Mel Farr

Melvin Farr
Born	(1944-11-03) November 3, 1944 Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died	August 3, 2015(2015-08-03) (aged 70)
Occupation(s)	Professional American football player, businessman
Years active	1967–1973 (football), 1975–2002 (business)
Known for	NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1967), Pro Bowl selections (1967, 1970), founder of Mel Farr Auto Group

Melvin Farr: Athlete and Entrepreneur

Melvin Farr (November 3, 1944 – August 3, 2015) was a professional American football athlete and later a prominent businessman.

Originating from Beaumont, Texas, Farr played collegiate football as a halfback for the 1965 and 1966 UCLA Bruins football team squads, both finishing ranked No. 4 and No. 5 in the final AP Poll standings, respectively. He earned consensus first-team All-American honors in 1966, surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage in consecutive seasons (1965 and 1966), and was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.

Selected seventh overall in the first round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft by the Detroit Lions, Farr spent seven seasons as a running back with the Lions. During his rookie year, he led the team in both rushing and receiving, accumulating 1,177 yards from scrimmage and earning the title of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Farr was chosen for the Pro Bowl twice, appearing in the 1967 and 1970 games. Despite a career shortened by injuries, he amassed 4,446 total yards from scrimmage and scored 36 touchdowns over seven NFL seasons.

Following his football career, Farr purchased a Ford Motor Company dealership in 1975 and grew his enterprise to encompass 11 dealerships across five states. By 1998, his automotive group was recognized as the largest African-American owned business nationwide. However, his company ultimately collapsed in 2002 amid negative publicity and legal challenges concerning sales and financing practices.

Early life

Born in Beaumont, Texas in 1944, Farr was the child of a truck driver and a homemaker. He completed his education at Hebert High School, a segregated institution in Beaumont, graduating in 1963. During his high school years, he earned varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track. His athletic achievements included all-state honors in football and track, as well as all-district recognition in basketball. His elder sibling, Miller Farr, had a nine-year career as a defensive back in the NFL from 1965 through 1973.

UCLA

Farr initiated his collegiate football journey at Santa Monica City College before transferring to UCLA in 1964. Late August of that year saw him suffer a hairline fracture to his left arm. Upon recovery, he participated in ten games during the 1964 season, accumulating 86 rushing yards on 27 attempts.

Throughout the 1965 and 1966 seasons, Farr and teammate Gary Beban formed the nucleus of UCLA's backfield, which was heralded as the "dream backfield" by Sports Illustrated. In 1965, Farr served as starting halfback for Tommy Prothro's squad that finished with an 8–2–1 record. The team secured the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) title, triumphed over top-ranked Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl, and concluded the season ranked fourth in the final AP Poll. Farr amassed a total of 1,001 yards from scrimmage—821 rushing and 180 receiving—and scored eight touchdowns. A highlight from that year included a pivotal 49-yard touchdown run contributing to an upset over No. 6-ranked USC. His rushing average of 6.7 yards per carry led the AAWU and ranked second nationally in the NCAA. At the conclusion of the season, conference coaches honored him with first-team halfback on the 1965 All-Pacific Athletic Conference football team, while the United Press International included him on its All-West Coast football team.

In the following year, Farr continued as UCLA’s starting halfback for the 1966 UCLA Bruins football team, which achieved a 9–1 record and secured fifth place in the final AP Poll. He recorded a total of 1,034 yards from scrimmage—809 rushing and 150 receiving—and scored eleven touchdowns. Additionally, he placed seventh in the voting for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. By season’s end, he earned consensus first-team running back honors on the 1966 College Football All-America Team.

In recognition of his collegiate accomplishments, Farr was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988.

Detroit Lions

Mel Farr was chosen by the Detroit Lions as the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. In his rookie season with Detroit in 1967, Farr achieved 197 rushing yards in a single game against the Minnesota Vikings, accumulated a total of 1,177 yards from scrimmage, and ranked fifth across the NFL with 860 rushing yards. He led the Lions both in rushing yards and receptions, with 39 catches, earning him the distinction of NFL Rookie of the Year by United Press International. The Associated Press also honored Farr as Offensive Rookie of the Year, while his teammate Lem Barney received Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

In October 1968, Farr was recognized by the AP as the NFL offensive player of the week after amassing 210 total yards (138 rushing and 72 receiving) along with three touchdowns in a 28–10 win over the Chicago Bears. The subsequent week, he established a new team record with 29 rushing attempts, gaining 145 yards on the ground. Through the first six games of that season, he led all NFL rushers with 490 yards, but suffered an injury on his left knee’s third play against the San Francisco 49ers, which caused him to miss five games and require surgery. Farr concluded the 1968 campaign with 972 scrimmage yards—597 rushing and 375 receiving. His average of 66.3 rushing yards per game placed him fifth in the league that year.

