GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In the 1950s, the Detroit Lions were a dominant team, winning three NFL championships in a six-year span.
While the cardiac cats have not returned to a title game since then, the Lions' most recent championship team had help from an alumnus of Central High School in Grand Rapids.
A three-sport athlete, Terry Barr set records running track, played basketball and co-captained football team at Central High, the oldest continually operating high school in the state. During his senior year in 1953, the quarterback was voted Mr. Prep Sports as Central High finished in a three-way tie for second place in the city league.
"Really a homegrown sports legend," said Derrick Martin, an alumnus and principal of Central High, now called Innovation Central High School.
Barr stayed in the state after graduation, enrolling at the University of Michigan. He pivoted to playing halfback and was voted the football team's most valuable player in 1955.
"In all accounts that I have read, Barr was a gentleman and an extremely kind man," Martin said. "I think, more than anything, it probably would have been a pretty humbling experience for him to have achieved such great things."
In 1957, selected 36th overall by the Detroit Lions in the third round of the NFL draft, Barr turned pro. He played defensive back and returned kicks as a rookie. As his skills developed, he switched to wide receiver, packing the stat sheet with 35 touchdowns, 227 receptions and nearly 4,000 receiving yards over a nine-year NFL career.
It was during Barr's rookie season, though, that the Lions won the 1957 NFL Championship, beating the Cleveland Browns in a 59-14 rout. Barr did his part, returning an interception for a touchdown.
"Every single day. Every single day," Martin said about how often he talks about Barr's connection to Innovation Central High School. "It's important that our students know their school's history, that they know the greatness that came from this building."
While the high school has changed names in its hundred-plus-year history, its building remains largely the same. Students walk the same halls Barr did. They sit in the same classrooms.
"[Barr] serves as an example of what could be," Martin said.
In 2009, Barr passed away at the age of 73. He is a member of the University of Michigan Hall of Honor, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame.
"This is a school steeped in very rich history and tradition, and we want to try to continue that tradition," Martin said. "Helping our students understand where they come from, it really informs where we're going as a school."
