Chadron State College Athletics

A native of Alliance, Barker was an excellent running back on the outstanding football teams at Chadron State in the late 1940s after serving as an Army paratrooper who jumped into France on D-Day on June 6, 1944. He was wounded twice, earning two Purple Hearts and three Bronze Stars that were given for bravery.
Barker earned first-team all-Nebraska College Conference honors in both 1948 and ’49. In ’48, he set the CSC record for longest kickoff return for a touchdown, 82 yards against Hastings College. Sixty seasons later, that return still is the fourth longest in CSC annals. He also was a long jumper for the CSC track and field team.
During a 1985 interview, Gene Alcorn, one of the linemen who blocked for Barker, called him “as good as Johnny Rodgers (Nebraska Heisman Trophy winner in 1972).”
“I know that’s a strong statement, but that’s the way I feel,” Alcorn said. “He was terrific. He could twist and turn and lower his shoulder and knock them down.”
Alcorn added that during a game at Wayne, Barker’s teammates decided not to block for him on a punt return because they didn’t think he was showing enough appreciation for what the line was doing. Barker still carried the punt all the way for a touchdown, Alcorn said.
Barker lived most of his adult life in California, and taught and coached at Carmichael, Calif., High School for 28 years. He died at age 71 in 1996.