Barry, "Rick" (Richard F. III)
Basketball
b. March 28, 1944, Elizabeth, NJ
A unanimous choice as an All-American forward at the University of Miami in 1965, Barry led the nation in scoring with an average of 37.4 points per game and then married the daughter of his college coach, Bruce Hale.
The 6-foot-7, 215-pound Barry joined the NBA's San Francisco Warriors and was named 1966 rookie of the year after averaging 25.7 points per game. The following season, he led the league in scoring with 35.6 points per game.
In 1967, Barry signed a five-year contract with the Oakland Oaks of the new American Basketball Association. His father-in-law had become general manager of the Oakland team. Barry still had a year left on his contract with San Francisco, and a lawsuit by that team kept him out of basketball for a season.
Barry joined Oakland in 1968, but a knee injury limited him to only 35 games. However, he averaged 34.0 points to lead the league. When the Oaks became the Washington Capitals for the 1968/69 season, Barry signed once more with the San Francisco Warriors. Another lawsuit forced him to remain with Washington.
He led the Capitals into the ABA playoffs by averaging 27.7 points a game, leading the league with an .864 free throw percentage. When the team moved to Virginia in 1970, Barry refused to go and was sent to the New York Nets for $200,000 and a first-round draft choice.
After two seasons with the Nets, Barry's ABA contract had expired and a federal court ruled that he would now have to honor the contract he'd signed with the San Francisco Warriors four years before. Barry was happy to do so; in fact, he signed a new six-year contract with San Francisco, and he was named most valuable player in the 1975 playoffs, when the Warriors won the NBA championship.
Barry signed as a free agent with the NBA's Houston Rockets in 1978 and finished his career there in 1979/80. Although best known for his shooting ability, he was also an outstanding passer and a fine defender who led the NBA in steals with 228 in 1974/75. The last player to shoot free throws underhand, he led the ABA in free throw percentage three times and was the best in the NBA four times.