RIP Bart Starr

[Michael_ Gee]

Packer Hall of Fame QB dies at age 85. I know his health had not been good for some time. What Brady is to Belichick, Starr was to Lombardi. 9-1 in playoffs. Five NFL titles.

 

[Azrael]

Huge hero of my youth.

Wore his souvenir jersey to tatters as a sandlot quarterback.

Rest now.

 

[hondo]

Better arm than most people thought. Trapped in some turmoil amid coaching changes at Alabama or would have made more of a college impact. A winner. All I care about from a QB. Also, a class act.

 

[BTExpress]

Which newspaper will have Ringo in its 1A refer?

 

[jr/shotglass]

Ballsy as they come. Left a 9-year-old crying in front of his TV after diving behind Jerry Kramer to beat the Cowboys.

 

[BTExpress]

I was a Unitas guy, so Starr was basically a thorn in my side during my childhood.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

In those days, if you heard Ray Scott say: “Boyd Dowler,” you knew Starr hit Dowler on a 15-yard out and he went out of bounds for the first down

 

[cyclingwriter2]

What a strange route to becoming an NFL superstar. Apparently, his father thought Bart would never amount to anything. As mentioned, was benched at Alabama in a coaching change. Played in the local “all star” bowl after college because he was a home town kid. That got drafted him very later by the packers. Was a spot starter/backup for his first few years. Lombardi didn’t think he was that good and spent the first season and a half looking for a better qb. Then it all just clicked. Everything Lombardi has been saying on how to see the field made sense one game. Start said it was like the game went into slow motion as everything happened as expected. Never really looked back after that.

 

[jr/shotglass]

In those days, if you heard Ray Scott say: “Boyd Dowler,” you knew Starr hit Dowler on a 15-yard out and he went out of bounds for the first down

Also eased Max McGee out of a hangover with two Super Bowl TD passes.

 

[garrow]

Another legend gone.

 

[goalmouth]

"Instant Replay," Starr, Lombardi, Kramer, et al, put me on the path to sportswriting.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

He was before my time, but I always liked the stories in Maraniss’ book about when the Packers hired Lombardi and most of the reaction around Green Bay was “who?”

Which was Starr’s reaction too until he remembered running off the field after holding for an extra point and seeing Lombardi screaming at the Giants’ defense even though he was the offensive coordinator. During a preseason game. Which Starr thought was crazy. So he knew Lombardi was going to be quite the hire.

 

[Slacker]

He was before my time, but I always liked the stories in Maraniss’ book about when the Packers hired Lombardi and most of the reaction around Green Bay was “who?”

Which was Starr’s reaction too until he remembered running off the field after holding for an extra point and seeing Lombardi screaming at the Giants’ defense even though he was the offensive coordinator. During a preseason game. Which Starr thought was crazy. So he knew Lombardi was going to be quite the hire.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Yeah, that was after his first meeting with the team, which Maraniss also quoted.

 

[qtlaw]

As a youngster in the late 60’s early 70s he was the epitome of a classy great QB. I read about the great Packers dynasty and relived Start’s Greatness in the books. May he RIP. Thanks for the thrills.

 

[Slacker]

Unitas (and others) were better pure quarterbacks, but Starr was the toast of the nation when he was leading Lombardi's Packers to all those titles. And the Packers were "America's Team" in the '60s, long before the Cowboys could make that claim.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

It is so interesting to me that back in the '60s, while Starr was admired as a top QB, nobody but nobody thought he was as good as Unitas. I'd wager that nowadays in our "measure stars only by rings" era, it'd be the opposite.

 

[OscarMadison]

My parents, especially my Dad, thought Unitas could walk on water. He still had a lot of affection for the Starr/Lombardi era Packers. I looked at old footage on Youtube to get a handle on the contrast between the two. Both QBs played the game like it was high stakes cul-de-sac pickup, only with better toys. From my vantage point as a tourist from 2019, it looked brutal, beautiful, and more joyful than the football I finally started watchng on my own in college.

If my Dad could wait with other fans for players to arrive at the afterlife the way people greet pro team charters, I'm sure he would be there to cheer for Mr. Starr's entrance.

 

[garrow]

My parents, especially my Dad, thought Unitas could walk on water. He still had a lot of affection for the Starr/Lombardi era Packers. I looked at old footage on Youtube to get a handle on the contrast between the two. Both QBs played the game like it was high stakes cul-de-sac pickup, only with better toys. From my vantage point as a tourist from 2019, it looked brutal, beautiful, and more joyful than the football I finally started watchng on my own in college.

If my Dad could wait with other fans for players to arrive at the afterlife the way people greet pro team charters, I'm sure he would be there to cheer for Mr. Starr's entrance.

I imagined John Facenda reading your words;

"It was high stakes cul-de-sac pickup, only with better toys on that afternoon in December of 1966 at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium when Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas, number 19, faced Bart Starr and the visiting Green Bay Packers in front of 60,238 spellbound fans."

 

[Jake from State Farm]

My dad took me to see the Lions and the Packers in 1965, when I was 10. The Lions led 21-3 at halftime, but on a 3rd-and-1 Starr threw a slant over the middle to Bob ****ing Long that went for a 62-yard TD pass. Starr three two more TD passes in the third quarter, including a 77-yarder to Carroll Dale, and the Lions lost 31-21