Harris Barton
Harris Scott Barton (born April 19, 1964) is a fund manager and a former All-Pro American football offensive lineman who played for the San Francisco 49ers.
No. 79 | |||||||||
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Position: | Offensive tackle | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Sandy Springs, Georgia | April 19, 1964||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 286 lb (130 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Dunwoody (GA) | ||||||||
College: | North Carolina | ||||||||
NFL Draft: | 1987 / Round: 1 / Pick: 22 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early life
Harris Scott Barton was born in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and is Jewish.[1]
Both of Barton's parents were from New York City and were Jewish; his mother Joan from an Orthodox Jewish family in Queens, New York, and his father Paul from Brooklyn, New York.[2] Paul Barton was a traveling salesman who sold women's uniforms throughout the Southeastern United States.[3] Both of his parents developed and eventually died of brain cancer, leading Barton later in life to found Champion Charities, which raises money to fund brain tumor research at University of California, San Francisco.[4][5]
Barton began playing football at age five.[1] He grew up in a kosher Orthodox Jewish home in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended Hebrew Academy of Atlanta, now known as the Atlanta Jewish Academy, through the fifth grade and graduated from Atlanta's Dunwoody High School.[6][7][8][9][2] Barton was named DeKalb County MVP his senior year at Dunwoody.[10]
College football career
Barton was recruited by over 100 colleges including University of Southern California, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame, but chose the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill[1] with head coach Dick Crum.
Originally thought to be a possible defensive lineman, Barton was switched to center early in his first summer of practice at UNC.[1]
Barton was a four-year starter during his time at UNC; starting center his freshman year, before moving to left tackle mid-season during his sophomore year, playing that position for the remainder of his collegiate career.[11]
He played against William "Refrigerator" Perry and his brother Michael Dean Perry at Clemson.[1]
Barton was named to a number of All-America teams, including the NCAA's All-American Scholar/Athlete Team and Academic All-ACC.[11] During his senior year Barton was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Outstanding Offensive Lineman.[11][12] While at UNC Barton played in the Japan Bowl.[10]
Education
Barton graduated with a BA in Finance from UNC in 1987.[13]
Professional football career
Barton was a first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 1987, and the 22nd pick overall.[14] He was the first offensive lineman chosen in the opening round by the San Francisco 49ers since Forrest Blue in 1968.[15] During his first year playing for the 49ers, Barton was runner up in Rookie of the Year voting.[16]
In 1994, during the 49ers opener against the Los Angeles Raiders at Candlestick Park, Barton tore his left triceps tendon which required surgery to repair, benching him for part of the '94 season.[17] He was replaced by Harry Boatswain.[18]
During his ten-year pro career, Barton played 138 career NFL games, including 89 consecutive games [1] and three Super Bowls.
Barton started in 134 of his 138 career games.[19] Barton retired after the 1998 season.[19] In 2006 he was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California, and in March 2011 he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[20][21]
After football
Along with former teammates Ronnie Lott and Joe Montana, Barton was a Managing Partner of Champion Ventures in 1999,[22] raising $40 million in an original round from professional athletes such as Steve Kerr, Barry Bonds, Wayne Gretzky, Peyton Manning,[23] Keyshawn Johnson and Dan Marino.[24]
Champion Ventures, later renamed HRJ, was a fund of funds which invested in private equity, venture capital, and hedge funds and managed $2.4 billion at its peak in May 2008.
In April 2009, the fund was taken over by Capital Dynamics in a bid to augment its fund of funds platform and gain a foothold in Silicon Valley.[25]
In October 2010, he left Capital Dynamics to start the angel investment firm H. Barton Asset Management.[26]
Personal life
Barton lives in Palo Alto, California, with his wife, Megan,[27] and his four children.[28][20]
He donates his time to a number of organizations including REDF,[29] The First Tee,[30] Champion Charities (a 501(c) organization, he founded with former teammate and business partner Ronnie Lott),[31] the 49ers Foundation and the Giants Community Fund.[32]
References
- Browning, Wilt (October 25, 2007). "2007 ACC Football Legend: North Carolina's Harris Barton". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- 100 Things 49ers Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die - Daniel Brown, Roger Craig
- Plaschke, Bill (December 7, 1993). "The Good Son: 49er Lineman Harris Barton Discovers What Really Matters Is His Father". Los Angeles Times.
- Brown, Daniel (June 14, 2012). "Harris Barton assembles QB dream team: Montana, Young, Plunkett, Brady and Rodgers".
- Altman-Ohr, Andy (March 17, 2011). "Giants' boss, ex-49er give federation breakfast all-star appeal".
- Murphy, Austin (September 5, 1994). "Rt Harris Barton/lt Steve Wallace". CNN.
- Quarterback legends Joe Montana, Steve Young come to Harris Barton’s aid – The Mercury News
- "Harris Barton". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- "Harris Barton". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- "1986 UNC Football Schedule". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- "Harris Barton". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- Price, Taylor (May 14, 2009). "Harris Barton: 10-Year Club". 49ers.com.
- "Make A Name For Himself? 49er Rookie Has Good Head Start". Chicago Tribune. August 12, 1987.
- Fucillo, David (July 30, 2009). "49ers All-time Offensive Tackle #2".
- "49ers' Barton Expected To Miss 10 Weeks". September 9, 1994.
- "49ers Demote Two Starters On Offense". October 6, 1994.
- "Harris Scott Barton". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- Harris Barton – Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Northern California
- "Harris Barton". Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- "Company Overview of HRJ Capital".
- Lau, Debra. "A Punt In Search Of Returns". Forbes. Retrieved February 28, 2013.
- Sinton, Peter (September 18, 2000). "New Team of Champions / Montana rejoins Lott, Barton to help pro athletes invest". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- Janis, Amanda (April 1, 2009). "CapDyn gains Silicon Valley foothold with HRJ take-over". Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
- Aragon, Lawrence (October 13, 2010). "Harris Barton Takes Flight from Capital Dynamics to Focus on Angel Investing".
- Steger, Pat (August 12, 1987). "Hot Parties, Cool Nights / Billy and Vanessa Getty celebrate 2 months, and Bill Blass visits Tahoe". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- "2005 9th Symphony Class". Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- "REDF Board of Directors". Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- Furlong, Lisa. "Golfers Who Give Back". Retrieved February 28, 2012.
- "Our Story, Our Team". Archived from the original on December 17, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
- Kegley, Scott (February 9, 2011). "Walking with the Champs at Pebble Beach". Archived from the original on February 13, 2011.