Bart Starr was an ordinary quarterback until teaming with Vince Lombardi and serving as the catalyst for the powerhouse Green Bay Packers teams that ruled the 1960s and ushered in the NFL as AmericaB次元官网网址檚 most popular sport.
The quarterbackB次元官网网址檚 graceful throws helped turn a run-heavy league into a passing spectacle, yet itB次元官网网址檚 a run for which heB次元官网网址檚 most famous: the sneak that won the famed B次元官网网址淚ce BowlB次元官网网址� in 1967.
Starr died Sunday at age 85 in Birmingham, Alabama, the Packers said. He had been in failing health since suffering two strokes and a heart attack in 2014.
Starr is the third of LombardiB次元官网网址檚 dozen Hall of Famers to die in the past eight months. Fullback Jim Taylor died in October and offensive tackle Forrest Gregg died last month.
B次元官网网址淎 champion on and off the field, Bart epitomized class and was beloved by generations of Packers fans,B次元官网网址� Packers President Mark Murphy said in a statement. B次元官网网址淎 clutch player who led his team to five NFL titles, Bart could still fill Lambeau Field with electricity decades later during his many visits.B次元官网网址�
Bart Starr: Ice Bowl hero 鉂勶笍
B次元官网网址� Green Bay Packers (@packers)
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The Packers selected Starr out of the University of Alabama with the 200th pick in the 1956 draft. He led Green Bay to six division titles, five NFL championships and wins in the first two Super Bowls.
Until Brett Favre came along, Starr was known as the best Packer ever. The team retired his No. 15 jersey in 1973, making him just the third player to receive that honour. Four years later, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
After losing the 1960 NFL title game in his first playoff appearance, the Packers never lost another playoff game under Starr, going 9-0, including wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders in the first two Super Bowls.
StarrB次元官网网址檚 college career wasnB次元官网网址檛 very noteworthy and it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until LombardiB次元官网网址檚 arrival in Green Bay in 1959 that Starr, living by his motto B次元官网网址渄esire and dedication are everything,B次元官网网址� began to blossom.
Lombardi liked StarrB次元官网网址檚 mechanics, his arm strength and especially his decision-making abilities. Under LombardiB次元官网网址檚 nurturing, Starr became one of the leagueB次元官网网址檚 top quarterbacks.
B次元官网网址淚f you work harder than somebody else, chances are youB次元官网网址檒l beat him though he has more talent than you,B次元官网网址� Starr once said. He credited Lombardi for showing him B次元官网网址渢hat by working hard and using my mind, I could overcome my weakness to the point where I could be one of the best.B次元官网网址�
The gentlemanly quarterbackB次元官网网址檚 status as a Packers icon was tested by his struggles as the teamB次元官网网址檚 head coach. In nine seasons from 1975-83, he won just 41 per cent of his games, going 53-77-3, including 1-1 in the playoffs, part of three decades of futility that followed the glory years.
After football, Starr, became a successful businessman in Birmingham, Alabama, not far from his hometown of Montgomery, where he was born on Jan. 9, 1934.
Starr was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro. He won NFL titles in 1961, B次元官网网址�62, B次元官网网址�65, B次元官网网址�67 and B次元官网网址�68. He was the 1966 NFL MVP and was named to the 1960s All-Decade team. He also was named MVP of the first two Super Bowls.
When Starr retired following the 1971 season, his career completion rate of 57.4 per cent was tops in the run-heavy NFL, and his passer rating of 80.5 was second-best ever, behind only Otto Graham.
But the play he was most famous for was a run.
In the NFL championship on Dec. 31, 1967, Starr knifed into the end zone behind guard Jerry Kramer and centre Ken Bowman with 16 seconds left to lift the Packers over the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in what became known as the B次元官网网址淚ce Bowl.B次元官网网址�
The Packers had spent $80,000 for a heating coil system that was to have kept the field soft and warm, and forecasters said not to worry because the approaching cold front wouldnB次元官网网址檛 arrive until after the game.
