Ferrin Charles Barr (January 21, 1938 – June 2, 2007) was an American
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, referee, promoter
and trainer who spent his career mostly in the
Western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
and
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 ...
. Under the name as Sandy Barr, he was best known for his presence in the
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
wrestling scene.
Professional wrestling career
Barr got his start in wrestling working with Cliff Thiede from
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho Falls (Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: Dembimbosaage) is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, Bonneville County, Idaho, United States. It is the state's largest city outside the Boise metropolitan area. As of the 2020 Un ...
. He wrestled his first match on March 5, 1957 in
Hot Springs, Idaho against Treacherous Phillips to a time limit draw.
He spent his time wrestling Idaho,
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, Oregon and Canada.
Barr began refereeing matches for
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...
promoter
Don Owen in the 1960s because it allowed him to spend more time at home with his family.
As a promoter, Barr was known as a person who would take care of the wrestlers.
Tom "The Dynamite Kid" Billington said of Barr, "The only time he made anything was once a year when all the big names came in, like
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...
and
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...
, and then they'd do great business. Sold out every night. Sandy would be so excited about making all this money, after he'd paid the big names, he gave the rest of it to us, the wrestlers who were there every week. All year long he'd be scraping by, and, when he did make some money, he gave it away. But he was a very good, kindhearted man, a great man—especially for a promoter."
Barr spent much of his later life as a referee, promoter, and trainer, training wrestlers such as Jimmy Jack Funk (Jesse Barr),
Matt Borne
Matthew Wade Osborne (July 27, 1957 – June 28, 2013), known professionally as Matt Borne, was an American professional wrestler. Osborne was a second generation wrestler, the son of Tony Borne, and is best known as being the first wrestler to ...
(the first
Doink the Clown
Doink the Clown is a professional wrestling persona originally and most popularly portrayed by Matt Osborne, who debuted the Doink persona in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1992. Doink is a clown (or evil clown) wearing traditional clo ...
),
Art Barr
Arthur Leon Barr (October 8, 1966 – November 23, 1994) was an American professional wrestler. While he wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling, he found his greatest success in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion. ...
,
Velvet McIntyre
Velvet McIntyre (born November 24, 1962) is an Irish-Canadian retired professional wrestler. After beginning her career in 1980, she wrestled in American independent promotions before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). She ...
and
Princess Victoria.
While largely retired from being an active wrestling performer, Barr continued to get back into the ring on occasion, wrestling his last match just a few days prior to his death.
Personal life
After Don Owen bought an old
bowling alley
A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...
and converted it into the Portland Sports Arena, Barr worked out a deal with Owen where he would hold a
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
in the arena when it was not being used for wrestling.
He is the father of
Art Barr
Arthur Leon Barr (October 8, 1966 – November 23, 1994) was an American professional wrestler. While he wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling, he found his greatest success in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion. ...
, who would go on to fame in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
as American Love Machine, and Jesse Barr,
who gained some level of fame teaming with Dory and Terry Funk as Jimmy Jack Funk.
On June 2, 2007, Sandy Barr died of a heart attack while at his flea market in North Portland; he was 69 years old.
Following Sandy's death, his son Josh Barr continued running the promotion until the license expired later that year. Upon the expiration of the license, all of the equipment was sold and the Barrs left the Wrestling business.
References
External links
Sandy Barr Memorial*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Sandy
1938 births
2007 deaths
American male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Oregon
Professional wrestling promoters
Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon
Stampede Wrestling alumni
20th-century professional wrestlers