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Bart Starr
Bart Starr
143 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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February 14, 2025
Sports biographies written during the career of their subject are an interesting study. Some are serious biographies, others mere media tie-in products to cash in on a superstar's fame. John Devaney's Bart Starr still holds up as a pretty good sports book for kids many years later. It begins on January 15, 1967: Super Bowl I. The new NFL-AFL championship game pits the Green Bay Packers of head coach Vince Lombardi and quarterback Bart Starr against the Kansas City Chiefs, helmed by eventual Hall of Fame QB Len Dawson. The Chiefs are motivated to prove themselves against the Packers, but who could beat the Lombardi machine at its peak? You'd get the idea that Bart the Cool never lost a big game in his life, but he had a tougher row to hoe than you think.
Born January 9, 1934, Bryan Bartlett Starr was a kid of average size, strength, and speed, but he practiced with obsessive dedication. As quarterback of Lanier, his high school team, Bart attracted interest from top universities, but elected to stay where he grew up, in Alabama. His sophomore year with the Crimson Tide, Starr blossomed as one of the nation's more promising QBs, but injury sidelined him his junior year, and coach neglected to prioritize him as a senior. Bart's NFL dream was fading, but the Green Bay Packers took him as their last pick in the draft. Could he course correct and make something of himself at the pro level?
"One of the first things that happen after you lose your physical well being is that you also lose your mental poise."
—Bart Starr, P. 105
Training camp in 1956 easily could have seen Starr cut from the team. He was retained for the NFL season as a backup QB, but the Packers were far from their 1920s and '30s glory days, and Bart had few opportunities to prove his value. 1957 and '58 whizzed by, and Bart's morale was in the tank. Every mistake he made in a game stewed in his brain for days, leading to even worse results. Following an awful 1958 campaign by the team, the Packers fired head coach Scooter McLean and hired unproven Vince Lombardi. Alternating between Lamar McHan and Starr as quarterback, Lombardi stuck with Starr as 1959 drew to a close. In 1960, his tandem days were over: Bart was the guy in Green Bay. The team captured their first Western Conference title in years and met the Philadelphia Eagles in a championship showdown. The Packers lost, but would 1961 be their breakthrough?
"Always play to win...Winning may not be everything, but the effort put forth to win is everything."
—Bart Starr, P. 117
Starr had been fully integrated as the centerpiece of Lombardi's system, riding a conservative passing game and potent running attack behind legends Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor. The Packers captured the Western Conference title in 1961 and pivoted to face the vaunted New York Giants for the NFL championship, a chance Bart wouldn't fumble again. The Packers swept away the Giants to win the NFL crown, and their appetite for success only grew. 1962 featured an exhausting battle with the Detroit Lions for the Western Conference title, but the Packers refused to take a step back. Good as the Baltimore Colts' Johnny Unitas was, many considered Bart Starr the finest QB in the world, combining the patience of a saint with uncanny passing accuracy and just enough unpredictability to keep the opponent wobbly. The Packers won the Western Conference and prevailed against the Giants in a second consecutive NFL championship. Two years of limited success came after, but in 1965 the Packers retooled and powered their way to a third NFL championship, this time over the Cleveland Browns. With Bart still in his prime they were even stronger in 1966, emerging as the first-ever Super Bowl champions just about the time this book was released. The Packers were the team of the 1960s.
"The game of football, after all, is just like the game of life except that it's played in a shorter time period. In football, as in life, you have got to learn to overcome things like anger. And when you do overcome them, you are a better football player and a better man."
—Bart Starr, P. 16
It appears Bart Starr was published a bit premature. Another year would have seen his Packers polish off the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II, becoming the first three-peat NFL champions since Curly Lambeau's Packers of 1929-31. Vince Lombardi rode into the sunset after that as arguably the greatest head coach the NFL has seen, and Starr struggled a few more seasons before retiring in 1972. Many said Starr was a creation of Lombardi's system, but he improvised often and with a high success rate, orchestrating the Packers’ offense to a degree most people aren't aware. Does Bart deserve consideration as an all-time NFL quarterback alongside the likes of Otto Graham, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady? I believe so. The book devotes several chapters to showing Starr as a family man and community member, quick to lend a hand and slow to complain just as he was in Lombardi's locker room. I rate Bart Starr two and a half stars; it demonstrates what a man labeled a failure can make of himself, and is a good inspiration for kids desiring to succeed in sport or any venture. Limited in historical perspective the book may be, but it's good.
