Remembering Mel Farr

First the Detroit Lions’ former great tight end Charlie Sanders and now their star former running back, Mel Farr have died. Though death is inevitable and Farr was 70, I might ask “What’s going on,” a great Marvin Gaye song, on which Farr and a Lions great still with us, Lem Barney, sang background.

Mel Farr was much more than a superb runner with U.C.L.A. in college and the Lions in the pros.

He became a great entrepreneur, owning many Ford dealerships and like Dave Bing, another Detroit athlete who got rich, he did much for the community.

Farr’s brother Miller is still with us and I think of them all, including cousins Marvin Gaye and SMU star Jerry Levias.

Farr played in the same college backfield as Gary Beban and each finished high in the Heisman Trophy balloting in 1966 while the honor was afforded to Beban in 1967, the same year Mel won the NFL rookie of the year.

I am sure the Lions will wear some commemorative item honoring both Farr and Sanders in the upcoming 2015 season. They will be missed, but memories of their deeds and football exploits especially in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game in Detroit will live on.