Encyclopedia Of Detroit

Born in Beaumont, Texas on November 3, 1944, Melvin Farr was a running back for the Detroit Lions and owner of one of the country’s largest black-owned businesses. After graduating from Herbert High School in 1963, Farr played football for the UCLA Bruins as a halfback. During the 1967 NFL draft, Farr was selected number seven overall in the first round and won the Rookie of the Year award. Farr spent his entire football career, from 1967 to 1973, with the Lions, earning trips to the All Pro Team in 1967 and 1972.

While playing football, Farr finished a degree from the University of Detroit and worked during the off season for Ford Motor Company’s management department. Due to injuries, Farr retired from football in 1973, and transitioned into a car dealership career. In 1975, Farr opened Mel Farr Ford in Oak Park, Michigan.

Targeting the inner-city’s need for automobiles and financing, Farr served a population with high credit risk through creative management and marketing ideas. By 1998, the Mel Farr Auto Group grossed $596.6 million, making it the top African American business in the United States and the 33rd largest auto dealership in the U.S. Farr helped found the Black Ford Lincoln and Mercury Dealers Association, later renamed the Ford Motor Minority Dealers Association.

His “Mel Farr Superstar” TV commercials, featuring a red-caped Farr flying through the air, were renown. In later years he faced negative publicity and class action law suits for the high interest rates and allegedly poor quality of cars sold to his inner-city customers. At perhaps the peak of his career he paired with Donald Trump in an unsuccessful attempt to open a Detroit casino.

Farr closed his suburban dealerships in 2002, severing his relationship with Ford. His goal was to open a mega dealership in Detroit selling new and used cars, but he left the car business in 2003 after selling his last dealership.

Farr died on August 13, 2015 of a heart attack. His brain and spinal cord were donated by his family to Boston University School of Medicine, where an autopsy revealed he had CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) a disease commonly found in football players. Two sons from his first marriage, Mel Farr, Jr. and Mike played for the NFL. He also had a daughter, Monet, with his first wife Mae Forbes, and a daughter, Melia with his third wife Jasmine Rozier.