Terry Albert Barr (August 8, 1935 – May 28, 2009) was an
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 ...
player. He played professional football for nine seasons in 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) for the
Detroit Lions from 1957 to 1965. He began his NFL career as a
defensive back and return specialist and later became one of the best pass receivers in the NFL. He played in the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
in both 1963 and 1964, led the NFL with 13 touchdown receptions in 1963, and was among the NFL leaders with 1,086 receiving yards in 1963 and 1,030 receiving yards in 1964. Over his nine-year NFL career, Barr appeared in 102 games and caught 227 passes for 3,810 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Barr also played
college football as a
halfback for the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
from 1954 to 1956. He was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the
1955 Michigan Wolverines football team and was inducted into the
University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs. in 1994.
Early years
Barr was born in 1935 in
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
.
He grew up on the east side of Grand Rapids in a family of eight children.
He attended
Central High School in Grand Rapids.
[ He played football and basketball and ran track at Central High School and was the Michigan state champion in the 440-yard dash in both 1952 and 1953.][
]
University of Michigan
Barr enrolled at the University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1953 and played at the halfback position for Bennie Oosterbaan
Benjamin Oosterbaan ( ; February 24, 1906 – October 25, 1990) was a three-time first team College Football All-America Team, All-American American football, football End (gridiron football), end for the Michigan Wolverines football team, two-tim ...
's Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1954 to 1956. Barr first gained acclaim after leading Michigan to a victory over Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
early in the 1955 season; he rushed for a touchdown in the first quarter and then returned a punt 82 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. At the end of the season, Barr was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team that compiled a 7-2 record and was ranked #12 and #13 in the final AP and UPI
United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...
polls.
During his junior and senior years from 1955 to 1956, Barr contributed over 1,600 yards to the Wolverines, including 611 rushing yards, 466 punt and kickoff return yards, 306 passing yards, and 140 receiving yards. He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor The University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, founded in 1978, recognizes University of Michigan athletes, coaches, and administrators who have made significant contributions to the university's athletic programs. in 1994.[University of Michigan Hall of Honor]
. GoBlue (University of Michigan Athletics official website). Retrieved September 9, 2011.
Professional football
Barr was selected by the Detroit Lions in the third round (36th overall pick) 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 wa ...
. In his rookie
A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year).
In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...
season, he played in the NFL Championship Game
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
. In Detroit's 59–14 win over Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, Barr intercepted a pass and returned it 19 yards for a score. Barr spent nine seasons with the Lions from 1957 to 1965. In his first three seasons, he was used principally as a defensive back and return specialist.[ He returned 26 kickoffs for 655 yards and 50 punts for 262 yards from 1957 to 1960.][
The Lions began using him increasingly on offense in 1960, but he missed a portion of the 1962 season with a knee injury that required surgery.
Barr became one of the best pass receivers in the NFL from 1963 to 1964. In 1963, he led the NFL with 13 touchdown receptions and was invited to play in his first Pro Bowl. He also ranked among the NFL's leaders in 1963 with 13 touchdowns (2nd), 66 receptions (3rd), 1,086 receiving yards (4th), 77.6 receiving yards per game (5th), 78 points scored (7th), and 1,095 yards from scrimmage (7th).][ In 1964, Barr was again selected to play in the Pro Bowl and again ranked among the NFL leaders with 1,030 receiving yards (2nd), 73.6 receiving yards per game (3rd), 9 receiving touchdowns (4th), 18.1 yards per reception (5th), 57 receptions (7th), and 1,061 yards from scrimmage (7th).][
Barr's career ended after the 1965 season due to a knee injury.][("Afterword" by Bill Dow)] Over his nine-year NFL career, Barr appeared in 102 games and caught 227 passes for 3,810 yards and 35 touchdowns.[
]
Later year and family
After retiring from football, Barr was involved in several businesses in suburban Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
.[ He operated an insurance agency in partnership with Joe Schmidt and Nick Pietrosante for several years.][ In 1971, he bought a ]Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...
-based company that became Terry Barr Sales L.L.C., which provided sales, marketing, engineering and other services to the automotive industry. He was also the chairman of Libralter Plastics, an automotive industry supplier.[ His business interests also included a restaurant and manufacturing operation. Barr was a past president of the Bloomfield Hills Country Club.
Barr was married, and he and his wife, Shelley, had three sons.][ He was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor and the ]Michigan Sports Hall of Fame
The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...
.
Barr died in 2009 at age 73 after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Terry
1935 births
2009 deaths
Deaths from dementia in Michigan
Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
American football wide receivers
Michigan Wolverines football players
Detroit Lions players
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
Players of American football from Grand Rapids, Michigan