Former NFL Cornerback Barry Wilburn Dies in House Fire

Barry Wilburn, a former NFL cornerback who led the league in interceptions during the 1987 season and helped Washington win Super Bowl XXII, died in a house fire in Memphis, Tennessee, early Friday morning. He was 62.

The Memphis Fire Department responded to a residential fire on Douglass Avenue in the Orange Mound neighborhood around 2 a.m. on February 6. Firefighters found an unresponsive man in the rear hallway of the home and pronounced him dead at the scene. Wilburn's family confirmed his identity to local media, and the Washington Commanders announced his death on Sunday.

Wilburn, born December 9, 1963, grew up in Memphis and graduated from Melrose High School before playing college football at the University of Mississippi. Selected in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL draft by Washington, he spent his first five professional seasons with the team, establishing himself as a standout defensive back. In 1987, Wilburn recorded nine interceptions during the regular season, earning first-team All-Pro honors and tying a franchise record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

That year, he started in Super Bowl XXII and intercepted two passes, including one from...