Showing posts with label Claude Humphrey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Claude Humphrey. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Cowboys' Bob Hayes (FAMU) and Falcons/Eagles Claude Humphrey (TSU) gets Hall nod as finalist

CANTON, Ohio — Claude Humphrey (Tennessee State University) and Robert Lee ("Bullet Bob") Hayes" (Florida A&M University) were nominated by the seniors committee Wednesday as finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hayes, an Olympic gold medalist as a sprinter, played for Dallas from 1965-74 and for San Francisco in 1975. He averaged 20 yards a catch for his career and led the NFL with a 20.8-yard average per punt return in 1968. He was a seniors finalist in 2004 but did not get the necessary 80 percent of the vote to make the hall. He died in 2002 at the age of 59.

Hayes was the first player in the history of the Dallas franchise to surpass 1000 yards receiving in a single season and he did that in his rookie year by finishing with 1,003 yards. Hayes was the first person to break 6 seconds in the 60 yard dash with his indoor world record of 5.9 seconds. He was named to the Pro Bowl three times and All Pro four times and is the only person so far to win both an Olympic gold medal (1964 Tokyo Olympics) and a Super Bowl ring (1971). Bob Hayes finished his 11-year career with 371 receptions for 7,414 yards and 71 touchdowns, giving him an impressive 20 yards per catch average. (Both career TDs and yds per catch average remain franchise records.)

Humphrey was a regular finalist two years ago, his final year of eligibility. He played 11 seasons with Atlanta before finishing his career with Philadelphia from 1979-81. He was considered one of the best pass rushers in the game during an era in which sacks were not an official statistic. Humphrey was selected out of Tennessee State University in the first round of the 1968 NFL Draft with the 3rd overall choice by the Falcons.

They will join 15 modern-era finalists yet to be determined in the final selection the day before the Super Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 31. The two seniors finalists are voted on separately. A total of seven can be elected — the two seniors and up to five modern candidates.

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