. He is not a part of the large class-action concussion lawsuit against the NFL.
Humphrey now joins his other top pass-rushing contemporaries from his era such as Deacon Jones (1980) and Jack Youngblood (2001) of the Los Angeles Rams, and Elvin Bethea (2003) of the Houston Oilers.
CLAUDE HUMPHREY’S PRO RESUME
• First-round pick of Falcons in 1968, third overall
• 1968 Defensive Rookie of the Year
• Fumble recovery and 24-yard return was only touchdown in Falcons’ 1969 victory over Minnesota, breaking the Vikings’ 12-game winning streak
• 1976 Falcons MVP
• Six-time Pro Bowl player, tied for most in Falcons history
• Falcons’ all-time sack leader (94.5)
• Traded to Philadelphia in 1979, played three more seasons
• Credited with 122 career sacks (not an official stat until after he retired)
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