Detroit Lions īarney was selected by the Detroit Lions in the second round, 34th overall pick, of the 1967 NFL Draft. He was also selected as an All-American by Ebony magazine and the Pittsburgh Courier. Barney was an All- Southwestern Athletic Conference selection three straight years. He also had punt averages of 41.7 and 42.5 in those two seasons. He had 26 career interceptions at Jackson State, including nine in 1965 and 11 in 1966. He played college football for the Jackson State Tigers football team from 1964 to 1966 under head coach Rod Paige. His son Lem Barney the 3rd and Grandson Lem Barney the 4th also followed in his footsteps and graduated from Jackson State. Football career Jackson State īarney attended Jackson State University, a historically black university in Jackson, Mississippi. He played at the quarterback position for his high school football team. He attended the 33rd Avenue High School in Gulfport. 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.īarney was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1945. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992. He was selected as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1967, played in seven Pro Bowls, and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 19. He was drafted by Detroit and played for the Lions as a cornerback, return specialist, and punter from 1967 to 1977. A native of Gulfport, Mississippi, he played college football at Jackson State from 1964 to 1966. Check it out here.Īnd now, as they say, you know the rest of the story.Lemuel Joseph Barney (September 8, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL). John Niyo of The Detroit News gives the full account in a great piece, including interviews with Barney and Schmidt. They even both received a gold album for their work. And, by the way, Gaye returned the favor to Barney and Farr a year later, as they appeared on his now legendary album, What's Going On (you can hear their back and forth conversations in the background of the seminal title cut). Gaye didn't make the Detroit Lions, but the tryout scratched an itch for him, and created a story of a lifetime for Barney, Farr, Schmidt and the City of Detroit. While he was a good athlete, it takes a lot more than that to make a pro football team. And it became a big deal locally when he announced the upcoming tryout on television (can you imagine what social media would say today?). Gaye made a gym in his garage and bulked up, even as he began running five miles a day. And he pestered Farr and Barney to get him a tryout with the Lions, whose coach, Joe Schmidt (another Hall of Famer), ran a fairly loose training camp.Īfter weeks of talking about it, Schmidt finally relented in July of 1970 and gave Gaye a tryout. And Gaye, an avid sports fan and good athlete, was a football fanatic. In the late 60s, Gaye had become close friends with the Lions' offensive and defensive stars, running back Mel Farr and defensive back Lem Barney (a future Hall of Famer). It was the time that the great Marvin Gaye tried out for the Detroit Lions football team of the NFL. It's a story that's well known among Detroiters of a certain age, but has generally been forgotten elsewhere. July 1970 - Marvin Gaye tries out for the Detroit Lions
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