Erich Barnes

Who is Erich Barnes?

Erich Theodore Barnes 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, where one of his teammates was future NFL star quarterback Len Dawson.

Barnes was drafted in the fourth round 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 returning 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 set up the only scoring for the Giants when he blocked a punt that was recovered by Giants teammate Jim Collier in the end zone in a 16-7 loss.

Barnes was known as an aggressive, physical player, and is the Giants record holder for longest interception return after scoring on a 102-yard return against the Dallas Cowboys in 1961.