Humphries Enters Hall of Honor as Stellar Football Player, Student and Doctor
11/16/2018 10:56:00 AM | Football, Features
Football All-American and Academic All-American Stefan Humphries will being inducted into the Michigan Athletics Hall of Honor during a Friday (Nov. 16) ceremony along with Betsey Armstrong (water polo), Tom Dolan (men's swimming and diving), Dave Gallagher (football), Jennie Ritter (softball) and Sam Stoller (men's track and field).
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Stefan Humphries was going places. That much was clear back in 1983, when he was the co-captain on the University of Michigan football team and an academic star as well.
Humphries was and is the best of the best.
The powerful yet nifty offensive guard from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was a first team All-American on the field and a two-time Academic All-American. He won the prestigious Top Five Award from the NCAA in 1984, being chosen one of the five most outstanding student-athletes in the nation from all sports, as well as the Michigan men's Big Ten Medal of Honor winner as the most proficient in both athletics and the classroom in his senior class.
Humphries was a freshman for the 1980 Wolverines that gave coach Bo Schembechler's his first Rose Bowl victory, and he played his final college game in a classic Sugar Bowl showdown with Bo Jackson's Auburn Tigers.
The Chicago Bears drafted him in the third round, and he went on to play in two Super Bowls, winning with the 1985 Chicago Bears and losing with the 1987 Denver Broncos in his final full season.
Humphries picked away at medical school classes while in the NFL for five seasons, and he graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine before doing a residency in physical medicine at the renowned Mayo Clinic. He found a calling in rehabilitating patients who survived "catastrophic injuries" and currently serves as medical director of a rehab hospital north of Los Angeles.
"Some folks have walked in the door unable to lift a finger," said Humphries, "and then ended up walking out the door. That says it all. It takes a lot of courage to face the kind of catastrophic injuries they've sustained.
"You help them reclaim their baseline as well as also helping them to design a new normal for their adjustment to their disability for the rest of their lives. So, it's really rewarding. I've been really fortunate to practice in this specialty and inspired by those I work with as well."
So, when he was selected to this year's Hall of Honor class at his alma mater, it was a fitting recognition for someone who personifies the "Leaders and Best" ambition.
I asked Humphries what the honor meant to him in a recent phone conversation. But rather than bask in the spotlight alone, he began speaking about what a "reflection" the honor is of "so many great people I'm blessed to have in my life" through childhood, college and professional years.
Humphries, whom I covered as a newspaper writer in 1983, hadn't changed a bit -- still humble, still so accomplished after all these years.
The Michigan football experience helped mold him, and he noted his linemates such as fellow All-American Tom Dixon, who played center right next to him, offensive line coach Jerry Hanlon, and Schembechler, a man he likened to his late father, Thornton, an educator who also coached sports.
"Bo had great work ethic, great drive," recalled Humphries. "He was also a great guy and a great role model for not only the football players at Michigan but the student body as well that loved Bo."
Michigan coach Bo Schembechler with 1983 co-captains John Lott (left) and Stefan Humphries (right).
Humphries started on the defensive line at Michigan but found a home when switched to offensive guard, and he started the final 28 games of his career.
What about his Wolverine years means the most to him?
"That's a tough question," said Humphries, who paused. "Just representing a tradition of excellence that is unsurpassed in the modern era both in academics and athletics as a football player at the University of Michigan is what I take most from my career.
"The friendships and camaraderie from being a part of those four Michigan teams have impacted my life tremendously. That's what you miss most when you walk away from the game.
"Certain games stand out, and that Rose Bowl victory (23-6 win over Washington on Jan. 1, 1981) is certainly one. There was such an exhilaration in being part of the team that gave Bo his first bowl victory, and as a freshman having the ability to experience that was something I wasn't expecting. Playing in the 'Granddaddy of Them All' was an experience for the ages. And we won the Bluebonnet Bowl the next year (in Houston). I also remember that Sugar Bowl we lost to Auburn and coming in as underdogs with Bo (Jackson) on the other side running the ball."
He said "great friendships" resulted from those teams and added that he's "still very close" with the linemen he played with like Dixon, left guard Jerry Diorio and right tackle Doug James. He also tries to follow upperclassmen he learned from as a younger player such as Bubba Paris and Ed Muransky, both All-America offensive tackles in 1981.
Humphries said he's also enjoyed watching the reserve quarterback from 1983, Jim Harbaugh, blossom into an All-American before returning as the head coach of the current Wolverines.
"It was just evident the ability that he played with as a quarterback," said Humphries. "That kind of stood out to me. He was always a standup and a standout teammate. He was a tremendous competitor, no doubt.
"I was so happy to see him hired as the coach. He's going to lead us back; I have no doubt. He's a clone of Bo Schembechler, and he has that same competitive spirit, that same ability, that same charisma that Bo had. Bo left with a tremendous legacy, and I have no doubt that Jim will leave with a tremendous legacy whenever he concludes his career."
Humphries blocked for Walter Payton, who retired as the NFL's career rushing leader, while with the Bears. They joined the rest of the team in the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video that was all the rage in 1985.
Stefan Humphries (back right) with father Thornton (back left) and (seated, from left) sisters Faye and Shawn, mother Maud, and sister Thorna with nieces Shawn and Falan Goff. (Courtesy of Stefan Humphries)
"That 'Super Bowl Shuffle' was part of the hubris of that team made up of a lot of entertaining individuals," said Humphries, who played drums in the video production. "There was the 'Fridge' (William Perry), (quarterback Jim) McMahon, and probably the best linebacker that ever was in Mike Singletary, as well as probably the greatest football player of all-time in Walter."
When a triceps tendon injury wasn't healing prior to the 1989 season, Humphries retired and entered medical school two weeks later.
His older sister, Shawn Humphries, was a doctor and influenced him to study medicine. His father was a math teacher and basketball coach, and his mother, Maud, was an English teacher. His grandmother, Lydia S. Woods, an English teacher as well, "also had a tremendous impact on my life" while watching him when his parents worked and encouraging him to read not only as a youngster but into his medical school years. Stefan noted with pride that she made rolls that he loved to dip in molasses and lived to be 100.
Humphries also wanted to mention George Smith, his legendary coach at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High, for his influence then and continuing to be another "father figure" in his life.
"As you see," said Humphries, "I've been truly blessed with such positive influences in my life from my parents and sisters to my childhood friends, my high school, collegiate and professional teammates, who have all had such an impact on my life."
Author's Note: Humphries was a senior leader on the first Wolverine football team I covered in 1983 as a beat writer for the Ann Arbor News and Booth Newspapers, the eight-paper chain that evolved into MLive.com.
• Michigan Athletics Announces 2018 Hall of Honor Class (8/1/2018)