Born January 9, 1934, Bryan Bartlett Starr was a kid of average size, strength, and speed, but he practiced with obsessive dedication. As quarterback of Lanier, his high school team, Bart attracted interest from top universities, but elected to stay where he grew up, in Alabama. His sophomore year with the Crimson Tide, Starr blossomed as one of the nation's more promising QBs, but injury sidelined him his junior year, and coach neglected to prioritize him as a senior. Bart's NFL dream was fading, but the Green Bay Packers took him as their last pick in the draft. Could he course correct and make something of himself at the pro level?
"One of the first things that happen after you lose your physical well being is that you also lose your mental poise."
—Bart Starr, P. 105
Training camp in 1956 easily could have seen Starr cut from the team. He was retained for the NFL season as a backup QB, but the Packers were far from their 1920s and '30s glory days, and Bart had few opportunities to prove his value. 1957 and '58 whizzed by, and Bart's morale was in the tank. Every mistake he made in a game stewed in his brain for days, leading to even worse results. Following an awful 1958 campaign by the team, the Packers fired head coach Scooter McLean and hired unproven Vince Lombardi. Alternating between Lamar McHan and Starr as quarterback, Lombardi stuck with Starr as 1959 drew to a close. In 1960, his tandem days were over: Bart was the guy in Green Bay. The team captured their first Western Conference title in years and met the Philadelphia Eagles in a championship showdown. The Packers lost, but would 1961 be their breakthrough?
"Always play to win...Winning may not be everything, but the effort put forth to win is everything."
—Bart Starr, P. 117
Starr had been fully integrated as the centerpiece of Lombardi's system, riding a conservative passing game and potent running attack behind legends Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor. The Packers captured the Western Conference title in 1961 and pivoted to face the vaunted New York Giants for the NFL championship, a chance Bart wouldn't fumble again. The Packers swept away the Giants to win the NFL crown, and their appetite for success only grew. 1962 featured an exhausting battle with the Detroit Lions for the Western Conference title, but the Packers refused to take a step back. Good as the Baltimore Colts' Johnny Unitas was, many considered Bart Starr the finest QB in the world, combining the patience of a saint with uncanny passing accuracy and just enough unpredictability to keep the opponent wobbly. The Packers won the Western Conference and prevailed against the Giants in a second consecutive NFL championship. Two years of limited success came after, but in 1965 the Packers retooled and powered their way to a third NFL championship, this time over the Cleveland Browns. With Bart still in his prime they were even stronger in 1966, emerging as the first-ever Super Bowl champions just about the time this book was released. The Packers were the team of the 1960s.
"The game of football, after all, is just like the game of life except that it's played in a shorter time period. In football, as in life, you have got to learn to overcome things like anger. And when you do overcome them, you are a better football player and a better man."
—Bart Starr, P. 16
It appears Bart Starr was published a bit premature. Another year would have seen his Packers polish off the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II, becoming the first three-peat NFL champions since Curly Lambeau's Packers of 1929-31. Vince Lombardi rode into the sunset after that as arguably the greatest head coach the NFL has seen, and Starr struggled a few more seasons before retiring in 1972. Many said Starr was a creation of Lombardi's system, but he improvised often and with a high success rate, orchestrating the Packers’ offense to a degree most people aren't aware. Does Bart deserve consideration as an all-time NFL quarterback alongside the likes of Otto Graham, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady? I believe so. The book devotes several chapters to showing Starr as a family man and community member, quick to lend a hand and slow to complain just as he was in Lombardi's locker room. I rate Bart Starr two and a half stars; it demonstrates what a man labeled a failure can make of himself, and is a good inspiration for kids desiring to succeed in sport or any venture. Limited in historical perspective the book may be, but it's good.
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