Black History Month: Honoring Sports Legend Larry Farrare
CAMBRIDGE, Md- When we talk about sports, we mention Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens, Kenny Washington, and Earl Loyd, just to name a few and here on the shore Larry Farrare is a name that can be said alongside some of the greatest.
Varsity Football
Larry Farrare currently officiates high school sports, and just by looking at him, you would never be able to guess how much history he holds in his hands. In the late 1960s, Farrare played 3 years of varsity high school football in Cambridge, scoring in numerous positions.
Basketball
He says he was most recognized for basketball as the only person to make the 33-point club twice, and that sports is always something he wanted to do. “We’d go out there and run and jump and do all those types of things. that’s who I wanted to be. ‘I’m Jesse Owens I’m doing this I’m running; I’m doing this and that. When I’m swinging the bat at the ball ‘I’m Jackie Robinson” so. I mean they really influenced me.”
Track & Field
Larry ran track and field where he won the Maryland Junior Olympics in the broad and triple jump. During those times, he says discrimination had its part in the game, but he didn’t let it consume him.
“When they got finished with the books and all that stuff, the football equipment whatever, they would give it to us. So, we had to deal with that type of stuff. and just everyday living. You grew up with it, so you got used to it. you were pretty much treated second class.”
Minor League Baseball
Despite it all, Larry still succeeded. He says that out of everything he played, Baseball was his first love, and the sort he wishes he would’ve gone further with. Yet and still, he signed with a minor league baseball team, the Spartanburg Phillys.
He says it’s an honor to be considered black history and hopes the youth can see the greatness in themselves as well.
You’ll have a chance to view all of Larry Farrare’s medals and accomplishments at the Maces Lane community center in Cambridge, once the exhibit is complete.
