Hall of Fame
Tackle
All-American Tackle, 1935
Captain of the 1934 Team
USF All-Star Team, 1935
USF Career Years: 1931-1934
Birthdate: July 21, 1912
Hometown: Manteca, CA
High School: Manteca High School
James Barber was born on July 21, 1912, in Murfeesboro, TN. In 1916, his family moved to Manteca, and he attended his local Manteca High School. At 6’ 3, 223 lbs., he played tackle for USF from 1931 to 1934. In a 1933 game against Stanford, he stunned the crowd by moving in to block a kick, stealing the ball from the punter, and running 30 yards to score the first touchdown of the game. Elected captain of the 1934 team, Barber was respected by his teammates: the Foghorn described him as someone who “knows how to organize. He knows how to command, yet seems not to command. With no coach to back his word, he has whipped his team into a systemized method of conditioning.”
After graduation in 1934, he was selected to play in the East-West Shrine game, during which he scored a touchdown and tackled the future President Gerald Ford who was playing for Michigan State. He was also selected for the College All-Star Game in Chicago.
Following graduation, he was selected by the Boston-Washington Redskins in the 1935 NFL draft. He played as an offensive tackle in Boston from 1935-1936, and in Washington from 1937 to 1941. In 1936, when Ray Flaherty started as Head Coach, Barber was already on the roster. The team went to the NFL Title Game that year but lost to Green Bay 21-6. The following year, the team moved to Washington and defeated Chicago 28-21 for the NFL Title.
He played on the 1937 World Championship team, and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1939 and in 1940. His coach, Ray Flaherty stated: “Jim didn’t get the notoriety of some, but he was a fine, dependable player, and a tough one (Spokesman-Review).”
At the onset of World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy and was stationed at Farragut Naval Training Station in Idaho. Following his military service, he joined the New York Yankees as a Line Coach, and then the Chicago Hornets as an Assistant Coach to Flaherty. In 1949 he relocated to Spokane, Wash. and worked at Bill Hatch Sporting Goods. In 1969, he began working in investment securities at G.C. George Securities, Pennaluna and Co., and at L.L. Nicholls Co., which he owned and operated until 1977. Barber set up the Ray Flaherty Scholarship Fund with his local National Football Foundation, and was named an Outstanding Member by that chapter in 1997. He was inducted into the Manteca Athletic Club Hall of Fame in 1983, the Manteca Hall of Fame in 2001, and the USF Hall of Fame in 1959.
