Claude Humphrey Pro Football Hall of Fame speech: Legendary DE makes it clear it was worth the wait

Claude Humphrey still thinks the NFL hasn’t got its sack numbers correct, but he’ll probably let it slide now that he’s been officially enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Humphrey was inducted on Saturday, and gave a speech. It was a long time coming.

“They told me that I only had 10 minutes up here,” Humphrey said, “But let me start off by telling you I’ve waited almost 30 years to get to this podium. So don’t rush me guys. I’m gonna be here for a minute.”

He thanked his mom, dad, sister and brother. He paid particular attention to his mom, who he said supported the family while he was growing up, and no matter how many “nine and 10 hour” shifts she had, she would always take care of him when he got hurt playing football as a child.

He thanked his late wife, and then his three daughters. He said they were “probably the best kids in the world,” and that he had to say that “because they told me to say that.” He then went on to note that the third daughter came “completely by accident,” to a slew of laughs from the crowd. “We knew where babies came from,” he continued, but they were surprised. “I guess it was such an enjoyable experience,” he quipped.

Humphrey described seeing some kids playing football while on an errand to get something from the store for his mom. The coach asked him if he wanted to play, he said he had to finish the errand first, and took the stuff home. From there, he went back out and played, which is where his passion for the game presumably began.

From there, he talked about his time at Tennessee State, and the recruiting pitch from TSU coach John Merritt. The coach visited Humphrey’s house and spoke to his parents, telling them that he’d make sure Humphrey made it to church every Sunday no matter what. That essentially sealed it for them, and sealed it for Humphrey. He thanked Merritt, and said that the coach “took care” of him throughout his time with the school.

Humphrey thanked coaches and players, and then started talking about his injury. He missed the entirety of the 1975 season with a serious knee injury, and he says the doctor who worked on him saved his life as well as his career. His head coach with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dick Vermeil, was thanked next. After a few more thanks of players and teammates, he thanked everyone for coming and “listening to my stories,” before calling it a speech and moving on.

The NFL didn’t start tracking sacks as a statistic until the year after Humphrey hung up his cleats and called it a career. Since then, the NFL has credited him with 122 sacks “unofficially,” which would put him ahead of guys like Howie Long, Andre Tippett and Randy White. That’s some stellar company to be in, let alone lead.

Tracking sacks or not, Humphrey was named a first-team All-Pro five times, made the second team three times and was named to six Pro Bowls over the course of his career. He was great, and still maintains he should be credited with more sacks than the NFL has suggested. He probably should have been inducted into the Hall a long time ago. His eligibility began in the 80s, but he wasn’t a final 15 candidate until 2003. He was named as two senior candidates in 2008 and 2009, but was edged out both years.