Miami native Henry Barrow, a member of Dolphins first broadcast team, passes away
Henry Barrow, a member of the Miami Dolphins first broadcast team, has passed away at the age of 83 after a battle with Lewy body dementia.
Barrow was a South Florida native. He was born in Miami and attended both Coral Gables High and the University of Miami. In 1966, the Dolphins had their inaugural AFL season.
Barrow explained to CBS affiliate WFOR-TV in 2014 just how he joined the Dolphins broadcast team.
“I walked over and saw a bunch of new shows,” Barrow said in 2014. “Dial the Dolphins, Budweiser Dolphins Show, The ‘Mrs. George Wilson’ Football For Women Only Show and on and on. I was told I was the only announcer at the station who knew anything about football so I had been named sports director and had all of the Dolphins shows. That led to being the color announcer on the Dolphins broadcast.”
At the time, Barrow worked for radio station WIOD, where he spent his career until 1993 when he left to do a morning show on WAXY with Mike Reineri before retiring in 1998.
That led to a second career expressing his love for wine, where he wrote for wine magazines and had a podcast. On the show with Reineri, he would bring up wine on occasion. The passion for it developed during a west coast trip to a 49ers game where he found the Napa Valley.
Barrow was an innovator during his time on Dolphins broadcasts, which lasted until 1977, when he moved from the booth to the sidelines.
“He was the first one to go on the sidelines and be the sideline reporter and now that is standard,” his daughter Tracy Barrow-Schoenblatt told the Herald. “I hope he is remembered for that. I hope they will remember him as a man who loved wine and loved to pour and be a great host and made everyone who walked into the room feel special.”
Barrow is survived by his wife, Sandy, who he met when he was in the UM band and she was in high school, daughter Tracy Barrow-Schoenblatt, son-in-law Stanley Schoenblatt, grandson Jackk and step-grandchildren Zachary and Maxx.
“It’s been really difficult,” Barrow’s daughter Tracy told the Herald. “For a man, who was so brilliant, and a man ... he spoke for a living to kind of lose himself was really, really difficult to watch.”
Tracy Barrow-Schoenblatt said her father taught her everything about music, that he loved jazz and he played the trumpet.
“He even had his own band back in college,” she said.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, March 14 at 1 p.m. at the Riviera Presbyterian Church, located at 5275 Sunset Drive in Miami.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 1:52 PM.
