 Barney in 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 20 | |||||||||||||||
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| Positions | Cornerback Return specialist | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | (1945-09-08)September 8, 1945 (age 80) Gulfport, Mississippi, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Weight | 188 lb (85 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | 33rd Avenue (Gulfport, Mississippi) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Jackson State (1964–1966) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 1967: 2nd round, 34th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Lemuel Jackson Barney (born September 8, 1945) is an American former professionalfootball player who was acornerback andreturn specialist for theDetroit Lions of theNational Football League (NFL) from 1967 to 1977, playing occasionally as apunter as well. He played college football for theJackson State Tigers from 1964 to 1966. He was selected by the Lions in the1967 NFL/AFL draft and played. He was selected as theNFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, played in sevenPro Bowls, and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He has also been inducted into the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame, the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame, theMichigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Barney was born inGulfport, Mississippi, in 1945. He attended the33rd Avenue High School in Gulfport.[1] He played at thequarterback position for his high school football team.[2]
Barney attendedJackson State University, a historically black university inJackson, Mississippi. His son Lem Barney III and grandson Lem Barney IV also followed in his footsteps and graduated from Jackson State. He played college football for theJackson State Tigers football team from 1964 to 1966 under head coachRod Paige. He had 26 career interceptions at Jackson State, including nine in 1965 and 11 in 1966. He also had punt averages of 41.7 and 42.5 in those two seasons. Barney was an All-Southwestern Athletic Conference selection three straight years. He was also selected as an All-American byEbony magazine and thePittsburgh Courier.[3]
Barney was selected by theDetroit Lions in the second round, 34th overall pick, of the1967 NFL draft.[1] As a rookie in 1967, Barney appeared in all 14 games as a starting cornerback and led the NFL with 10 interceptions, 232 interception return yards and three interceptions returned for touchdowns.[1] After an injury toPat Studstill, Barney also took over as the Lions' punter, punting 47 times for an average of 37.4 yards in 1967.[1] On September 17, 1967, in the first quarter of his first NFL game, Barney intercepted the first pass thrown in his direction byBart Starr and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.[4][5] In the final game of his rookie season, Barney intercepted three passes within ten minutes and returned one 71 yards for a touchdown.[6][7] At the end of the 1967 season, he was selected by theAssociated Press as theNFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.[8]
After the 1967 season, Barney played in the1968 Pro Bowl,[9] and in the off-season, he was married and also served six months of active duty in the Navy.[8]
Barney went on to be selected to sevenPro Bowls and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969.[1] During his 11 years in the NFL, Barney had 56 interceptions, 1,011 interception return yards, and seven interceptions returned for touchdowns. He also returned 143 punts for 1,312 yards and three touchdowns as well as 50 kickoff returns for 1,274 yards, including a 98-yard return for touchdown.[1]
In March 1978, as part of a wiretap investigation into international drug smuggling, Barney's voice was heard allegedly discussing cocaine and amphetamines.[10] Although investigators stated that Barney was not the focus of the investigation,[11] the controversy received extensive press attention through the spring of 1978, as Barney was called to testify before a New York grand jury.[12][13]
In August 1978, the Lions placed Barney on the injured waiver list.[14] Barney's efforts to sign with another team were unsuccessful,[15] and he did not play during the 1978 season.[1][16] He was officially released by the Lions in February 1979.[17]
After retiring as a player, Barney received numerous honors, including the following:
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| NFL record | |
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Interceptions | Fumbles | Returning | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Fum | FR | Yds | Avg | TD | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1967 | DET | 14 | 14 | 10 | 232 | 23.2 | 71 | 3[b][a] | 2 | 0 | -5 | -5.0 | 0 | 9 | 101 | 11.2 | 25 | 0 |
| 1968 | DET | 14 | 14 | 7 | 82 | 11.7 | 62 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 38 | 749 | 19.7 | 98 | 1 |
| 1969 | DET | 13 | 13 | 8 | 126 | 15.8 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 12.5 | 0 | 16 | 345 | 21.6 | 74 | 1[c] |
| 1970 | DET | 13 | 13 | 7 | 168 | 24.0 | 49 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 27 | 355 | 13.1 | 74 | 1[c] |
| 1971 | DET | 9 | 7 | 3 | 78 | 26.0 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 23 | 344 | 15.0 | 48 | 0 |
| 1972 | DET | 14 | 14 | 3 | 88 | 29.3 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 0 | 16 | 125 | 7.8 | 26 | 0 |
| 1973 | DET | 14 | 14 | 4 | 130 | 32.5 | 38 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 28 | 259 | 9.3 | 42 | 0 |
| 1974 | DET | 13 | 12 | 4 | 61 | 15.3 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 5 | 37 | 7.4 | 11 | 0 |
| 1975 | DET | 10 | 10 | 5 | 23 | 4.6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 74 | 74.0 | 0 | 8 | 80 | 10.0 | 30 | 0 |
| 1976 | DET | 14 | 14 | 2 | 62 | 31.0 | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 23 | 191 | 8.3 | 30 | 0 |
| 1977 | DET | 12 | 11 | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 24.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 140 | 136 | 56 | 1,077 | 19.2 | 71 | 7 | 25 | 17 | 163 | 9.6 | 0 | 193 | 2,586 | 13.4 | 98 | 3 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Punt returns | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Ret | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
| 1970 | DET | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Career | 1 | 1 | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 | |
Barney is an accomplished singer who began singing with choirs in his youth and college.[27] He befriendedMotown recording artistMarvin Gaye, when Gaye unsuccessfully tried out for the Lions in 1970. Barney and teammateMel Farr sang background vocals on Gaye's classic 1971 song "What's Going On".[28][29] In 2015, Barney was invited to sing the national anthem at thePro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony.[27]
Barney also had a brief acting career, beginning with a self-portrayal in the 1968 comedy,Paper Lion. In 1973, he was one of the stars of theblaxploitation biker film,The Black Six.[30]
Barney and his wife, Martha, had a daughter, LaTrece, and a son, Lem III.[31] After retiring from the NFL, Barney worked for many years, starting in 1979, in public affairs forMichigan Consolidated Gas Company.[31] He also worked in the 1980s as a football broadcaster onBET and on pre-season games for the Detroit Lions.[31][32]
In March 1993, after his car crashed into a guardrail on a Detroit freeway, Barney was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and possession of cocaine and marijuana.[33][34][35][36] He was found not guilty of the drug charges following a jury trial in 1994.[37]
In 2006, Barney published an autobiography titled, "The Supernatural: Lem Barney".[38]
He held a public relations post at theDetroit Medical Center starting in 2006. After being fired from that position, he filed an age discrimination lawsuit in 2013.[39] Also in 2013, Barney publicly declared that, in light of revelations about brain injuries resulting from football, he would not play football if he had the chance to live his life over again and predicted that the game of football would be gone in another 20 years.[40]
His nephewMilton Barney also played in the NFL.[41]
Media related toLem Barney at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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