Former Wash High football great Barry dies
Fred Barry played high school football in one of the golden eras at Washington High School.
From 1961-66, Washington not only produced victories but also future NFL players. And Barry was one of them.
Barry, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, died last week at age 68.
Barry ran track and played football for the Prexies before heading to Boston University. 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 in the 180-yard low hurdles.
“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 in an interview last year. “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 years, Barry was part of a nucleus that featured Tony Wise, Bob Riggle, Reggie Sharon and Frank Vactor.
At Boston University, the 5-10, 185-pound Barry lettered in track his sophomore and junior years. He played running back, wide receiver, safety and cornerback on the football team. The Terriers played in the 1969 Junior Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., losing to San Diego State, 28-7.
The Kansas City Chiefs, fresh from a Super Bowl win over the Minnesota Vikings, made Barry their eighth-round draft pick in 1970.
“I made the taxi squad the first year,” Barry said last December. “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.”
When his father became ill, Barry asked for and received his release. A few days later, the Steelers signed him. He played in nine games in 1971, then retired in 1972.
“In my short career, I played with some of the best players in the league,” he said in that December interview. “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.”