Mel Farr Auto Group

Mel Farr
Born	(1944-11-03) 3 November 1944 Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
Died	3 August 2015(2015-08-03) (aged 70)
Occupation(s)	Professional American football athlete, entrepreneur
Years active	1967–1973 (football)
Known for	NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (1967), Pro Bowl (1967, 1970), largest African-American owned auto dealership group

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

Originating from Beaumont, Texas, Farr excelled as a halfback during his college football career with the 1965 and 1966 UCLA Bruins football team squads, which finished ranked No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in the final AP Polls. In 1966, he earned consensus first-team All-American honors, surpassed 1,000 yards from scrimmage in both 1965 and 1966 seasons, and was later 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 team. During his rookie year, he led the Lions in rushing and receiving, accumulating 1,177 yards from scrimmage, which earned him the distinction of NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Farr was chosen for the Pro Bowl twice, in 1967 and again in 1970. Despite a career curtailed by injuries, he amassed 4,446 total yards from scrimmage and scored 36 touchdowns over his NFL tenure.

Following his retirement from professional football, Farr purchased a Ford Motor Company dealership in 1975 and subsequently expanded 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 encountered failure in 2002 amid unfavorable publicity and legal challenges related to 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 time there, 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. Farr's elder sibling, Miller Farr, enjoyed a nine-season career as a defensive back in the NFL spanning from 1965 to 1973.

UCLA

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

Throughout the 1965 and 1966 seasons, Farr joined forces with Gary Beban to form what Sports Illustrated termed the "dream backfield" at UCLA. In 1965, he served as the starting halfback for coach Tommy Prothro's Bruins squad that achieved an 8–2–1 record, clinched the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) title, triumphed over the top-ranked Michigan State in the 1966 Rose Bowl, and secured the No. 4 spot in the final AP Poll. That season, Farr amassed 1,001 yards from scrimmage—821 rushing and 180 receiving—and scored eight touchdowns. Notably, he executed a 49-yard touchdown run contributing to an upset against No. 6-ranked USC. His average of 6.7 yards per carry led the AAWU and was second nationally in the NCAA. At season's end, conference coaches honored him as a 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 was again UCLA's starting halfback on the Bruins team that posted a 9–1 record and finished No. 5 in the final AP Poll. He totaled 1,034 yards from scrimmage—comprising 809 rushing and 150 receiving—and recorded eleven touchdowns. His performance earned him seventh place in the Heisman Trophy voting. By season’s conclusion, Farr had been named a consensus first-team running back 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

In the 1967 NFL/AFL draft, the Detroit Lions selected Farr as the seventh overall pick in the first round. During his rookie season with the Lions in 1967, Farr achieved a standout performance by rushing for 197 yards in a single game against the Minnesota Vikings. He accumulated a total of 1,177 yards from scrimmage and ranked fifth in the league with 860 rushing yards. Farr led Detroit in both rushing yards and receptions, recording 39 catches. His impressive debut earned him the National Football League Rookie of the Year Award from United Press International, while the Associated Press honored him as Offensive Rookie of the Year, with teammate Lem Barney receiving 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—and scoring three touchdowns in a 28–10 win over the Chicago Bears. The following week, he set a franchise record by carrying the ball 29 times for 145 rushing yards. Through the first six games of that season, Farr led the NFL with 490 rushing yards. However, his momentum was halted when he sustained an injury on his left knee during the third play against the San Francisco 49ers, causing him to miss five games and undergo surgery. He completed the 1968 campaign with 972 yards from scrimmage, including 597 on the ground and 375 through receptions. His average of 66.3 rushing yards per game placed him fifth among NFL rushers that year.

Farr made a comeback in 1969 following knee surgery but suffered a severe left knee injury during the fifth game of the season after 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 previous setback. Over those five games in 1969, Farr rushed for 245 yards on 58 carries.

Returning from his second knee operation in 1970, Farr amassed 930 yards from scrimmage—717 rushing and 213 receiving—and earned selection to his second Pro Bowl. Notably, after missing Detroit’s Thanksgiving Day contests in both 1968 and 1969 due to injury, he rushed for 121 yards and caught two long passes during the Lions’ Thanksgiving game in 1970.

Beyond football, Farr and teammate Lem Barney contributed background vocals to Marvin Gaye’s song "What's Going On", which was released in January 1971.

In July of that year, Farr inked a three-year contract extension with Detroit. He appeared in nine games during the 1971 season but started only once, as injuries continued to affect his performance. Additionally, he lost his starting running back role to Steve Owens, who rushed for over 1,000 yards that year, and to Altie Taylor. Farr concluded the season with a total of 64 rushing yards on 22 carries.

During the 1972 season, Farr remained with the Lions primarily as a backup to Steve Owens. His most notable performance came on October 22 against the San Diego Chargers, where he gained 96 yards and scored two touchdowns on 22 carries. For that year’s campaign, Farr totaled 216 rushing yards on 62 attempts.

In the following season, Farr played in eleven games and started seven times, rushing for a total of 373 yards on 97 carries. By mid-December, he expressed contemplation about retiring from professional football, describing 1973 as "one of the worst seasons for me as far as frustration."

In March 1974, Detroit traded Farr to the Houston Oilers. Less than two weeks later, he announced his retirement from professional football.

Auto dealerships

During his teenage years in Texas, Farr assisted his father, Miller Farr Sr., in purchasing older vehicles, often needing repairs, from junkyards and reselling them from a makeshift lot set up 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 gained experience working for Ford Motor Company's dealer development division during the NFL off-season. After retiring from professional football in November 1975, Farr used his savings to acquire a neglected Ford dealership located in Oak Park, Michigan.

The 1980 recession negatively impacted Ford's sales. To boost business, Farr appeared in television commercials dressed as a red-caped superhero wearing a sharp suit, promoting himself as "Mel Farr, your superstar dealer," assuring potential customers that visiting Mel Farr Ford would result in "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. His operations generated annual revenues exceeding $500 million. The following year, his dealership group reported gross sales of $596.6 million, positioning it as the largest black-owned business in the United States and ranking it as the 33rd biggest auto dealership nationwide.

Farr focused on serving the subprime market segment while expanding into used car sales, offering financing with interest rates reaching up to 25 percent. In 2000, his enterprises faced criticism related to their sales tactics and credit policies. Legal challenges arose concerning Farr's On-Time Device, a mechanism installed on leased vehicles designed to prevent operation if payments were missed. In June 2000, Farr resolved a lawsuit filed by customers who alleged that the device disabled their cars while driving despite being current on payments. Approximately 1,500 affected customers received $200 worth of coupons as compensation.

By January 2002, Farr entered negotiations to sell his Oak Park and Waterford Township franchises back to Ford Motor Company, which held outstanding liens against him. These dealerships were sold in April 2002 and subsequently shut down. Following a default on a $36.5 million bond agreement, Farr disposed of his last remaining dealership in 2003.

Family and later years

In the mid-1960s, Farr entered into marriage with 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, along with a daughter named Monet. Both sons pursued football careers at UCLA before advancing to professional play in the NFL.

Farr's marital history includes three marriages. After more than 35 years together, he and Mae divorced in 2002. 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. His third marriage was to Jasmine Rozier; the couple had a daughter, Melia, born on November 3, 2015, shortly following Farr’s passing.

On August 3, 2015, Farr passed away at his Detroit residence at the age of 70 due to a massive heart attack. Posthumously, he was diagnosed with stage 3 CTE. He is among at least 345 former NFL players identified after death with this condition, which results from repeated head trauma sustained during their careers.