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Former Detroit Lions running back and entrepreneur Mel Farr died suddenly at the age of 70.
Born in Beaumont, Texas, Farr was an outstanding all around athlete who would become a football star at UCLA. The Detroit Lions would select him as their first round draft pick in 1967. Farr would make an immediate impact and become the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, while his teammate Lem Barney would win the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Farr would also earn the first of his two trips to the Pro Bowl. Farr played his entire NFL career with the Lions before retiring after the 1973 season.
Here’s a piece of trivia. Both Farr and Lem Barney would sing back-up vocals on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” As it turns out, Farr and Barney would later arrange for Gaye to have a tryout with the Lions in 1970. Although Gaye trained hard, his talent was in his voice.
As for Farr, his talents would be found in the business world. In 1975, Farr would open up his first Ford dealership and would eventually own 11 of them in the Detroit area. A series of lawsuits and bad credit policies would diminish his empire and by 2003 he would be out of the automobile business.
Back in 1986, our local cable outlet in Thunder Bay switched its American TV signal from Duluth, Minnesota to Detroit. Our eyes got wide open to American life — the good, the bad, and the ugly. In Detroit, there was plenty of ugly. But there was some good stuff. One of the things I remember most fondly about Detroit TV other than getting to watch Detroit Tigers games was the Mel Farr Superstar commercials that he would appear in wearing a beige suit and a cape in his ongoing crusade against high prices. There was a charm about him and these commercials (like the one I’ve posted above) that always put a smile on my face, and I suspect I’m not alone in this sentiment.
