Falcons all-time leading scorer and former kicker Morten Andersen and Ring of Honor member Claude Humphrey have been announced as finalists for the 2014 induction class into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it was announced Thursday night.
Andersen was among the 15 modern-era finalists while Humphrey was a senior nominee selected by the Hall of Fame's Seniors Committee.
Andersen joined the Atlanta Falcons in 1995 and eventually became that team's career scoring leader with 806 total points in his career with the Falcons, that spanned from 1995-2000 and a second stint in 2006 and 2007.
He recorded a spectacular season his first year in Atlanta when he scored a career-high 122 points that included a then-NFL record for most 50-yard field goals in a season (8). On Dec. 10, 1995, in a 19-14 win over his former team, the Saints, he made NFL history when he became the first kicker ever to convert three field goals of 50 yards or longer in the same game. Andersen kicked for the Falcons for six seasons.
Among the most notable league records he set were career points (2,544), most field goals (565), and games played (382). In addition, his 40 field goals of 50 yards or longer were the most in NFL history at his retirement. He is one of the rare players to be named to two NFL All-Decade Teams (1980s and 1990s).
In all, he converted 565 of 709 field goal attempts and 849 of 859 point-after-attempts. He led his teams in scoring 22 times, led the NFL in field goals in 1987, the NFC in scoring in 1992 and topped all conference kickers in most field goals in 1985, 1987, and 1995.
Humphrey was drafted by the Falcons with the No. 3 overall pick in the 1968 AFL/NFL Draft out of Tennessee State. He's the Falcons' all-time sack leader with 94.5 in his career with the team, and he notched 122 in his full career.
Humphrey missed only two games in his first seven seasons, but in 1975 he suffered what many thought would be a career-ending knee injury that sidelined him for the entire season. A fierce competitor Humphrey battled his way back in 1976 and delivered an impressive season of play. Again he led the Falcons as he posted a career-best 15 sacks. His teammates, impressed by his hard work and outstanding play, voted him the team's Most Valuable Player.
No more than five modern-era nominees can be elected in a given year and thus a class of six or seven can only be achieved if one or both senior nominees (Ray Guy and/or Claude Humphrey) are elected.
The 2014 induction class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame will be announced at 8 p.m. ET on Feb 1. during the third annual NFL Honors shows, set to air on Fox.
