John B. Barrow (October 31, 1935 – February 17, 2015) was an American college and professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
player who was an
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
and
defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
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 ...
(CFL) for fourteen seasons in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Barrow played
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, and was recognized as an
All-American. Thereafter, he played professionally for the
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...
of the CFL, and was later inducted into the
Canadian Football Hall of Fame
The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...
.
Early years
Barrow was born in
Delray Beach, Florida
Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020 was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located 52 miles ...
in 1935.
[CFLapedia.com, Hall of Fame]
John Barrow
Retrieved August 26, 2011. He attended the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
in Gainesville, Florida, where he was an
offensive
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Offensive (military), an attack
* Offensive language
** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
and
defensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...
for coach
Bob Woodruff
Robert Warren Woodruff (born August 18, 1961) is an American television journalist. Since 1996, he has served as a reporter for ABC News. Woodruff co-anchored ABC World News Tonight in 2006 alongside ABC News journalist Elizabeth Vargas. He was ...
's
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of ...
team from
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
to
1956.
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 76, 79, 87, 89, 102, 104, 115, 176 (2012). Retrieved September 15, 2012. As a senior in 1956, he was a first-team All-
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
(SEC) selection, a
Football Writers Association of America
The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...
first-team All-American, and the Gators' team captain.
[ Barrow was later inducted into the ]University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...
as a "Gator Great."
Professional career
The Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...
of the National Football League
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 ...
(NFL) selected Barrow in the fifth round (59th pick overall) of the 1957 NFL Draft
The 1957 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on November 26, 1956, at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia and its final twenty-six rounds on January 31, 1957 at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel also in Philadelphia.
This was ...
, but he opted to play in the CFL instead.[ He played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from to as a ]defensive tackle
A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...
, was a CFL All-Star at that position eleven times, and was voted the CFL "lineman of the century" in .[Canadian Football Hall of Fame and Museum, Hall of Famers]
John Barrow
Retrieved August 26, 2011. Barrow was a member of four 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 ...
-winning Tiger-Cats teams (1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
, 1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
, 1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, 1967), and played in five other Grey Cup championship games ( 1958, 1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
, 1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
, 1962, 1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
).[
Retiring as a player after the season, Barrow became 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 ...
general manager from to .[ He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1976, and was voted one of the CFL's top 50 players (17th) of all-time in a poll conducted by Canadian sports network TSN in 2006.][ Barrow died February 17, 2015 at his home in ]Missouri City, Texas
Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, up from 67,3 ...
; he was 79 years old.[Canadian Press,]
Former Ticats lineman John Barrow dead at 79
" SportsNet.ca (February 18, 2015). Retrieved February 18, 2015.[Ken Peters,]
Captain John 1935-2015: Icon of dominant, tough, winning Ticat teams
" ''The Hamilton Spectator'' (February 18, 2015). Retrieved February 18, 2015.
See also
* 1956 College Football All-America Team
* Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
* Florida Gators football, 1950–59
* List of Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
* List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
This list of Florida Gators football All-Americans includes those members of the Florida Gators football team who have received All-American honors from one or more selector organizations. The Florida Gators represent the University of Florida i ...
* List of University of Florida alumni
This list of University of Florida alumni includes current students, former students, and graduates of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Honorary degree recipients can be found on the List of University of Florida honorary degree r ...
* List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence d ...
References
Bibliography
* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). .
* Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). .
* Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). .
* McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). .
* McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). .
External links
* – Canadian Football Hall of Fame video biography of John Barrow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrow, John
1935 births
2015 deaths
All-American college football players
American players of Canadian football
Canadian football defensive linemen
Canadian football offensive linemen
Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees
Florida Gators football players
Hamilton Tiger-Cats players
Sportspeople from Delray Beach, Florida
Toronto Argonauts general managers