Harris Scott Barton (born April 19, 1964) is a fund manager and a former All-Pro
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
offensive tackle who played for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
.
Early life
Harris Scott Barton was born in
Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia and an inner ring suburb of Atlanta. The city's population was 108,080 at the 2020 census, making it Georgia's seventh-largest city. It is the site of several corporate headquarters, ...
, and is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
Both of Barton's parents were from New York City and were Jewish; his mother Joan from an
Orthodox Jewish
Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...
family in
Queens, New York
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, and his father Paul from
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
[''100 Things 49ers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die'' - Daniel Brown, Roger Craig]
/ref> Paul Barton was a traveling salesman who sold women's uniforms throughout the Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...
. Both of his parents developed and eventually died of brain cancer, leading Barton later in life to found Champion Charities, which raises money to fund brain tumor
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and seconda ...
research at University of California, San Francisco
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is a public land-grant research university in San Francisco, California. It is part of the University of California system and is dedicated entirely to health science and life science. It con ...
.
Barton began playing football at age five. He grew up in a kosher Orthodox Jewish home in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
, and attended Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, now known as the Atlanta Jewish Academy, through the fifth grade and graduated from Atlanta's Dunwoody High School
Dunwoody High School is a public high school in Dunwoody, an incorporated city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States.
Dunwoody enrolls students in grades 9- 12, and is operated by the DeKalb County School System. It follows a four by four bl ...
.Quarterback legends Joe Montana, Steve Young come to Harris Barton’s aid – ''The Mercury News''
/ref> Barton was named DeKalb County MVP his senior year at Dunwoody.
College football career
Barton was recruited by over 100 colleges including University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame, but chose the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
with head coach Dick Crum.
Originally thought to be a possible defensive lineman, Barton was switched to center early in his first summer of practice at UNC.
Barton was a four-year starter during his time at UNC; starting center his freshman year, before moving to left tackle mid-season during his sophomore year, playing that position for the remainder of his collegiate career.
He played against William "Refrigerator" Perry and his brother Michael Dean Perry
Michael Dean Perry (born August 27, 1965) is a former American football defensive lineman and the younger brother of William Perry. His parents are Inez S. Perry and Hollie Perry, Sr. of Aiken, South Carolina. He learned to play football from hi ...
at Clemson.
Barton was named to a number of All-America teams, including the NCAA's All-American Scholar/Athlete Team and Academic All-ACC. During his senior year Barton was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Outstanding Offensive Lineman. While at UNC Barton played in the Japan Bowl.
Education
Barton graduated with a BA in Finance from UNC in 1987.
Professional football career
Barton was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
in 1987, and the 22nd pick overall. He was the first offensive lineman chosen in the opening round by the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
since Forrest Blue in 1968. During his first year playing for the 49ers, Barton was runner up in Rookie of the Year voting.
In 1994, during the 49ers opener against the Los Angeles Raiders
The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural 1960 season to the 1981 season and then agai ...
at Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...
, Barton tore his left triceps tendon which required surgery to repair, benching him for part of the '94 season. He was replaced by Harry Boatswain
Harry Boatswain (June 26, 1969 – August 8, 2005) was a professional American football player who played Offensive Tackle for five seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Jets. Harry graduated from the Universi ...
.
During his ten-year pro career, Barton played 138 career NFL games, including 89 consecutive games and three Super Bowls.
Barton started in 134 of his 138 career games. Barton retired after the 1998 season. In 2006 he was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California, and in March 2011 he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports.
Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...
.[Harris Barton – Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Northern California]
/ref>
After football
Along with former teammates Ronnie Lott
Ronald Mandel Lott (born May 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback and safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s.
Lott played college football for the Univ ...
and Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", ...
, Barton was a Managing Partner of Champion Ventures in 1999, raising $40 million in an original round from professional athletes such as Steve Kerr, Barry Bonds, Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
, Peyton Manning, Keyshawn Johnson
Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons.
He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...
and Dan Marino.
Champion Ventures, later renamed HRJ, was a fund of funds
A "fund of funds" (FOF) is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in stocks, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment. A ...
which invested in private equity
In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
, venture capital
Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...
, and hedge fund
A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as s ...
s and managed $2.4 billion at its peak in May 2008.
In April 2009, the fund was taken over by Capital Dynamics
icapital.biz Berhad () is a Malaysia's only closed-end listed fund, listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. The fund is managed by Capital Dynamics Asset Management Sdn Bhd and advised by Capital Dynamics Sdn. Bhd.
Capital Dynamics is an i ...
in a bid to augment its fund of funds platform and gain a foothold in Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo Coun ...
.
In October 2010, he left Capital Dynamics to start the angel investment
An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital for a business or businesses start-up, usually in exchange for convertible debt or owners ...
firm H. Barton Asset Management.
Personal life
Barton lives in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was es ...
, with his wife, Megan, and his four children.
He donates his time to a number of organizations including REDF, The First Tee, Champion Charities (a 501(c) organization, he founded with former teammate and business partner Ronnie Lott), the 49ers Foundation and the Giants Community Fund.
See also
* List of select Jewish football players
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barton, Harris
1964 births
Living people
American football offensive tackles
American hedge fund managers
American money managers
Businesspeople from Atlanta
Jewish American sportspeople
National Conference Pro Bowl players
North Carolina Tar Heels football players
People from Sandy Springs, Georgia
San Francisco 49ers players
Players of American football from Atlanta
Venture capital firms of the United States
Dunwoody High School alumni
21st-century American Jews
Ed Block Courage Award recipients