Dec 6, 2014 5 min read

Washington High School produced many great football teams in the 1960s. Some of those teams, from 1961 through 1966, delivered players who went on to play in the NFL, including the trio of Bob Riggle, Ted Vactor and Fred Barry.

Barry, the youngest of the three, played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers. Before the pros, Barry enjoyed success in track and football at Wash High and Boston University.

“I was fortunate to participate in sports I loved,” Barry said. “As a youngster, you would find me at the LeMoyne Center and Brownson House. It’s was back and forth. The LeMoyne Center was brand new, and it was in the neighborhood.”

Though a multi-sport standout, make no mistake, football was Barry’s favorite sport and he excelled at it with the Prexies, though it took some time to get on the field because of Wash High’s talent and depth.

“I was a little upset that in my sophomore year I didn’t make varsity. It hurt watching a number of my friends play varsity while I was on the JV team,” Barry said. “During my sophomore year, I had a chance to watch Norris Vactor, one of the best players on the team and a guy I still look up to. He was a senior and the team went 8-1.”

During his junior and senior year, Barry was part of a nucleus that featured Tony Wise, Riggle, Reggie Sharon and Frank Vactor.

“We were very good,” Barry said.

So was Barry. He was nominated for the Big 33 Game in 1966, named All-WPIAL and All-Conference, and chosen Wash High’s Athlete of the Year. In track, Barry was a member of the school’s record-setting relay team and was the record holder 180-yard low hurdles.

Like many Wash High athletes at that time, Barry took his talents to the next level.

“A lot of teams were interested in me,” Barry said. “Ohio State, Wake Forest, William & Mary, W&J, Bethany and Boston University.

“BU was the place for me to go. They were Division II at the time. They played the likes of Colgate and UMass. I got an academic scholarship.”

At BU, Barry lettered in track his sophomore and junior years. And he was busy on the football field.

“I played everywhere. On offense, I was a running back and wide receiver. On defense, I saw action as a safety and cornerback.”

The Terriers, like Wash High, produced some great players including Trinity High School graduate Dick Devore, Bruce Taylor, who played defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers, and Pat Hughes, who played for the New York Giants.

“It’s funny. We all played on the freshman team that went 0-4. Our senior year, we were 9-1,” Barry said. “We lost a tough one in the closing seconds to UMass.”

The Terriers played in the Junior Rose Bowl game in Pasadena, Calif., against San Diego State.

“That was great. The Rose Bowl at that time, it was the granddaddy of all bowls,” Barry said.

Pro scouts got a chance to see Barry in the Coaches All-American Football Classic in 1969. The game was played in Lubbock, Texas.

The Kansas City Chiefs, fresh off a Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings, liked Barry and made him the team’s 8th-round draft pick in 1970.

“I made the taxi squad the first year,” Barry said. “I happen to come on board and practice with the likes of some great players like Mike Garrett, Len Dawson, Willie Lanier and Buck Buchannon. Our coach was the legendary Hank Stram.”

With his father ailing back home, Barry had a talk with Coach Stram.

“I asked the coach if there was any way to get near home,” Barry recalled. “What can you do for me? My agent said other teams were interested, so I was placed on waivers and the Steelers claimed me. I was put on waivers on a Friday and working out at Three Rivers Stadium the following Monday.

“We (the Steelers) won the first Monday Night Football game played, in a brand new stadium, and we won. It was a preseason game against the New York Giants.”

During Barry’s second training camp with Pittsburgh, he told Steelers coach Chuck Noll he was going to leave the game.

“I told Coach Noll that I made the decision. He told me I had made the team for the first game,” Barry said. “I left and went to the Bahamas.”

Why a sudden exit from professional football at a young age?

“All I wanted to do was make the pros. Once there, I began to see football as a business and not a sport. I never regretted leaving. I was making good money.

When I was 21, I signed a three-year deal – $28,000, $30,000 and $32,000. I got a signing bonus of $5,000. With that money, I went out and bought a new car.”

Does Barry have any regrets he left football?

“None,” he said firmly. “In my short career, I played with some of the best players in the league. All those great players in Kansas City. In Pittsburgh, we had Joe Greene, L.C. Greenwood, Dwight White, Jack Ham, Terry Bradshaw. I played under two great coaches in Stram and Noll. I got to meet a young Dan Rooney. I loved seeing the Chief (Art Rooney Sr.) with a cigar. It felt good to run out on the field wearing No. 29 in my black and gold uniform. I left on my terms. No regrets.”

Bill DiFabio writes a biweekly column about local sports history for the Observer-Reporter. He also has his own website, www.billdifabio.com.