Joe Barnes (born December 18, 1951) was an all-star quarterback in the
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
.
College career
Barnes was a graduate of
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...
, playing from 1971 to 1973, and was inducted into the Texas Tech Athletic Hall of Honor in 1986.
Professional career
Barnes was drafted by the
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
of the
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
in 1974 in the 13th round (316th overall.) He played only 2 games for
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in 1974, completing 2 of 9 passes, and punting once for 27 yards.
He moved to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in 1976 and began a five-year stint with the
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...
. He began by sharing quarterback duties with
Sonny Wade
Jesse "Sonny" Wade (born April 1, 1947) is a former All-American football player at Emory & Henry College in Virginia. He played professionally for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League from 1969 to 1978.
High school
Wade attend ...
, but mostly took over in 1978, when he threw for 1177 yards, and in 1979, when he added 2456 yards. He won a
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
in 1977 and was quarterback for the 1978 and 1979 Cup losses to the
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...
. He lost his starting quarterback job in 1980 to
Gerry Dattilio
Gerry Dattilio (born June 11, 1953) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback in the Canadian Football League.
Early years
Dattilio played his high school football with the Chomedey Chiefs in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when h ...
after six games, and was traded to the
Saskatchewan Roughriders. Again, he shared quarterback duties for the
Green Riders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division.
The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...
with
John Hufnagel
John Coleman Hufnagel (born September 13, 1951) is the president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was previously the Stampeders' head coach and played quarterback for fifteen professional seasons ...
, and after the 1981 season headed to
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
.
It was with the
Toronto Argonauts
The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...
that Barnes enjoyed his greatest success in the team's run and shoot offence. At first, due to injury and the excellent play of
Condredge Holloway
Condredge Holloway Jr. (born January 25, 1954) is a former quarterback for the University of Tennessee and later in the Canadian Football League. Holloway was one of the first African-American quarterbacks to receive national exposure. His nickna ...
, Barnes played sparingly in 1982. Starting in 1983, he worked in tandem with Holloway. For two seasons, the tandem combined for over 5,000 yards. In 1983 Holloway passed for 3184 yards and Barnes, 2274. The next season the numbers reversed, with Barnes passing for 3128 yards and Holloway, 2231. Barnes helped lead
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
to a long-awaited
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...
victory in 1983. As was his style, he came off the bench in the second half and engineered the game-winning drive and TD, a pass to
Cedric Minter, in the final minutes. He was named the
Grey Cup Most Valuable Player
The Grey Cup's Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is awarded annually since 1959 to the player of the winning team who deemed to have had the best performance in the Grey Cup Game, the Canadian Football League's championship game. This award is prese ...
for his heroics.
In 1984, he was named an all-star. In 1985, he was traded to the
Calgary Stampeders but the team struggled for wins. After 11 games he was returned to Montreal in a trade, now with the
Montreal Concordes
The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...
, and played with the briefly renamed and reborn Alouettes in 1986.
Barnes was known for his unpredictable and effective scrambling.
Personal life
His senior year, he dated Dianna Delp. They were married in June 1974 and have 2 children and 4 granddaughters.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Joe
1951 births
Living people
American football quarterbacks
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football quarterbacks
Calgary Stampeders players
Chicago Bears players
Montreal Alouettes players
Montreal Concordes players
Saskatchewan Roughriders players
Texas Tech Red Raiders football players
Toronto Argonauts players
Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas
People from Poughkeepsie, New York
Players of American football from Texas