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Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr (born January 9, 1934 in Montgomery, Alabama) is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52 � 76 � 3 ( ). He was named the Most Valuable Player of the first two Super Bowls and earned four Pro Bowl selections. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. He won the league MVP award in 1966. Starr has the second-highest playoff passer rating (104.80, behind future Packer Aaron Rodgers' 112.6) of any quarterback in NFL history and a playoff record of 9 � 1. Starr's career completion percentage of 57.4 was an NFL best when he retired in 1972. Starr also held the Packers' franchise record for games-played (196) for 32 years, through the 2003 season. Starr played at the University of Alabama from 1952 to 1956 and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 17th round of the 1956 draft (199th overall). Starr’s early life was marked by hardships. Shortly after the start of World War II, his father's reserve unit was activated and in 1942 he was deployed to the Pacific Theater. Starr had a younger brother, Hilton (Bubba). In 1947, Bubba stepped on a dog bone while playing in the yard and passed away of tetanus three days later. Starr’s relationship with his father deteriorated after Hilton’s passing. He was an introverted child who rarely showed his emotions and his father pushed to develop more of a mean streak. Starr attended Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, Alabama. He tried out for the football team in his sophomore year, but decided to quit after two weeks. His father gave him the option of playing football or working in the family garden; Starr choose to return to the football field. In his junior year, the starting quarterback broke his leg and Starr became the starter. He led Lanier to an undefeated season. In his senior season, Star was named all-state and All-American, and received college scholarship offers from universities across the country. He seriously considered the University of Kentucky, coached by Bear Bryant. Starr's high school sweetheart, Cherry Louise Morton, was planning to attend Auburn and Starr wished to attend a college close to her. Starr changed his mind and committed to the University of Alabama. |