B次元官网网址淚t was 20 degrees the day before,B次元官网网址� the late Tom Landry once recalled. B次元官网网址淚t was great. Vince and I were together that night and we talked about how good the conditions were and what a great game it would be.B次元官网网址�
They were half-right. When the grounds crew rolled up the tarpaulin, a layer of condensation had formed underneath and, with 40 mph wind, the field promptly froze like an ice rink. Packers running back Chuck Mercein would later compare the ground to B次元官网网址渏agged concrete.B次元官网网址�
With a temperature of minus-14 and a wind chill of minus-49, it was the coldest NFL game ever recorded. The wind chill had dipped another 20 degrees by the time the Packers got the ball at their 32 trailing 17-14 with five minutes left.
With one last chance for an aging dynasty to win a fifth NFL title in seven seasons, Starr took the field as linebacker Ray Nitschke hollered, B次元官网网址淒onB次元官网网址檛 let me down!B次元官网网址�
Starr wouldnB次元官网网址檛, completing all five of his passes and directing one of the most memorable drives in NFL history.
B次元官网网址淲e all have a capacity to focus and to concentrate to a unique degree when weB次元官网网址檙e called upon to do it,B次元官网网址� Starr said on the 30th anniversary of that game. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 exactly what I did that day. And I think the same was true of the Cowboys. LetB次元官网网址檚 face it, they obviously were not accustomed to something like that and yet they were the team which had surged and come back in the second half and were in a position to win it.B次元官网网址�
With 1:11 remaining, tackle Bob Skoronski opened a hole and Mercein charged through the middle for 8 yards to the Dallas 3.
Halfback Donny Anderson slipped twice on handoffs, so Starr called timeout, went to the sideline and suggested a sneak because of the poor traction.
B次元官网网址淭hen run it and letB次元官网网址檚 get the hell out of here,B次元官网网址� Lombardi barked.
The play worked perfectly, a flawless finish to that coldest of games so frozen in time.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e never been in a huddle where there was greater composure and where there was a higher level of intensity and concentration,B次元官网网址� Mercein once told The Associated Press.
Mercein is the one in the famous photograph of the play diving into the end zone behind Starr with his hands held high, as though heB次元官网网址檚 signalling B次元官网网址淭ouchdown!B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淏ut what IB次元官网网址檓 actually doing is IB次元官网网址檓 showing the officials that IB次元官网网址檓 not assisting or aiding Bart into the end zone,B次元官网网址� Mercein said.
That would have been a penalty and it would have negated historyB次元官网网址檚 most famous quarterback sneak.
Mercein and the rest of his teammates thought he was going to get the handoff on the play. Nobody knew but Starr and Lombardi that it was to be a quarterback sneak. So, Mercein dug in, thinking he was getting the ball, and he got a great takeoff on the frozen field.
B次元官网网址淎s a matter of fact too good because after a couple of steps I realized I wasnB次元官网网址檛 going to get the ball. But I couldnB次元官网网址檛 really pull up because it was so icy,B次元官网网址� Mercein said. B次元官网网址淪o thatB次元官网网址檚 why I dive over the play and I have my arms upraised, which appears to everyone in that famous picture that IB次元官网网址檓 signalling touchdown.B次元官网网址�
Two weeks later in sunny Miami, the Packers defeated the AFL champion Raiders 33-14 in LombardiB次元官网网址檚 final game as head coach of the Packers.
Starr replaced Dan Devine as Packers head coach in 1975 and would be replaced himself by former teammate Forrest Gregg in 1984 after failing to lead the franchise to the kind of success he did as a player.
In 1965, Starr and his wife, Cherry, helped co-found Rawhide Boys Ranch in New London, Wisconsin, a facility designed to help at-risk and troubled boys throughout the state.
The couple dealt with tragedy in 1988 when their son Brett died at 24 due to complications from cocaine addiction. They also had another son, Bart Jr.
B次元官网网址淲hile he may always be best known for his success as the Packers quarterback for 16 years, his true legacy will always be the respectful manner in which he treated every person he met, his humble demeanour and his generous spirit,B次元官网网址� StarrB次元官网网址檚 family said in a statement.
B次元官网网址淗is love for all of humanity is well known, and his affection toward the residents of Alabama and of Wisconsin filled him with gratitude. He had hoped to make one last trip to Green Bay to watch the Packers this fall, but he shall forever be there in spirit.B次元官网网址�
Starr has an NFL award named after him, given annually to a player of outstanding character.
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Arnie Stapleton, The Associated Press
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