	Barker attended Drury College (now Drury University) in Springfield, Missouri, on a basketball scholarship. He was a member of the Epsilon Beta chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity at Drury. On the outbreak of World War II, Barker served in the United States Navy as a fighter pilot. However, the war ended before he was assigned to a seagoing squadron. After the war, he returned to Drury to finish his education, graduating "summa cum laude" with a degree in economics.