Football player, automobile dealership owner

Melvin Farr was born on November 3, 1944, in Beaumont, Texas, the younger of two sons of Miller and Dorthea Farr. Dorthea Farr did domestic work; Miller Farr drove a cement truck and sold used cars to provide a second income. In 1960, he had opened a car dealership, Farr’s New and Used. Both sons, Miller Jr. and Melvin, worked part-time in their father’s used car business. Melvin, later known as Mel, and Miller Jr. helped their father look for old cars that could be repaired and sold for a profit. They would clean cars and make an initial showing of the cars to customers while Miller Sr. handled the actual sales. From his father, Mel gained experience in running a car dealership and the belief that determination and hard work allow people to overcome obstacles and succeed.

A versatile athlete, Farr graduated from Beaumont’s Herbert High School in 1963, receiving All-State honors in track and football and All-District honors in basketball. Awarded a scholarship to UCLA, Farr was an outstanding tailback and was named a consensus All-American in his junior and senior years. He was inducted into the UCLA Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1967, Farr was the seventh player chosen overall in the National Football League draft and the first choice of the Detroit Lions. He was given a three-year $94,000 contract. Outstanding in his first season, he was named NFL Rookie of the Year and Offensive MVP of the Year. Farr’s assumption that his first year success would enable him to earn a higher salary met with the Detroit Lion’s flat refusal to negotiate. Farr’s agent was unable to attract contracts for him to endorse commercial products, though he did receive $500 as Rookie of the Year.

Farr had an exceptional record with the Lions, becoming a top all-time scorer with thirty-six career touchdowns. Though an injury caused Farr to miss half of the 1968 season, he was again named MVP and chosen for the Pro-Bowl. In 1969, Farr was named co-captain of the Lions and in 1971 was again selected for the Pro-Bowl. In Farr’s last season, 1973, his older brother, Miller Farr Jr., formerly an all-star in the American Football League, also played for the Detroit Lions. Traded to Houston in 1974, Mel Farr instead chose retirement from professional football.

While hospitalized at age twenty-three in his second season, Farr realized that professional football might not be a long-term career or make him rich. He began to plan for a business career after football. Farr entered Ford Motor Company’s dealer development program. Working in football’s off season, Farr sought to identify blacks who could qualify as future Ford auto dealers but could only find a handful, none of whom had the needed financial resources. After discussion among top executives, Ford Motor Company started a black dealer development program. Farr spent several years in the program, learning the details of managing a dealership, including methods of cost accounting for each vehicle in the inventory. It was necessary to keep track of all costs associated with acquiring, maintaining, and selling each vehicle in order to determine the necessary selling price to keep the dealership profitable. Farr continued playing football in order to save enough cash to purchase an auto dealership. He also enrolled in evening classes at the University of Detroit, completing his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1971.

Farr married Mae R. Forbes with whom he had three children, sons Melvin Jr. and Michael, and daughter Monet. Both sons later played football at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in the National Football League. Farr remained married to Mae for over thirty-five years, sharing interests in tennis, golf, and travel. Farr was divorced in 2002, and in 2004, he married Linda Johnson Rice, president and chief executive officer of Johnson Publishing Co., publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines and owner of the Ebony Fashion Fair cosmetic line and touring fashion show.