John Barrow, seen here playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1965.Tom Bochsler
When Basil Bark hunkered down over the football in games against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the Calgary Stampeders centre knew he was in for a three-hour migraine.
Lined across from him and to the left was the Ticats' Angelo Mosca, the brutish defensive tackle with the need to talk his opponents into submission. To Mr. Bark's right was Hamilton's silent terror, a lineman to be feared because he rarely spoke a word while dismantling the other team's offence.
That was how John Barrow played and how he lived. He was old school meets understated. As a 1960s-era football player, he had a thick neck, a plump sausage of a nose and a haircut as flat as the deck of an aircraft carrier. Forget about blocking him; just looking at the 6-foot-2, 255-pound Mr. Barrow could intimidate his foes.
"Mr. Barrow didn't say much. He didn't get mad on the field," Mr. Bark said. "He didn't have to because he was so strong and so talented and quick. I always had a headache playing against him."
On Feb. 17, the Canadian Football League lost one of its most legendary players. Mr. Barrow was 79 when he died in Missouri City, Tex., of heart failure. In his prime, there was no one like him. His statistics shouted his brilliance in a way he never would. For example: He played from 1957 to 1970, often at multiple positions, and was an all-star 11 times. He was the East Division nominee for most outstanding lineman six times and won the award in 1962.
He also played in nine Grey Cups, winning four of them for Hamilton. In 1967, he was chosen as the CFL's lineman of the century. Last and by no means least, Mr. Barrow was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1976 then added to the Ticats' Wall of Honour in 2001.
"You ask me to describe John Barrow and I can do it in two words," former Ticats teammate Tommy Joe Coffey said. "'The best.'"
Mr. Barrow was born on Oct. 31, 1935, in Delray Beach, Fla., where he got to play football all year round. Interviewed in 2009, he explained how hooked he was on the sport. "I was absolutely addicted to football. I was addicted to keeping myself in perfect shape," he said. "The only time I took off from working out was the Christmas holidays."
Mr. Barrow earned a scholarship at the University of Florida and played on offence and defence. In his senior year, he was voted captain by his teammates and finished his university career as a first team All-American. For that, Mr. Barrow was named to the school's athletic hall of fame.
After graduating with a degree in advertising, he was drafted in the fifth round by the NFL's Detroit Lions. While playing at the 1957 Senior Bowl, Mr. Barrow was approached by Ticats' coach Jim Trimble and general manager Jake Gaudaur. They wanted him in Hamilton and offered top dollar, about $11,000, which was more than what the NFL was willing to pay.
Years later, Mr. Barrow was quoted as saying his knowledge of Canada didn't run very deep.
"About the only thing I knew at that time was Sergeant Preston and Yukon King [from a 1950s TV show about a Mountie and his dog]," he explained. "I had never been to Canada."
No matter. As soon as he put on his shoulder pads and buckled up his helmet he was good to go.
"From Day 1, he was an all-star," said Don Sutherin, who played defensive back during his tenure with the Ticats. "I don't think there was any better defensive tackle than him. He never said much, but when he did, the guys really listened to him. He wouldn't ask you to do anything he couldn't do."
There aren't many great stories about Mr. Barrow, lit up like a Roman candle, inspiring his teammates with an impassioned speech.
But ask the men who played with him to talk about his toughness and leadership, and it takes little time for the stories roll.
"I was on the practice roster for six weeks in Hamilton and John was there at that time," said Doug Mitchell, who went on to become a lawyer and commissioner of the CFL. "He was a great guy who treated all his teammates equally, including myself when I was a rookie nobody."
Offensive lineman Ed Chalupka recalled how Mr. Barrow dealt with a bad knee that would leave him hobbling on one leg.
"One day at practice, his knee locked up and two guys did the fireman's carry and took him to the dressing room, where the team doctor was," Mr. Chalupka said. "The doctor put a needle into John's knee to try and stab the floating chip of bone or cartilage that was giving him trouble. That way they could hold the chip, then operate on John to get it out.
"The needle came out while he was being taken to the hospital."
Mr. Barrow was back at practice the next day. Surgery would have to wait.
Of all the friends he made in Hamilton, Mr. Barrow's closest was his defensive line partner, the rough and gruff Mr. Mosca, who enjoyed pushing the rules beyond their limits. It was part of the job when he was King Kong Mosca, a pro wrestler, but it didn't work quite so well when he played football.
Mr. Mosca told The Canadian Press he thought he "drove John wacky at times because sometimes I played beyond the means." On those occasions, Mr. Barrow would pull his tempestuous teammate aside and tell him to settle down and not draw penalties. Mr. Mosca took it well, but still did his own thing.
"I told John, 'You play your game and I'll play mine,'" Mr. Mosca said. "There was no sugarcoating with our defence. That's the way we played and that's the way we gave it to you."
Mr. Barrow retired as a player in 1970 and wasn't out of work for long. The Toronto Argonauts hired him to be their general manager in 1971. That season, the Argos won the East Division and faced Calgary in the Grey Cup staged at Vancouver's Empire Stadium.
Toronto looked poised to take the lead or tie the score late in the fourth quarter but, alas, running back Leon McQuay slipped on the rain-soaked turf and fumbled the ball. The Stampeders recovered and won the Cup, 14-11. Four years later, the Argos parted company with Mr. Barrow, who returned to Hamilton not in any football capacity, but as a businessman.
At different times, he ran a bowling alley, the Sportsman's Lanes, and did marketing for Carling Breweries. He owned the Huddle, a Hamilton steakhouse that became a regular stop for CFL types. When it was no longer viable, he closed the restaurant and returned to the United States. He ended up working at his son's auto-parts company before retiring for good.
Along with his wife of 59 years, Vangie, and his sons, Gregg and Kyle, and daughter, Elaine, Mr. Barrow left behind a legacy of greatness encapsulated by a simple premise: Give your all, leave no regrets.
"When I walked off the field after my last game," he said, "I dropped the ball and never looked back."
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