Lions legend running back and Detroit’s superstar auto dealership owner Mel Farr died yesterday at the age of 70.
The fast paced running back out of UCLA won the co-rookie of the year award in 1967 with teammate Lem Barney. He played seven seasons for Detroit before retiring due to nagging injuries.
“He was a fun guy, sincere guy, a loving guy,” Barney said. “He was a guy that everybody would want on his team. You would want Mel on your team. Good instincts, great heart. Very generous and a serious guy. He’s going to sorely be missed.”
Farr’s was the No. 7 overall pick in the 1967 draft. The gifted back worked for Ford Motor Co. in the off-season throughout his football career. The experience helped him transition into life after retirement.
“I worked for Ford Motor Co. for seven years in the off-season. I worked in an area called dealer development,” Farr said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press a few years ago. “You see, in 1967 when I came here, Detroit was literally on fire because of the riots and so Henry Ford II said, ‘You know, we’re going to make Ford dealerships available to African-Americans,’ because before 1967 there were no African-American Ford dealers.
This prompted Farr to open 11 dealerships with his automotive group at the height of his success post retirement. Farr was known as the “superstar” businessman amongst local car buyers. Locally, commercials featured Farr with a cape and action hero worthy scripts to go along with his catchy car sale deals.
As a respected businessman, in the spring of 1980, Farr, with a group of minority dealers convened in Detroit to discuss strategies for survival after financial problems plagued smaller dealerships.
He was an integral part in forming the Minority Auto Dealers Association (MADA), now the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) which arranged a series of meetings in Washington D.C. with President Jimmy Carter and his administration to gain support on business survival measures as, immediate and low interest business loans, refundable tax credits for consumers purchasing new cars and trucks, and the restructuring and moratorium on repayment of dealer development debt.
Farr’s cause of death is still unknown, but an autopsy is underway. He is survived by his wife, Jasmine and children: daughters Monet and Milan and sons Mel Jr., and Mike.
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