Starr, Bart (1934—)

Bart Starr retired from the Green Bay Packers as the winningest quarterback in the history of professional football. From 1956 to 1971 he directed the Packers to six Western Division titles, five World Championships, and two Super Bowl victories. He won the National Football League's (NFL) Most Valuable Player award in 1966, made four Pro Bowl teams, and won the league passing title three times. Even as the talented starting quarterback of the NFL's best team during the decade that saw football became America's number one sport, Starr's humble personality was initially overshadowed by more outspoken Packers like Ray Nitschke, Paul Hornung, and coach Vince Lombardi. But his stature rose among both football fans and the general public as the Packers evolved from a running to a passing team during their championship run. Teammates and outsiders recognized the balance his cool personality offered the intense Packers. Like other American celebrities from Gary Cooper to Dwight Eisenhower, Starr's public persona sprang from a dependable, appealing toughness and self-effacing gentility.

Born in Montgomery, Alabama on January 9, 1934, Bryan Bartlett Starr struggled through his playing days in high school and college. Although he was not a high school star and was considered too shy to be an effective starting quarterback, his career at the University of Alabama began well. As a freshman he was all-SEC (South Eastern Conference) and started in the 1953 Orange Bowl, which Alabama won 61-6. Due to injuries and a coaching change, however, Starr rode the bench his final two years.

At the urging of his former coach at Alabama, the Green Bay Packers selected Starr in the seventeenth round of the 1956 NFL draft. For his first four seasons, Starr alternated at quarterback and observers echoed concerns at Alabama: Starr's arm was weak and he was too passive and nice to develop the presence necessary for a championship quarterback. When Vince Lombardi became head coach of the Packers in 1959 he too shared in that assessment, and like Starr's previous coaches, badgered the quarterback to assert himself. In time, Lombardi recognized that Starr's future depended upon quiet encouragement instead of public humiliation. Starr responded, embracing Lombardi's single-minded will to succeed and dogged preparation for games. Starr's liabilities—his quiet focus and selflessness—became advantages for the team, which needed a firm but unassuming presence amidst Lombardi's tumultuous personality. By mid-1961, Starr was the starter for good. "Everything I am as a man and a football player I owe to Vince Lombardi," Starr later told Sport magazine. "He is the man who taught me everything I know about football, about leadership, about life. He took a kid and made a man out of him, with his example, with his faith."

Starr developed into an inspiring leader and one of the most efficient passers in the history of football. A clever quarterback who expertly read defenses and studied game films year-round, he set NFL records for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted in a season (1.2 percent), fewest interceptions in a full season (3), and lifetime passing completion percentage (57.4 percent). In 1964 and 1965 he threw a record 294 passes without throwing an interception.

Starr came to symbolize the clutch player, creating a model for later NFL quarterbacks like Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana. His post-season quarterback rating set records as the highest in NFL history. In six NFL championship games he threw 11 touchdowns but only one interception. Starr made big plays, too. Most famously, he engineered "The Drive" in the final moments of the 1967 NFL Championship game against the Dallas Cowboys. One of the most famous series in the history of professional football, The Drive culminated in Starr's quarterback sneak behind Jerry Kramer to give the Packers the victory in the game later known as the "Ice Bowl."

Throughout all his successes and his failures, like his disappointing nine years as head coach of the Packers from 1974 to 1983, Starr retained his likeable, modest, hard-working personality. After coaching, he remained in Green Bay, setting up businesses in Wisconsin and his home state of Alabama, and working for charitable causes. To many, he will always be the sturdy conscience behind the Packer dynasty.

—Alexander Shashko

Further Reading:

Devaney, John. Bart Starr. New York, Scholastic Book Services, 1967.

Gruver, Ed. The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth About Football's Most Unforgettable Game. Ithaca, New York, Mc Books Press, 1998.

Starr, Bart, with Muray Olderman. Starr. New York, William Morrow, 1987.