Erich Theodore Barnes ( ; July 4, 1935 – April 29, 2022) was an American 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 a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

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). He 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

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

(1956–1958), where he was a

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

. In the NFL, he was a six-time

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 ...

er and a four-time

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list th ...

selection, including first-team honors in 1961.

Early life

Barnes was born in

Elkhart, Indiana Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...

, on July 4, 1935. His father, Sylvester, worked as a real estate investor; his mother, Lura, was a housewife. He attended

Elkhart Central High School Elkhart Central High School (ECHS) was a public secondary school in Elkhart, Indiana. It was a part of Elkhart Community Schools. History In the fall of 1972 when Elkhart High School (est. 1872) was split into Elkhart Memorial High School and ...

in his hometown. He then studied at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, where he played offensive and defensive halfback, left end, and

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

. He registered 257 rushing yards on 62 carries, 319 yards on 20 receptions, 136 yards on seven

kickoff return A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in gridiron football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team". The receiving team is then entitled to ''return ...

s, and 86 return yards off of his five

interceptions In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

during his time with the Boilermakers. He was one of the favorite receiving targets of

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

, a future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

r, but cornerback was his best position. He 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 ...

in the fourth round (42nd overall selection) of the

1958 NFL Draft The 1958 National Football League draft had its first four rounds held on December 2, 1957, and its final twenty-six rounds on January 28, 1958. Both sessions were held at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia. This was the 12th and final year in ...

Career

Barnes made his NFL debut with the Bears on October 12, 1958, at the age of 23, in a 28–6 win over 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 ...

. He was later traded to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in 1961. In his first season with New York, he intercepted a pass against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and returned it 102 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

, setting a Giants' record and tying the then-NFL record for the longest interception return. He also earned NFL first-team honors that year. The Giants went on to face the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the

1962 NFL Championship Game The 1962 NFL Championship Game was the 30th NFL title game, played on December 30 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It matched the New York Giants (12–2) of the Eastern Conference and Green Bay Packers (13–1) of the Western Conference, ...

, having lost 37–0 to the same team in the previous year's title game. They lost again to Lombardi's Packers on a fiercely windy and cold day in Yankee Stadium. Barnes set up the only scoring for the Giants when he blocked a punt recovered by teammate

Jim Collier James William Collier (born May 18, 1939) is a former American football tight end who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University ...

in the end zone in a 16–7 loss. After the 1964 season, the Giants traded him to the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

– his favorite team as a child – for linebacker

Mike Lucci Michael Gene Lucci (December 29, 1939 – October 26, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker for 12 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Cleveland Browns for three seasons from 1962 to ...

and a 1966 third round draft pick which the Giants then traded to Detroit for quarterback

Earl Morrall Earl Edwin Morrall (May 17, 1934 – April 25, 2014) was an American football player who was a quarterback (and occasional punter) in the National Football League (NFL) for 21 seasons, both a starter and reserve. In the latter capacity, he beca ...

. This trade further aggravated the demise of a once stellar Giants defense that had already lost standouts

Sam Huff Robert Lee "Sam" Huff (October 4, 1934 – November 13, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He played college foot ...

and

Dick Modzelewski Richard Blair Modzelewski (February 16, 1931 – October 19, 2018) was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, and the Cleveland Browns. He al ...

, who was also traded to the Browns and an integral component of their 1964 NFL championship team after the 1963 season. During his time with the Browns, Barnes was known for standing at the goalpost (then stationed at the goal line) and blocking field goal attempts. This practice was later outlawed in the NFL. He ended his career with 45 interceptions, returning seven for touchdowns. During his NFL career, he was selected to the

six times and was an

selection four times.

Legacy

Barnes was known as an aggressive, physical player. In 2012, the Cleveland ''

Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

''s Mike Pettica ranked him as the No. 63 player in Browns' history (counting only what players did playing for Cleveland). The

Professional Football Researchers Association The Professional Football Researchers Association (PFRA) is an organization of researchers whose mission is to preserve and, in some cases, reconstruct professional football history. It was founded on June 22, 1979 in Canton, Ohio by writer/hist ...

named Barnes to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2013. Barnes was elected to the

Indiana Football Hall of Fame The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond, Indiana. It honors persons associated with high school, college and professional American football in Indiana. It also works to establish scholarships and endowments ...

in 1986, and the

Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.

Later years

After retiring from professional football in 1971, Barnes went on to work in the New York City area as a corporate special events planner.

Personal life and death

Barnes married Violet Ward; the couple remained together until his death. Erich had three children: Charissa, Djuna, and Tessa. In 1963, he appeared as one of the impostors on the panel game show '' To Tell the Truth'', claiming to be a sentinel at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

.''To Tell the Truth'', Monday, November 11, 1963 – YouTube (via Buzzr).
retrieved January 4, 2019. Barnes died on April 29, 2022, at a hospital near

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the town of Greenburgh in the state of New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of midtown Manha ...

, aged 86, following an unspecified lengthy illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Erich 1935 births 2022 deaths American football defensive backs Purdue Boilermakers football players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Chicago Bears players New York Giants players Cleveland Browns players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players People from Elkhart, Indiana American men's basketball players