FILE - Atlanta Falcons defensive end Claude Humphrey poses in August 1970. Humphrey, a Pro Football Hall of Famer Claude and one of the NFL's most fearsome pass rushers during the 1970s with the Falcons, died unexpectedly in Atlanta on Friday night, Dec. 3, 2021, according to the Hall of Fame, which was informed of his death by his daughter. He was 77. (AP Photo/File)
On this day in 1944, future NFL defensive end Claude Humphrey was born in Memphis, TN.
An alumni of Lester High School, Humphrey would go on to have a successful career with TSU before being a first-round draft choice with the Atlanta Falcons, whom he played for on and off from 1968 to 1977.
Humphrey would round out his 13-season NFL career playing with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1979 to 1981, officially retiring at the age of 38 to a farm in Oakland, TN.
Humphrey would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014 before ultimately passing away at the age of 77 in 2021 from a cardiac episode, a tragically poetic end for a man who gave his whole heart both on the field and in the support to his community.
“Known as a hard worker and a reliable teammate, Humphrey was always willing to help the team wherever needed and knew success was achieved collectively. His humble spirit guided him on and off the field,” said Hall President Jim Porter.
