NFL Pro-Bowler Claude Humphrey dies at 77
Fred Jeter | 12/9/2021, 6 p.m.
Claude Humphrey, the powerful leader of the Atlanta Falcons’ famed “Grits Blitz,” died Friday, Dec. 3, 2021, at his home in Memphis. He was 77.
Mr. Humphrey collected 126.5 sacks in an illustrious career with Atlanta from 1968 to 1978 and with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1979 to 1981.
The defensive end was a six-time NFL All-Pro Bowler and five-time second team All-Pro. He was named to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2014.
In 1977, Mr. Humphrey starred on the Falcons’ “Grits Blitz” defense that kept opponents to just 129 yards all season, the record for a 14-game season.
The Memphis native earned All-America honors atTennessee State University under College Football Hall of Fame Coach John Merritt. The 1966 team Mr. Humphrey played on went 10-0 and was named the Black College National Champion.
Mr. Humphrey was drafted in 1968 by the Falcons as the third pick in the first round of the NFL draft. At the time, it was the highest any player had been drafted from an HBCU.
In 1974, another Tennessee State Tiger, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, was the NFL’s first overall pick by the Dallas Cowboys.
