 Barnes with Purduec. 1957 | |||||||||
| No. 24, 49, 40 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1935-07-04)July 4, 1935 Elkhart, Indiana, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | April 29, 2022(2022-04-29) (aged 86) Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Elkhart Central (Elkhart, Indiana) | ||||||||
| College | Purdue | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 1958: 4th round, 42nd overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
| |||||||||
Erich Theodore Barnes (/ˈiːrɪtʃ/E-rich;[1] July 4, 1935 – April 29, 2022) was an American professionalfootball player who was adefensive back in theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for thePurdue Boilermakers (1956–1958), where he was atwo-way player. In the NFL, he was a six-timePro Bowler and a four-timeAll-Pro selection, including first-team honors in 1961.
Barnes was born inElkhart, Indiana, on July 4, 1935.[1][2] His father, Sylvester, worked as a real estate investor; his mother, Lura, was a housewife.[1] He attendedElkhart Central High School in his hometown.[2] He then studied atPurdue University, where he played offensive and defensivehalfback,[1] left end, andcornerback for thePurdue Boilermakers.[3] He registered 257 rushing yards on 62carries, 319 yards on 20receptions, 136 yards on sevenkickoff returns, and 86 return yards off of his fiveinterceptions during his time with the Boilermakers.[3] He was one of the favorite receiving targets ofLen Dawson, a futurePro Football Hall of Famer, but cornerback was his best position.[4] He was drafted by theChicago Bears in the fourth round (42nd overall selection) of the1958 NFL draft.[2]
Barnes made his NFL debut with the Bears on October 12, 1958, at the age of 23, in a 28–6 win over theSan Francisco 49ers.[5] He was later traded to theNew York Giants in 1961.[6] In his first season with New York, he intercepted a pass against theDallas Cowboys and returned it 102 yards for atouchdown, setting a Giants' record and tying the then-NFL record for the longest interception return.[6][7] He also earned NFL first-team honors that year.[8] The Giants went on to face theGreen Bay Packers in the1962 NFL Championship Game, having lost 37–0 to the same team in theprevious 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 teammateJim Collier in the end zone in a 16–7 loss.[6][9]
After the 1964 season, the Giants traded him to theCleveland Browns – his favorite team as a child[10] – for linebackerMike Lucci and a 1966 third round draft pick which the Giants then traded to Detroit for quarterbackEarl Morrall.[11] This trade further aggravated the demise of a once stellar Giants defense that had already lost standoutsSam Huff andDick Modzelewski, who was also traded to the Browns and an integral component of their 1964 NFL championship team after the 1963 season.[1] 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.[3] He ended his career with 45 interceptions, returning seven for touchdowns.[1] During his NFL career, he was selected to thePro Bowl six times and was anAll-Pro selection four times.[2]
Barnes was known as an aggressive, physical player.[10] In 2012, the ClevelandPlain Dealer's Mike Pettica ranked him as the No. 63 player in Browns' history (counting only what players did playing for Cleveland).[11] TheProfessional Football Researchers Association named Barnes to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2013.[12]
Barnes was elected to theIndiana Football Hall of Fame in 1986,[13] and thePurdue University Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.[14]
After retiring from professional football in 1971, Barnes went on to work in the New York City area as a corporate special events planner.[1]
Barnes married Violet Ward; the couple remained together until his death. Erich had three daughters ;Charissa, Djuna, and Tessa. In 1963, he appeared as one of the impostors on the panel game showTo Tell the Truth, claiming to be a sentinel at theTomb of the Unknown Soldier.[4][15]
Barnes died on April 29, 2022, at a hospital nearHastings-on-Hudson, New York, aged 86, following an unspecified lengthy illness.[1][6]