Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, and was selected in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL draft by the Packers, for whom he played for 16 seasons until 1971. Starr is the only quarterback in NFL history to lead a team to three consecutive league championships (1965–1967). He led his team to victories in the first two Super Bowls: I and II. As the Packers' head coach, he was less successful, compiling a 52–76–3 (.408) record from 1975 through 1983.
Starr was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the first two Super Bowls and during his career earned four Pro Bowl selections. He won the league MVP (MVP) award in 1966. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. Starr has the third highest postseason passer rating (104.8), after Baker Mayfield (105.6) and Patrick Mahomes (105.4), of any quarterback in NFL history and a postseason record of 9–1. His career completion percentage of 57.4 was an NFL best when he retired in 1972. For 32 years (through the 2003 season), Starr also held the Packers' franchise record for games played (196).
Starr was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama to parents Benjamin Bryan Starr (1910–1985), a labor foreman with the state highway department, and Lula (Tucker) Starr (1916–1995). 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. He was first in the U.S. Army but transferred to the U.S. Army Air Forces for his military career.
Starr had a younger brother, Hilton E. "Bubba" Starr. In 1946, Bubba stepped on a dog bone while playing in the yard and three days later died of tetanus. Starr's relationship with his father deteriorated after Hilton's death. He was an introverted child who rarely showed his emotions and his father pushed Starr to develop more of a mean streak.
Starr attended Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery, and 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 chose 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, Starr 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, where his idol, quarterback Babe Parilli, played. 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.
During Starr’s freshman year at Alabama, the Southeastern Conference allowed freshmen to play varsity football. Starr did not start for Alabama as a freshman, but he did play enough minutes to earn a varsity letter. His high point of the season came in quarterback relief in the Orange Bowl, when he completed 8 of 12 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown against Syracuse.
Starr entered his sophomore year as Alabama's starting quarterback, safety and punter. His punting average of 41.4 yards per kick ranked second in the nation in 1953, behind Zeke Bratkowski. Alabama recorded a 6–2–3 record and lost in the Cotton Bowl to Rice by a score of 28–6. Starr completed 59 of 119 passes for 870 yards, with eight touchdowns that season.
In May 1954, Starr eloped with Cherry Morton. The couple chose to keep their marriage a secret. Colleges often revoked the scholarships of married athletes in the 1950s, believing their focus should remain on sports. Cherry remained in Jackson, Alabama, while Starr returned to the University of Alabama.
That summer, Starr suffered a severe back injury during a hazing incident for his initiation into the A Club. He covered up the cause by fabricating a story about being hurt while punting a football. He rarely played during his junior year due to the injury. The back injury disqualified him later from military service, and would occasionally bother him the rest of his football career. After a disappointing season of 4–5–2, Harold Drew was replaced by Jennings B. Whitworth as coach of Alabama.
Whitworth conducted a youth movement at Alabama for the 1955 season and only two seniors started for the team. Supposedly healed from the back injury, Starr rarely played in his senior season. Starr's decision to play football for Alabama rather than for Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky did not sit well with Bryant, and four years later as head coach of the Blue–Gray Football Classic in 1955, Bryant hardly let Bart play at all.
Johnny Dee, the basketball coach at Alabama, was a friend of Jack Vainisi, the personnel director of the Green Bay Packers. Dee recommended Starr as a prospect to Vainisi. The Packers were convinced that Starr had the ability to succeed in the NFL and would learn quickly. In the 17th round of the 1956 NFL draft, Starr was selected by the Packers, with the 200th overall pick.
Starr spent the summer of 1956 living with his in-laws and throwing footballs through a tire in their backyard in order to prepare for his rookie season. The Packers offered $6,500 (equivalent to $57,000 in 2024) to sign Starr and he accepted, with the added condition, requested by Starr, that he receive $1,000 up front.
Starr began as a backup to Tobin Rote in 1956 and split time with Babe Parilli until 1959, Vince Lombardi's first year as the Packers head coach. In that season, Lombardi pulled starter Lamar McHan in favor of Starr, and he held the starting job henceforth. The following season, the Packers advanced to the 1960 NFL Championship Game, but lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in Lombardi's only post-season loss as a head coach.
The 1961 season was Starr's first season as a full-time starting quarterback for the Packers, throwing for over 2,400 yards and 16 touchdown passes, leading the Packers to an 11–3 record and a return to the NFL Championship Game, this time against the New York Giants. Starr threw for 164 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 37–0 Packers victory. Starr and the Packers continued their success in 1962, going 13–1. Even though Starr was not the focal point of the Packers' offense, which was the running duo of Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung, he still provided a solid passing attack, throwing for a career-high 2,438 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the league with a completion percentage of 62.5. The Packers repeated as NFL champions, beating the Giants again in the NFL Championship Game, 16–7. While not as impressive with his passing in these earlier years of his career, Starr was responsible for calling plays on the Packers' offense (which was then the norm), proving to be an effective strategist on offense.
In 1963, the Packers fell short of qualifying for their fourth consecutive NFL Championship Game appearance, with injuries to Starr keeping him from finishing a few games. Even so, Starr still threw for 1,855 yards and 15 touchdowns. In 1964, with Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung struggling to continue their strong running game, Starr started to become more of the focus of the Packers' offensive attack. Vince Lombardi would help this shift by acquiring more capable pass catchers to the offense, trading for receiver Carroll Dale to join with Boyd Dowler and Max McGee, replacing tight end Ron Kramer with Marv Fleming, and drafting more pass-catching running backs in Elijah Pitts and Donny Anderson. With these new offensive weapons, Starr would put up his best passing seasons from 1964 to 1969. In 1964, despite the Packers only going 8–5–1, Starr threw for 2,144 yards, 15 touchdown passes, and only 4 interceptions. He led the league with a 97.1 passer rating.