Lemuel Jackson Barney (born September 8, 1945) is an American former professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
and
return specialist
A return specialist or kick returner is a player on the special teams unit of a gridiron football team who specializes in returning punts and kickoffs. There are few players who are exclusively return specialists; most also play another positio ...
for the
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL) from 1967 to 1977, playing occasionally as a
punter as well. He played college football for the
Jackson State Tigers from 1964 to 1966. He was selected by the Lions in the
1967 NFL/AFL draft and played. He was selected as the
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, played in seven
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players.
The format has changed ...
s, and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969. He was inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
in 1992. He has also been inducted into the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame, the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame, the
Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
Early life
Barney was born in
Gulfport, Mississippi
Gulfport ( ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States, and its co-county seat. It had a population of 72,926 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Mississippi, second-most populous ...
, in 1945. He attended the
33rd Avenue High School in Gulfport.
[ He played at the ]quarterback
The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
position for his high school football team.
College career
Barney attended Jackson State University
Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a Public university, public Historically Black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and ...
, a historically black university in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
. 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 the Jackson State Tigers football team from 1964 to 1966 under head coach Rod 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
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...
selection three straight years. He was also selected as an All-American by ''Ebony
Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also includes the persimmon tree. A few ''Diospyros'' species, such as macassar and mun ebony, are dense enough to sink in water. Ebony is fin ...
'' magazine and the ''Pittsburgh Courier
The ''Pittsburgh Courier'' was an African American weekly newspaper published in Pittsburgh from 1907 until October 22, 1966. By the 1930s, the ''Courier'' was one of the leading black newspapers in the United States.
It was acquired in 1965 by ...
''.
Professional career
Barney was selected by the Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
in the second round, 34th overall pick, of the 1967 NFL draft. 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.[ After an injury to Pat Studstill, Barney also took over as the Lions' punter, punting 47 times for an average of 37.4 yards in 1967.][ On September 17, 1967, in the first quarter of his first NFL game, Barney intercepted the first pass thrown in his direction by Bart Starr and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown.][ In the final game of his rookie season, Barney intercepted three passes within ten minutes and returned one 71 yards for a touchdown. At the end of the 1967 season, he was selected by the ]Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.
After the 1967 season, Barney played in the 1968 Pro Bowl
The 1968 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's eighteenth annual all-star game, which featured the outstanding performers from the season. The game was played on January 21, 1968, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California ...
, and in the off-season, he was married and also served six months of active duty in the Navy.[
Barney went on to be selected to seven ]Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (since 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's All-star, star players.
The format has changed ...
s and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 1968 and 1969.[ 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.][
In March 1978, as part of a wiretap investigation into international drug smuggling, Barney's voice was heard allegedly discussing cocaine and amphetamines. Although investigators stated that Barney was not the focus of the investigation, the controversy received extensive press attention through the spring of 1978, as Barney was called to testify before a New York grand jury.
In August 1978, the Lions placed Barney on the injured waiver list. Barney's efforts to sign with another team were unsuccessful, and he did not play during the 1978 season.][ He was officially released by the Lions in February 1979.
]
Awards and honors
After retiring as a player, Barney received numerous honors, including the following:
* In 1980, he was inducted into the Detroit Lions Hall of Fame.
* In 1983, he was inducted into the Jackson State Sports Hall of Fame.
* In 1985, he was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
* In 1986, he was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
* In 1992, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
. Jim David, Barney's position coach with the Lions, gave the induction speech for Barney.
* In 1997, the ''Detroit Free Press
The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...
'' selected Barney as the best cornerback in NFL history.
* In 1999, he was ranked 97th on ''The Sporting News
''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
* In 2004, the Lions retired jersey #20 in tribute to three Lions greats who wore the number: Barney, Billy Sims
Billy Ray Sims (born September 18, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for five seasons with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1984. Sims played college football fo ...
and Barry Sanders.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
Entertainer
Barney is an accomplished singer who began singing with choirs in his youth and college. He befriended Motown
Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...
recording artist Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...
, when Gaye unsuccessfully tried out for the Lions in 1970. Barney and teammate Mel Farr sang background vocals on Gaye's classic 1971 song " What's Going On". In 2015, Barney was invited to sing the national anthem at the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...
induction ceremony.[
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 the ]blaxploitation
In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...
biker film, '' The Black Six''.
Personal life
Barney and his wife, Martha, had a daughter, LaTrece, and a son, Lem III.[ After retiring from the NFL, Barney worked for many years, starting in 1979, in public affairs for Michigan Consolidated Gas Company.] He also worked in the 1980s as a football broadcaster on BET and on pre-season games for the Detroit Lions.[
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. He was found not guilty of the drug charges following a jury trial in 1994.
In 2006, Barney published an autobiography titled, "The Supernatural: Lem Barney".
He held a public relations post at the Detroit Medical Center starting in 2006. After being fired from that position, he filed an age discrimination lawsuit in 2013. 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.
His nephew Milton Barney also played in the NFL.]
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barney, Lem
1945 births
Living people
American football cornerbacks
American football return specialists
American football punters
Detroit Lions announcers
Detroit Lions players
Jackson State Tigers football players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year winners
NFL players with retired numbers
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
Western Conference Pro Bowl players
Methodist ministers
Players of American football from Gulfport, Mississippi