The only NFL quarterback to lead his team to three straight championship game appearances, and Pro Football and Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer Bart Starr passed away Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama at the age of 85 after failing health following a serious stroke suffered in 2014.
Starr is a five time league champion winning what was known as the league title in 1961, 1962, and 1965. He led the Green Bay Packers to the first three Super Bowls in NFL history from 1967-1969. Starr was the MVP in Packers Super Bowl wins in Super Bowl I and II in 1967 and 1968. He also won League MVP in 1966. The Birmingham native is still the only quarterback in NFL history to appear in three straight Super Bowls. Starr was a 17th round draft pick (#200) out of Alabama in 1956. He only played for Green Bay in his career from 1956-1971. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. He also spent time as a coach for Green Bay, first as a quarterbacks coach in 1972 and then as a less successful head coach from 1975-1983, where he compiled a 52-76-3 record including a 1-1 playoff mark.
The Hall of Fame quarterback is best known for his sneak at the goal line in the 1967 NFC Championship game to beat Dallas in sub zero temperatures in a game that was known as the “Ice Bowl”. Starr still owns the record for highest passer rating in playoff games at 104.8, and also the best record in postseason in league history at 9-1. He is a four time Pro Bowler and led the league five times in passer rating in 1962, ’64, ’66, ’68, and ’69. He is also a part of the 1960s NFL All Decade Team and his number 15 is retired by Green Bay.
