Gerald LaVern Tarr (born Aug. 27, 1939) attended the University of Oregon, 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, Harry Jerome, and Mel Renfro, 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 in 1962. Jerry was undefeated on high and low hurdle events that season and was ranked #1 in the world in both events.
His potential as a USA Olympian was tremendous but he was also a starting end for Len Casanova's football team along with Renfro and Gaechter and all three would go on to play professional football. Tarr played one season with the Denver Broncos of the AFL in 1962.
Jerry Tarr was a 1992 inductee of the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame and a 1976 inductee of the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame in Bakersfield, CA. His daughter, Shelia Tarr won the 1984 NCAA heptathlon title for UNLV at Hayward Field. 