Tony Barker

Date of birth:	September 7, 1968 (1968-09-07) (age 41)
Place of birth:	Wichita, Kansas
Career information
Position(s):	Linebacker
Jersey №:	98
College:	Kansas Rice
NFL Draft:	1992 / Round: 10 / Pick: 280
Organizations
As player:
1992	Washington Redskins
Playing stats at NFL.com

Anthony Ray Barker (born September 7, 1968 in Wichita, Kansas) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played college football at Rice University.

Contents 1 High school career 2 College career 3 Professional career 4 Today 5 References 6 Sources

[edit] High school career

Barker began attending Wichita Northwest High School in Wichita, Kansas in 1984. While at Northwest, he excelled in football, basketball, and shot put in track. However, he gave up basketball and track after his junior year. His senior year was voted to the 1986 High School All-American football team, as an honorable mention player.

Barker was voted to the Wichita Eagle's all-time Wichita High School Football team as a 1st team offensive tackle. Also on that team was former Detroit Lions Defensive end Lawrence Pete (who went to South), Linebackers Mark (Seattle Seahawks/Indianapolis Colts)and Mike Bell (Kansas City Chiefs) (Both went to Bishop Carroll), Pro-Football Hall of fame runningback Barry Sanders (North), and current Cleveland Browns Linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, who is (like Barker) a Northwest alumni.

[edit] College career

Barker decided to play college football at the University of Kansas, despite offers from programs such as Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Nebraska. In high school he played offensive line and defensive end, but was moved to linebacker in college because his defensive coordinator felt he was too fast to play defensive end.

He then transferred to Rice after his sophomore season. By NCAA regulations he had to be red-shirted his junior year. He stood out as a senior, recording 127 tackles, 3 away from Rice's single season record, he had 5 interceptions for total of 90 yards, 4 forced fumbles and 2 recoveries. He missed the final game due to a concussion. Despite the injury, he still drew attention from NFL scouts. His final stats in 2 years at Rice are 171 tackles, 1 sack, 5 interceptions, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, and one touchdown.

[edit] Professional career

Barker was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 10th round (280th overall pick) in the 1992 NFL draft. As a rookie, he mainly played on special teams, but had two starts at outside linebacker against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Seattle Seahawks. After the season, Joe Gibbs retired and Richie Petitbon took over and didn't require his services. The Green Bay Packers then signed him, but cut him 2 days before the first pre-season game. He decided not continue his career, despite several offers from minor league teams and the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europa (Then, NFL Europe)

[edit] Today

Barker currently resides in Texas. He works at Wells-Fargo. He married his wife, Laura, in March 2005. He has 2 children, Merenda and Chanler, from a previous marriage.

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

This article includes a list of references or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (February 2008)

• http://www.databasefootball.com
• interview with parents Max and Pat Barker, June 2006.
• http://www.nfl.com
• http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rice/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/1990stats.pdf (college stats)
• http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rice/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/1991stats.pdf (college stats)

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