Green Bay Packers legendary Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr was the true underdog throughout his era, and a role model in his existence today. If it wasn't for his father's demands, Starr would've never played football. Even in his college and early NFL years, nobody knew what Starr could do until one man had arrived in Green Bay.
Born Bryan Bartlett Starr on January 9, 1934 in Montgomery, Alabama, Starr attended Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. Starr tried out for the school's football team as a sophomore, but quit the team two weeks later. His father quickly gave him an ultimatum: play football, or work in the family garden. Starr returned to the football field immediately.
As a junior, Starr became the starting quarterback after the regular starter had broken his leg. Starr was a born natural, leading Lanier High to an undefeated season. In his senior year, Starr was an All-State and All-American High School quarterback.
Starr received numerous scholarship offers from across the country before committing to the nearby University of Alabama. Starr had seriously considered playing at the University of Kentucky for (future Crimson Tide head coach Paul) Bear Bryant before changing his mind to stay close to his high school sweetheart and current wife, who chose to attend rival Auburn University.
During his freshman year in Tuscaloosa, Starr played enough to earn a Varsity letter. In relief duty in the Orange Bowl, Starr completed 8 of 12 passes for 93 yards and threw one touchdown pass. Starr's poise and efficiency helped him earn the Tide's starting job as a sophomore.
In 11 games the next season, Starr completed 59 of 119 passes for 870 yards and threw eight touchdown passes. Starr also started at safety for the Tide, and held the second-best punting average (41.4 yards/punt) in the country. Starr's sophomore year though ended up being the peak of his Alabama career.
As a junior, Starr suffered a severe back sprain while punting a football, and he was unable to play the entire season. By his senior season, Alabama hired a new coach, J.B. Whitworth, and he started two seniors. Starr wasn't one of them, and a possible NFL career was in serious doubt.
Despite his back problems and lack of playing time at Alabama, Alabama basketball coach Johnny Dee was a friend of then-Packers personnel director Jack Vainisi, and Dee reportedly recommended drafting the unknown and frail 6'1, 197-pound Starr. In the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft, Vainisi completed one of the best draft steals in NFL Draft history today, selecting Starr with the 200th overall pick.
In his first three NFL seasons, Starr was a backup quarterback to Tobin Rote, and had split time with Babe Parilli. Starr, who hadn't played meaningful football full-time for roughly six years, had what looked to be a dead-end NFL career.
Before the 1959 season, the Packers hired New York Giants assistant coach Vince Lombardi as the team's new head coach. In his first season, Lombardi replaced Lamar McHan with Starr at quarterback, as Lombardi reportedly favored Starr's mechanics, arm, and decision-making.
In his second season as the Packers' starting quarterback, Starr lost his lone playoff game as a player in the 1960 NFL Championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1961 and 1962, the Packers won the NFL Title over the New York Giants. In 1965, Green Bay won their third title with Starr leading the Pack. In 1966, Starr was named NFL MVP and led the Packers to victory in the 1st-ever NFL-AFL World Championship (Super Bowl I).
On the last day of 1967, Starr's most-famed moment came in the NFL Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys. Known today as the "Ice Bowl", the Packers, Cowboys, and the fans endured a negative-45 degree wind chill. With 13 seconds remaining in the game, Starr, who was responsible for the majority of the play-calls, called "35 Wedge", a play designed for Packers' offensive back Chuck Mercein. Instead of handing off the football to Mercein, Starr surprised all of his Packer teammates and snuck behind his offensive line and into the endzone for the game-winning touchdown, and a berth in the NFL-AFL World Championship game (Super Bowl II). The Packers crushed the Oakland Raiders, 33-14, winning their second consecutive Pro Football World Championship.
The Ice Bowl today is still identified today as one of the greatest games in NFL history. With the win over the Cowboys in 1967, the 1965-1967 Packers remain the last team in NFL history to win three consecutive NFL titles.
From 1960-1967, Lombardi's Packers went 62-24-4 with Starr under center. At the time of Starr's retirement in 1971, he completed an NFL-best 57.4% of his passes, for 24,718 yards, and threw 152 touchdown passes. Starr also compiled an 80.5 passer rating, the 2nd-highest rating in NFL history (Otto Graham).
In his 16-year Packer career, Starr played in 196 games (record not broken until 2003), was named to four Pro Bowls, was a 4-time All-Pro, a 3-time NFL Champion, a 2-time Super Bowl Champion, a 2-time Super Bowl MVP, and was named to the NFL's 1960's All-Decade Team.
In 1973, the Packers retired Starr's number 15 jersey. Starr, who also was the Packers' head coach from 1975-1983 (compiling a 52-76-3 record), was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Starr has always been known for his great character and integrity since his NFL playing days, and co-founded "The Rawhide Ranch", a home which assists young boys with alcohol and drug addiction among other problems. Since 1989, the Bart Starr Award has been given annually to NFL players of outstanding characters. Notable recipients includes inaugural winner Steve Largent, the late Reggie White, Kurt Warner, Drew Brees, and Jason Witten.
Starr was the kind of player during his era which fans would root for in today's NFL. Lombardi got the most out of the beat-up and undersized quarterback, and Starr won many football games in the process. Starr was a great game manager, exhibiting grace while showing few signs of fear inside the numbers. A model-citizen who rarely panicked, how could any coach NOT want someone like that on their team?
Tags: Bart Starr, Bart Starr Award, Chuck Mercein, Dallas Cowboys, Football, Green Bay, Green Bay Packers, Ice Bowl, NFL, University of Alabama, Vince LombardiRelated Videos
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