Claude Humphrey

Claude B. Humphrey (June 29, 1944 – December 3, 2021) was an American professional football player who played as a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. Humphrey was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014. He played college football for the Tennessee A&I Tigers.

Humphrey was born on June 29, 1944, in Memphis, to Dosie and Millie (Mays) Humphrey. He grew up in a "shotgun house". He attended Lester High School in Memphis. Humphrey played football, basketball, ran the low hurdles and excelled in the shot put in high school. He held the Tennessee high school record in the shot put for almost four decades. His high school basketball team finished as state runners-up twice.

Humphrey attended Tennessee State University (TSU), an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Nashville. He played varsity football from 1965-67 under coach John Merritt. As a freshman (1964), he came in as an offensive tackle, but was switched to defensive tackle. As a defensive tackle, he became a two- or three-time All-American. Tennessee State was twice HBCU national champion with Humphrey, winning the Grantland Rice Bowl in 1965 and 1966; while achieving an overall 35–3–1 record during his tenure. Humphrey's 39 sacks were a school record at the time of his graduation, and this still ranked fifth at the time of his death.

Humphrey played in four college all star games: the Senior Bowl, the Blue-Gray Game, the Coaches All-American Game and the College All-Star game. In 1967, the Associated Press (AP) named him a first-team Little All-American, and he was named an All-American by The Pittsburgh Courier, The Sporting News, and Time Magazine.

Humphrey was a member of Phi Beta Sigma.

Humphrey was drafted out of Tennessee State University in the first round of the 1968 NFL draft with the third overall choice by the Falcons. He had been well prepared as a defensive lineman at TSU by coach Merritt and defensive coordinator Joe Gilliam Sr. In his Falcons' rookie year (1968), Humphrey started every game, had 11.5 sacks, recovered three fumbles, and was named the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Even after an excellent rookie season, Humphrey knew he had to expand his technique and skill set to continue his success in the NFL. He credited the Falcons' new 1969 defensive coordinator, Marion Campbell, with helping him branch out to obtain that knowledge, leading to his continued success. In 1969, he had 10 or 10.5 sacks, without any signs of a "sophomore slump"; being named second-team All-Pro by the AP and Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA).

Quarterback sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982, after Humphrey retired, but retrospective film study of his games gave him 130 unofficial sacks in his career. Following his sophomore NFL season, he had 10 sacks in 1970 and 13 in 1971 for the Falcons. Humphrey would have double digit sacks in three of the next five full seasons he played for the Falcons, not including the 9.5 sacks he had in his final full year with Atlanta (1977). He missed the 1975 season with a knee injury.