DETROIT – Detroit Lions legend Lem Barney has died, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was 80.
Before Barry Sanders elusively ran into the NFL Hall of Fame, and before Billy Sims’ spectacular but short Detroit Lions run, the Honolulu Blue and silver No. 20 belonged to Lem Barney.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame confirmed his passing, releasing this statement on Sunday, from President & CEO Jim Porter:
“Media reporting the death of Lem Barney will recount his many football accolades – and that praise was well earned. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967 and later named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1960s. He was a member of both the Pro Football and Black College Football halls of fame, demonstrating his elite level of athletic talent. But it’s also Lem’s life after football that also should be celebrated today. Over the better part of five decades Lem devoted himself to the betterment of others. The Special Olympics, the United Way, the Easter Seals, the United Negro College Fund and the Boy Scouts of America are just some of the many organizations that benefitted from Lem giving back to his community unselfishly and with little fanfare. Lem was a regular in Canton during Enshrinement Week, and his consistent presence here welcoming new class members will be missed.”
Barney put it on the map first from the defensive side, showing an uncanny nose for the ball.
Born Lemuel Joseph Barney on Sept. 8, 1945 in Gulfport, Mississippi, he played quarterback in high school. But in 1964, the fleet-footed Barney moved to cornerback at Jackson State University. There he displayed exceptional ball hawking skills, and proved adept in the return game.
Immediate impact with Lions
After a notable two-year college career, the Lions picked Barney in the 1967 draft’s second round. He made the same immediate impact in Detroit. In his first game with the Lions, in the first 10 minutes, he pick-sixed Super Bowl champion Bart Starr.
Barney would go on to nab 10 interceptions that year with two more pick-sixes, a league-best 232 yards. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year and never looked back. In a 10-season career he picked off an eye-popping 56 passes with 10 touchdowns. But he contributed in many other ways, too.
While a fearless tackler, he also returned punts and kickoffs and found the end zone more often than anyone ever expected. Selected All-Pro in 1968, he went to seven Pro Bowls. In the middle of all of that he spent six months on active duty in the Navy.
Lem Barney — Detroit Lions (Detroit Lions)Friendship with Marvin Gaye
Barney strangely found himself in the rarified air of the pop music industry. In 1968, he had just finished training camp practice and headed south on Woodward Avenue with one goal in mind: To find and meet his favorite Motown artist, Marvin Gaye. Barney heard that Gaye often played golf at the Palmer Park Golf Course.
“I asked the manager, ‘Is Marvin Gaye out playing today?’ He said, ‘No, he’s not playing today, sir. But if you continue down Seven Mile, he’s the second block at Outer Drive,” Barney said.
Barney confidently followed through and walked right up to Gaye’s front door.
“I hit the doorbell, and it’s a chime, bling, bloom, bloom, bloom, bling, bloom. The door opens and all of a sudden, it’s Marvin. And he said, ‘Yeah man, what’s up man?’ I said, ‘Look, Mr. Gaye, my name is Lem Barney. I just came by to tell you what a great musician and entertainer you are,’” Barney said. “He said, ‘Who’d you say you are?’ I said, ‘Lem Barney.’ He said, ‘Not the guy that plays for the Lions?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Man you’re too small.’ I said, ‘No, it’s me man.’”
And they became fast friends. The Lions drafted UCLA running back Mel Farr one round before Barney, and they both spent a lot of time with Marvin Gaye, including at Hitsville. They ended up singing backup on the gold record “What’s Going On” in 1970.
“He said, ‘We’re going to record this.’ I said, ‘OK. Well, we had been over there before with him but there wasn’t no ‘we’ in it,” Barney said. “I said, ‘Wow, you’re recording this?’ He said, ‘Yeah, you’re going to be on the record.’”
Barney later joked about the impact of his background vocals.
“I think I gotta put that on top of football, because the best I did in football was make seven Pro Bowls. One playoff in my 11-year career. One singing background (song), and I got a gold record,” he said.
Read more: How Lem Barney met Marvin Gaye
Hall of Fame induction, staying in Detroit
His playing career was certainly notable. In 1992 found himself in rare company: A Detroit Lion inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame, and the NFL even asked him to sing the national anthem at his induction ceremony.
After his playing days ended he decided to stay in Detroit. He worked for Michigan Consolidated Gas for many years, then at Detroit Medical Center (DMC). Years later he sued DMC for firing him. They settled for an undisclosed sum.
In 2018 he sued Happy’s Pizza claiming discrimination. That case was quietly dismissed.
Lem Barney was known as a fashion plate, always smartly dressed with his distinctive bowler hats. And he did regular charitable work in the community.
“It’s always a joy to me to be around them and inspire, motivate and encourage them to let them know that they can do whatever they dream,” he said.
Related: Former Detroit Lion turned auto dealer Mel Farr dies at age 70
Lions Legend Lem Barney is honored as part of the all-time team at halftime of a NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019 in Detroit. (Detroit Lions via AP). (Detroit Lions)
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