As Packers fans, we should not let this day -- January 9 -- pass (no pun intended...wait for it) without wishing a very Happy Birthday to Packer great and Hall of Famer, Bart Starr. Bart turns 75 today.
While all the talk and focus these days is about the place, eventually, of Brett Favre in Packers and NFL history -- both well established, of course -- any discussion related to the Packers best QB really has to start with Starr.
As Tony Kornheiser said on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption program today, Favre has one Super Bowl ring, Starr has two plus three other NFL championship rings. Now...how do you rate the best Packers QB???
Mr. Starr has been one of the greatest members of the Packers community since he first joined the team in 1956 as a 17th round draft pick (yes, you read that right...17th round...but things were a bit different back then). He has been a quarterback, coach, and good will ambassador for the team, being one of those former "Glory Years" players instrumental in helping get the Brown County funding referendum passed for the renovated Lambeau Field.
Starr has also been involved in the broader Wisconsin community since his playing days. For more than 40 years, he and his wife, Cherry, has been involved in promoting and helping fund the Rawhide Boys Ranch near New London, WI, "a faith-based, non-profit residential care center dedicated to changing the lives of troubled teen boys."
Above all and always, Bart Starr has been a class gentleman. The majority of players in today's NFL could take Starr for a role model on and off the field. If only...
You can read more about Starr here.
Happy Birthday, Bart! And may you have many, many more.
