 Barnes atContra Costa College | |||||||||||
| No. 31 | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Cornerback /Safety | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | (1951-03-03)March 3, 1951 (age 74) Lufkin, Texas, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | John F. Kennedy (Richmond, California) | ||||||||||
| College: | Stanford, Contra Costa (JC) | ||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1972 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Benny Jewell Barnes (born March 3, 1951) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback in theNational Football League for eleven seasons, all with theDallas Cowboys. He playedcollege football for theStanford Cardinals in thePacific-8 Conference.
After attendingJohn F. Kennedy High School inRichmond, California, he moved on toContra Costa College in nearbySan Pablo, where he was an all-conferencelinebacker for thefootball team and also an all-conferencetrack and field athlete.
In1970, Barnes transferred acrossthe Bay to Stanford, where he was converted fromlinebacker tofree safety. He was a two-year starter (24 consecutive starts) and a part of the “Thunder Chickens” defense, that was very effective (9 of the 11 starters played professional football).
In1971, Barnes posted seven interceptions (three againstSonny Sixkiller at theUniversity of Washington)[1][2] and was an honorable-mention (second-team) All-Pac-8 selection as a senior.[3][4]
He contributed to teams led by quarterbacksJim Plunkett andDon Bunce in two of the biggest upset victories ever in theRose Bowl, in January1971 and1972, respectively.
Although he played just two years, Barnes was inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame and selected to the Stanford's All-Century Team. In 2011, he was inducted into the California Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
In1972, he was signed as anundrafted free agent by theSuper Bowl championDallas Cowboys, and made the team based on his excellentspecial teams play onpunt andkickoff coverage.
In1974, he was named thespecial teams captain and by the end of the season he was a starter at leftcornerback, but fractured his right ankle and foot against theCleveland Browns, an injury that would affect him the rest of his career (three surgeries). The next year, he was used on passing downs as the fifth or sixthdefensive back and started 3 games.
In1976, he regained the starter position at left cornerback in the fifth game afterMark Washington suffered 2 concussions at the beginning of the season.
Although he didn't have great athletic ability, he compensated with technique, instincts and effort, which made him and underrated part of the team. In1977, he was the starter for theSuper Bowl XII winning team.
His best season came in1978, although he missed three games with ankle and foot problems, he led the team with 5interceptions, while still excelling onspecial teams. InSuper Bowl XIII he was involved in one of the most controversial calls inSuper Bowl history, whenLynn Swann ran up his back and both fell, resulting in apass interference that gave thePittsburgh Steelers the ball deep in Cowboys territory and an eventual crucialtouchdown.NFL CommissionerPete Rozelle, would later concede that the official call was wrong.[5]
In1979, despite a sore right foot that affected him since1975, he tied for the team lead in interceptions and fumble recoveries (including one returned for a 33-yardtouchdown). In the offseason he underwent a joint fusion surgery on his chronically sore right foot.
In1980, he missed the first five games after having anappendectomy in the morning of the season opener. The Cowboys went 12–4 in the regular season with Barnes (6 games) andSteve Wilson (10 games) sharing the leftcornerback position.
Thenext season, Barnes was moved tostrong safety, to improve the depth after the retirement ofCharlie Waters and to make room forundrafted free agentEverson Walls. He played as a third-down specialist and had a 72-yard fumble return for atouchdown in October atSan Francisco.[6]
Barnes was waived in August1983 at the end of training camp, and replaced withundrafted free agentBill Bates.[7]
On January 14,1984, he signed with theOakland Invaders of theUSFL, reuniting withJohn Ralston, his former head coach at Stanford,[8] but was released before the season started.[9]
Barnes retired after an 11-year NFL career, where he was part of eightNFC Championship Games and threeSuper Bowls. He is considered to be one of the bestspecial teams players in Dallas Cowboys history.
Barnes spent some time investing in restaurants and worked at Contra Costa College as equipment manager.[10] He is currently married, with three sons and one daughter.