After recovering from knee surgery, Farr returned in 1969 but incurred a severe left knee injury during the fifth game following a hit by Bennie McRae of the Chicago Bears. This injury involved a complete tear of an inside ligament and was deemed more serious than his prior knee issue. In those five games in 1969, he rushed for 245 yards on 58 carries.

Farr made a comeback in 1970 after his second knee operation, compiling a total of 930 scrimmage yards—717 on the ground and 213 receiving. His performance earned him a selection to his second Pro Bowl. After missing Thanksgiving Day games in both 1968 and 1969 due to injuries, Farr delivered an impressive performance in Detroit’s 1970 Thanksgiving game by rushing for 121 yards and catching two significant passes.

In an unexpected crossover, Farr contributed background vocals alongside teammate Lem Barney on Marvin Gaye’s track "What's Going On", which was released in January 1971.

Farr secured a three-year contract extension with Detroit in July 1971. During that season, he appeared in nine games but started only once as injuries continued to limit his playtime. He lost his starting running back position to Steve Owens, who rushed for over 1,000 yards that year, and also to Altie Taylor. His rushing total for the season was limited to just 64 yards on 22 carries.

Remaining with the Lions as a backup to Owens in 1972, Farr had his standout game on October 22 against the San Diego Chargers, where he rushed for 96 yards and scored twice on 22 attempts. That year, he accumulated a total of 216 rushing yards on 62 carries.

In the following year, Farr took part in eleven games and started seven times. He gained 373 rushing yards on 97 carries. By mid-December, he expressed thoughts about retiring from football and described his performance during the season as highly frustrating.

In March of 1974, Detroit traded Farr to the Houston Oilers. However, just twelve days later, he declared his retirement from professional football.

Auto dealerships

During his teenage years in Texas, Farr assisted his father, Miller Farr Sr., in acquiring used vehicles—often fixer-uppers sourced from junkyards—and selling them from an improvised car lot located in their front yard, known as Farr's New and Used. The Detroit Lions were owned by William Clay Ford Sr., the last living grandson of Henry Ford, and Farr worked seasonally for Ford Motor Company within the dealer development division. Upon retiring from the NFL in November 1975, Farr invested his savings to purchase a neglected Ford dealership situated in Oak Park, Michigan.

Ford's sales declined amid the 1980 recession. To boost business, Farr began appearing in television commercials dressed as a superhero with a red cape and stylish suit, identifying himself as "Mel Farr, your superstar dealer." In these ads, he promised customers visiting Mel Farr Ford would receive "a Farr better deal."

By 1997, Farr had grown his Mel Farr Auto Group to encompass 14 dealerships across five states—Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, and Texas—with annual revenues exceeding $500 million. The following year, his dealership group reported $596.6 million in gross sales, ranking as the largest black-owned enterprise in the United States and the 33rd biggest auto dealership nationwide.

Farr concentrated on serving the subprime market while expanding into used car sales and offering financing with interest rates reaching up to 25 percent. In 2000, Farr's companies faced negative media attention concerning their sales tactics and credit policies. Legal issues arose regarding the On-Time Device, which disabled leased vehicles if payments were missed. In June 2000, Farr settled a lawsuit brought by customers who alleged that the device shut off their cars while they were driving, despite claims of timely payments. As part of the settlement, approximately 1,500 affected customers received $200 in coupons each.

By January 2002, Farr was negotiating with Ford Motor Company to sell his Oak Park and Waterford Township franchises; Ford held outstanding liens against him. These dealerships were sold in April 2002 and eventually closed. After defaulting on a $36.5 million bond package, Farr relinquished ownership of his last dealership in 2003.

Family and later years

In the mid-1960s, Farr married his first spouse, Mae Rutha (Forbes) Farr. Together, they had three children: two sons, Mel Farr Jr., born in 1966, and Mike Farr, born in 1967, as well as a daughter named Monet. Both of his sons pursued football careers at UCLA before advancing to play professionally in the NFL.

Throughout his life, Farr entered into three marriages. His union with Mae ended in divorce in 2002 after more than three and a half decades together. Between 2004 and 2009, he was wed to Linda Johnson Rice, who serves as president and CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., the publisher behind Ebony and Jet magazines. Farr's third marriage was to Jasmine Rozier; they had a daughter, Melia, who was born on November 3, 2015, shortly following Farr’s passing.

Farr passed away at age 70 from a massive heart attack at his Detroit residence on August 3, 2015. Posthumously, he was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE. He is among at least 345 former NFL athletes found to have this condition after death—a disease linked to repeated head trauma sustained over time.