Gerald LaVern Tarr is a former collegiate and professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who played in one AFL

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 season (1962) for the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. Tarr was also a successful college track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 athlete.

Tarr attended the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

, where he was a two-sport athlete in football and track. In track, Tarr was a member of Oregon's 4 x 110 yard relay team with Mike Gaechter

Mike Gaechter

Michael Theodore Gaechter is a former American football safety in the National Football League who spent his entire career with the Dallas Cowboys...

, Harry Jerome

Harry Jerome

Henry "Harry" Winston Jerome, was a Canadian track and field runner. He was the grandson of John Howard, a railway porter who represented Canada in the 1912 Summer Olympics....

, and Mel Renfro

Mel Renfro

Melvin Lacy "Mel" Renfro is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League who spent his entire fourteen-year career with the Dallas Cowboys.-High school:...

, which set a world record in 1962.

Tarr's main event, however, was the 120-yard hurdles. He was the first athlete to win back-to-back NCAA titles in the high hurdles in 1961 and 1962, and in doing so, helped Oregon win its first ever NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship

NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship

The NCAA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship is an annual collegiate outdoor track and field competition for men organised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. It has three divisions: Division I, II, and III. Athlete's individual performances earn points for their institution and...

 in 1962.

Like his relay mates Renfro and Gaechter, Tarr decided to play professional football rather than continue his track career. He played one season with the Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 of the AFL.

Tarr is a member of the University of Oregon Athletic Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame

The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall...

.