Kilgore's Humphrey honored at Baylor this weekend

One of Kilgore's favorite athletic sons - former Kilgore High School multisport athlete and former Baylor University and NFLquarterback Buddy Humphrey - is one of seven members of BU's Hall of Fame Class of 2006.

Humphrey, who passed away in 1988, will be honored as a part of BUHOF activities this weekend, and many members of Humphrey's family, including wife Jean and brother Billy, will be in attendance for the hall banquet Friday night in the Cashion Building at 7 p.m. The Bears host Texas A&M on Saturday. In addition to the banquet, the honorees will be recognized before the Bears face the Aggies.

Humphrey starred for KHS in many sports in the 1950's, and was a key part of the football team.

"Buddy was just a great athlete," said his brother, Billy, who still lives in Kilgore. "I always tell people, to illustrate how good of an athlete he was, that Buddy never played tennis, but if you put a tennis racket in his hand and put him out on the court, I believe he could give anybody a run for their money. He really could."

Humphrey's favorite sport was probably basketball, his brother said, and he was an All-State selection. For a long time, Humphrey held the record for free throws through two games in the state basketball tournament.

He also, according to a column on Humphrey by famed Texas football writer Dave Campbell, was the man who once made University of Texas coach Darrell Royal say, "If I had a passer like that, I'd probably throw more (at Texas)."

Humphrey, along with good friend and teammate Larry Hickman, led Kilgore's

football team (as a fullback!) to much glory under then coach Ty Bain, including a win over Texas High in Texarkana in 1953, before graduating in 1954. Then, both headed to Waco.

The rest, as they say, is history. And the two made quite a bit of it.

The one thing Humphrey might be more famous for than anything else, especially while he was at Baylor, was leading the Bears to a 13-7 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 1957.

Humphrey, then a sophomore, scored the go-ahead touchdown on a quarterback sneak to knock off the No. 2-ranked Vols.

The next season, Humphrey set the Baylor pass yardage record for a single game - 387 yards - in a 33-21 loss to Rice. His performance on Nov. 29, 1958 - he completed 22 of 37 passes for those 387 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions - was good enough to be a Southwest Conference record at the time and the second-best single game by a quarterback at that point in college football history.

Ironically, the passing record stood in the BU record books until last week, when senior quarterback Shawn Bell broke the record by throwing for 395 yards in a 36-35 comeback win over Kansas.

"That's the way Buddy would have wanted it," Billy laughed on Tuesday. "At least they won. Hey, records are made to be broken."

According to the BU athletic web site, Humphrey completed 112 of 195 passes in his senior season for a nation-leading 1,316 yards with seven touchdowns and eight interceptions. His 112 completions also led the nation in 1958 and set an SWC singleseason record. That season as a senior, Humphrey was coached by Bears quarterbacks coach Chuck Purvis, a man Campbell quoted Humphrey as saying made Humphrey throw about 10,000 passes that summer.

Humphrey then wowed the nation in the Senior Bowl in 1959, leading the South to a 21-12 win. Coached by Paul Brown, the founder of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, Humphrey threw a first-quarter touchdown pass, then completed a pass to Billy Stacy of Mississippi State for 52 yards that set up another touchdown, a touchdown that would allow the South to take a lead it wouldn't give up.

Humphrey was a three-year letterman at BU from 1956-58 and played in three all-star games: the 1958 North-South Shrine Game, that 1959 Senior Bowl and the 1959 Chicago Tribune College All-Star Game. Humphrey was named the most valuable player in the North-South game after throwing five touchdown passes for the South.

He became a professional athlete in 1959 when he was drafted in the second round by the Los Angeles Rams. Humphrey played with the Rams (1959-60), Dallas Cowboys (1961), St. Louis Cardinals (1963-65) and Houston Oilers before retiring in 1967.

His love for football, though, kept him close to the sport. He became an assistant coach at Stroman High School in Victoria that year, then joined Bill Lane in 1968 at Daingerfield as an assistant coach there. Humphrey helped coach the Tigers to the Class 2A state championship that season, and when Lane left DHS, Humphrey took over the reins of the football program, leading the Tigers to district championships.

After finishing at Daingerfield, Humphrey coached at Pine Tree for a couple of seasons, and then his athletic life came full circle in 1974 when he became head football coach and athletic director at Kilgore High School. He remained in that position for two years, then became the school's assistant principal.

He took a position at Kilgore College in the purchasing department in the late 1970's, which he held until his passing in April, 1988.

"I had the honor of working for Buddy... and he was indeed a wonderful person and friend," said Dianne Lyle, who still works in KC's purchasing office.

Joining Humphrey as this year's BU Hall of Fame class are Mike Hughes and J.J. Joe, also from football; Deon Minor, a former track athlete; women's basketball standout Carol Reeves-Brandenburg; and baseball's Steve Smith. Football and track standout Weldon Bigony will join the hall's Wall of Honor.

According to the university's athletic web site, the athletic hall of fame, organized in 1960, recognizes and honors individuals whose participation and contributions enriched and strengthened the university's athletics program. Athletes are required to wait 10 years after completing their eligibility before being eligible to be considered for this honor. Since coach Floyd "Uncle Jim" Crow and baseball's Teddy Lyons comprised the hall's first class in 1960 through this year's class, 156 former Baylor student-athletes have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The Wall of Honor, established in 2000, boasts nine total honorees.