Erich Barnes

Erich (pronounced Ee-Rich) Theodore Barnes (born July 4, 1935 in Elkhart, Indiana) was an American football defensive back in the National Football League. He was a six-time Pro Bowler. Before the NFL he was an outstanding all around athlete at Purdue University (1956 - 58). Barnes was drafted fourth by the Bears in the 1958 NFL Draft and traded to the Giants in 1961. He tied an NFL record in his first season with the Giants by intercepting a pass against the Cowboys and returnig it 102 yards for a touchdown. In the 1962 NFL Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers in New York, the Giants tried to redeem themselves from a 37-0 shellacking by the Packers in the 1961 title game. However, they lost again to Lombardi's Packers on a fiercely windy and cold day in Yankee Stadium. Barnes provided the only scoring for the Giants when he blocked a punt that was recovered by a teammate in the end zone in a 16-7 loss. Barnes was known as a physical player. His trade by the Giants to the Cleveland Browns after the 1964 season further aggravated the demise of a once stellar defense that had already lost standouts Sam Huff and Dick Modzelewski, also traded to the Browns and an integral component of their 1964 NFL championship team]] after the 1963 season. While with the Browns, Barnes was known for standing at the goalpost (then stationed at the goal line) and blocking field goal attempts. A practice later outlawed in the NFL.

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