Detroit Lions Top 50: #44-40 with VIDEO
40. Mel Farr, RB, 1967-1973
Mel Farr was the number seven overall selection in the first-round in the 1967 NFL draft by Detroit. In 1967, Farr joined the Detroit Lions, and won the year’s NFL Rookie of the Year award. He spent his entire career from 1967 through 1973 with the Lions, and earned trips to the Pro Bowl in 1967 and 1970.
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Farr played football for the UCLA Bruins in college, where he was named to the all AAWU conference team and named All Coast in 1965 and 1966. He was also an 1988 Inductee into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
He played seven years with the Lions, making two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro team in that time frame. While never quite a dominating force, Farr was a solid starter who averaged 4.2 yards per carry over his career and was equally a dangerous force as a receiver.
After his retirement from pro football, Farr entered the business world, and in 1975 opened the Mel Farr Ford automobile dealership in Oak Park, Michigan. By 1998, the Mel Farr Auto Group grossed $596.6 million.
If none of that was enough to impress you, Farr and his teammate Lem Barney also sang background vocals on the 1971 Marvin Gaye song “What’s Going On“.
Stay tuned to Detroit Jock City to continue our countdown of the 50 greatest players in Detroit Lions history. Numbers 39-35 are coming your way soon!