Sunday, February 2, 2014

Tennessee State Tigers/Atlanta Falcons great Claude Humphrey elected to Pro Football Hall of Fame

PHOTO COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE U. ATHLETICS
NEW YORK — 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.

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