#Detroit lions lem barney pro#

He also returned 143 punts for 1,312 yards and three touchdowns as well as 50 kickoff returns for 1,274 yards, including a 98-yard return for touchdown. During his 11 years in the NFL, Barney had 56 interceptions, 1,011 interception return yards, and seven interceptions returned for touchdowns.

#Detroit lions lem barney pro#

īarney went on to be selected to seven Pro Bowls and was selected as a first-team All-NFL player in 19. Īfter the 1967 season, Barney played in the 1968 Pro Bowl, and in the off-season, he was married and also served six months of active duty in the Navy.

At the end of the 1967 season, he was selected by the Associated Press as the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the final game of his rookie season, Barney intercepted three passes within ten minutes and returned one 71 yards for a touchdown. On September 17, 1967, in the first quarter of his first NFL game, Barney intercepted the first pass thrown in his direction by Bart Starr and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown. After an injury to Pat Studstill, Barney also took over as the Lions' punter, punting 47 times for an average of 37.4 yards in 1967. As a rookie in 1967, Barney appeared in all 14 games as a starting cornerback and led the NFL with 10 interceptions, 232 interception return yards and three interceptions returned for touchdowns. Detroit Lionsīarney 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 Stateīarney 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. Early yearsīarney was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, in 1945. 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. 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 the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) 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. Lemuel Joseph Barney (September 8, 1945) is a former American football player. Most interceptions returned for touchdown in a season by a rookie: 3 (1967 tied with Ronnie Lott and Janoris Jenkins).

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year (1967).