Red Barr

Alfred Richard "Red" Barr
Barr in c.1971
Biographical details
BornAugust 14, 1908
Avon, Ohio, US
DiedJune 12, 1971(1971-06-12) (aged 62)
El Paso, Texas, US
Alma materOberlin College 1930
Playing career
1926-30Oberlin
Positions
  • basketball
  • baseball (third base)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1930–1940
1936–1942
1947–1971Head Coach SMU
1963
  • U.S. Swim Team
  • Pan Am Games
  • Brazil
1968U.S. Olympic Team
Alternate Coach
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 17 SWC Championships
  • 15 Consecutive, (1957-1971)
Awards
  • 1975 Texas Sports Hall of Fame
  • 2008 Texas Swimming & Diving Halls of Fame
  • 2011 SMU Athletic Hall of Fame
  • 2013 SWC Hall of Fame

Alfred "Red" Barr (August 14, 1908 – June 12, 1971) was an American Hall of Fame swim coach for Southern Methodist University (SMU). He coached the Southern Methodist swimming team for twenty-four years from 1947 through 1971, where he led the Mustangs to seventeen Southwestern Conference Championships, including fifteen consecutive championships from 1957 through 1971.

Barr was born on August 14, 1908, to Bertha May Walker and William James Barr in the small community of Avon, Ohio, outside Cleveland, where he attended Avon High School and graduated in 1926. Demonstrating a high level of academic achievement, he was the valedictorian of his High School class.

He attended Oberlin College, graduating in 1930 with an A.B. degree. Though he was not involved in competitive swimming, he lettered in the sports of both basketball and baseball, captaining Oberlin College's 1929-30 basketball team, and playing third-base on the 1930 baseball team. He received a master's degree from New York University in 1937.