Claude Humphrey will become the first player to play the majority of his NFL career — 11 of 14 years — with the Falcons to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
For Humphrey, 70, the Falcons’ all-time sack leader, it was an uphill climb in part because the team’s 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 fell short as a senior candidate in 2009.
“The best thing that happened was that he got a second chance (before the senior’s committee),” former NFL executive Gil Brandt said. “He was a guy who should have been in there the first time he ever was brought up. He was way overdue. I’m so happy to see him going in.”
The enshrinement will be bittersweet for Humphrey because his wife, Sandra, has passed and won’t be there to see the enshrinement, but he’s all ready to put on his yellow jacket.
Here’s the first installment of a two-part conversation with Humphrey:
Q: How do you expect the events to unfold for you?
A: The first thing is getting up there and being able to hold up and get through everything that they've got planned for us. That's probably the biggest chore. I'm not 45 or 50 years old like those young guys. It's going to be a pretty big ol' deal for me. But I'm looking forward to it. I'm just going to see how well I can hold up.
Q: How will it feel to put on that yellow jacket?
A: I don't know yet. It's got to happen. I have to be there and have it happen to me. I'll probably get emotional. But I don't think I can sit at home and feel what it's going to be like or even try to explain what it's going to be like. I've got to be there and go through it.
Q: Are any of your college coaches from Tennessee State still around?
A: All of my college coaches have passed. Every one of them. I tell you it's amazing, but everyone one of them has gone to be with the Lord. They have just left us here. But a lot of my teammates of off those '65 and '66 teams, I understand, are going to be there.
Q: When did you first start playing football?
A: Well, I started playing in high school at Lester High School in Memphis, Tennessee. That's where it all got started.
Q: What position did you play?
A: At Lester, I played everything. I played every position. On offense, I played offensive center. I played guard. I played tackle. I tried to get them to let me play a little tight end, but they wouldn't let me play tight end. They said I needed to be over there trying to block somebody. On defense, I played defensive tackle, defensive end and nose guard. I played middle linebacker. I was all over the place. That's the way you do it in high school. You just put the guys over there and let them have a good time. That's pretty much what my high school coach did.
Q: How did you get in coach John Merritt’s doghouse early on at Tennessee State?
A: I wanted to play offensive center. I would have been the first black offensive center in the National Football League, but he wouldn't let me play center. He said son, 'there are no black centers in the National Football League. I want you to go out there and play tackle.' I didn't want to do it. As consequence, when we played our first game against Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he didn't let me play because I was all upset about (not playing center)."
Q: Why did you want to play center so badly?
A: I was basically a center at heart in high school. Then when I got to Tennessee State, they said you're just going to play all tackle. I had played tackle in high school, but I considered myself a center.
Q: What was it like playing both ways?
A: The offense would run off. I would stand there. The defense would come on. We'd play. The defense would go off the field. I'd stand there and the offense would come back on. I just stood out there. I spent more time standing out in the middle of the field than probably playing.
Q: Sacks weren’t an official stat when you played, but do you believe they have it right by crediting you with 122 sacks?
A: I know they got it wrong, but that's beside the point. I'm in the Hall of Fame now, so I'm not even concerned with how many sacks that I have or how many tackles I have. I'm not even concerned with the stats anymore. When I played, I wasn't concerned about the stats because they weren't a big deal. A sack on the quarterback was just another tackle. It was just like tackling the running back. It didn't make any difference. It was not a big deal.
Q: How did the sack evolved into a key stat?
A: Later on, it got to be a big deal. My last years in Philadelphia, they made a big deal out of it. All the while when I was playing with the Falcons, they didn't keep accurate records of sacks. I think one year I had about 17 sacks, and I don't remember exactly what year it was, but I had about 17 sacks.
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