American football player and businessman (1944–2015)
For his son, see Mel Farr Jr.
American football player
Mel Farr
Farr from 1965 UCLA yearbook
No. 24
Position:
Running back
Personal information
Born:
(1944-11-03)November 3, 1944 Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died:
August 3, 2015(2015-08-03) (aged 70) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Height:
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:
210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school:
Hebert (Beaumont, Texas)
College:
UCLA
NFL draft:
1967 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Career history
Detroit Lions (1967–1973)
Career highlights and awards
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1967)
Second-team All-Pro (1970)
2× Pro Bowl (1967, 1970)
Consensus All-American (1966)
2× First-team All-Pacific-8 (1965, 1966)
Career NFL statistics
Rushing yards:
3,072
Rushing average:
4.2
Rushing touchdowns:
26
Player stats at PFR
Melvin Farr (November 3, 1944 – August 3, 2015) was an American professional football player and businessman.
A native of Beaumont, Texas, Farr played college football as a halfback on the 1965 and 1966 UCLA Bruins football teams that were ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in the final AP Polls. He was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1966, gained over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in both 1965 and 1966, and was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.
Farr was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the first round, seventh overall pick, of the 1967 NFL Draft and played seven years as a running back for the Lions. He led the Lions in both rushing and receiving in 1967, totaling 1,177 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, and was selected as the NFL Rookie of the Year. He was twice selected to play in the Pro Bowl, in 1967 and 1970. In a career shortened by injury, Farr gained a total of 4,446 yards from scrimmage and scored 36 touchdowns during his seven years in the NFL.[1]
After retiring from football, Farr acquired a Ford Motor Company dealership in 1975, eventually expanding his business to 11 dealerships in five states. By 1998, Farr's automotive group was cited as the largest African-American owned company in the country. His business failed in 2002 following adverse publicity and lawsuits relating to sales and finance practices.
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"MelFarr, your superstar dealer," promising that if the viewer came to MelFarr Ford, he or she would receive "a Farr better deal." By 1997, Farr had...
brother and cousins, football players MelFarr, Lem Barney, and Jerry LeVias, and cousin, singer Marvin Gaye. Farr was a first-round draft choice by the...
mid 40s Chris Eitzmann – late 30s Kevin Ellison – late 20s James Evans MelFarr Grant Feasel Gene Felker Cullen Finnerty – late 20s Danny Fulton Frank...
Gaye unsuccessfully tried out for the Lions in 1970. Barney and teammate MelFarr sang background vocals on Gaye's classic 1971 song "What's Going On". In...
award next?". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2014. "Farr, Barney Best Rookies". Alton Evening Telegraph. Associated Press. December...
Miller Farr, and the younger brother of former NFL player MelFarr, Jr. Farr and his brother are members of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. The Farr lineage...
the Associated Press NFL Rookie of the Year Award: Lem Barney (1967), MelFarr (1967), Earl McCullouch (1968), Al Baker (1978), Billy Sims (1980), Barry...
Thomas, Angleton High School, linebacker† MelFarr, Beaumont Hebert High School, defensive back Miller Farr, Beaumont Hebert High School, defensive back...
football team, the Detroit Lions, where he later befriended MelFarr and Lem Barney. Barney and Farr had gotten gold records for providing backup vocals for...
Kowalkowski and Ed Flanagan to build up the offensive line and running back MelFarr. Despite said players being Pro Bowlers, the Lions still needed a franchise...
both the NFL's Offensive and Defensive rookies of the year: running back MelFarr and cornerback Lem Barney. Source: Detroit Lions (0–0) at Green Bay Packers...
NFL rookies and ranked second in Lions' rookie history. He was named the MelFarr Rookie of the Year, honouring the Detroit Lions' most outstanding rookie...
$542-million proposal for the Trump Motor City Hotel Casino, in partnership with MelFarr. The bid was ultimately dropped from consideration because of Mayor Dennis...
executed it perfectly and linebacker Dallas Grider fell on the ball. Halfback MelFarr ran for 21 yards to the Spartan 22. In preparation for the game, UCLA assistant...
Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (b. 1917) 2015 – MelFarr, American football player and businessman (b. 1944) 2015 – Coleen Gray...
Western T–6th 4 9 1 .321 1967 1967 NFL Western Central 3rd 5 7 2 .429 MelFarr (OROYTooltip National Football League Offensive Rookie of the Year Award)...
Farmer – George Farmer (father), Danny Farmer (son) Farr – MelFarr (father); MelFarr Jr., Mike Farr (sons) Fassel – Jim Fassel (father), John Fassel (son)...
Francisco 49ers Brian Bonner LB Minnesota Big Ten 9 248 Denver Broncos MelFarr Jr. RB UCLA Pac-10 9 249 Washington Redskins Peterson, BlakeBlake Peterson ...
game. Needing a win against 4–5 USC, UCLA struggled. Gaston Green and MelFarr Jr. had fumbles in the game. UCLA was leading in the fourth quarter 13–10...
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