Green Bay Packers: 50 greatest players in franchise history

Greatest players in Green Bay Packers history: 4. Bart Starr

When you think of the success the Packers have had during the Super Bowl era, it starts and ends with the quarterback. The first elite signal caller we will touch on is Pro Football Hall of Famer Bart Starr. To think he went from being a 17th-round draft pick out of Alabama to being the two-time Super Bowl champion field general for Vince Lombardi is pretty incredible.

Starr largely struggled his first few years in the league, but found his footing in 1960. He would make his first of four trips to the Pro Bowl that season. Green Bay would go on to win five NFL championships with Starr as the Packers’ star signal caller. He was a very accurate passer during his day, leading the league in completion percentage on four separate occasions. Five times would he lead the league in passer rating.

Starr made three All-Pro second teams and the All-Pro first team in 1966. That year, saw Starr win NFL MVP, as he led the Packers to the very first Super Bowl victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. He would retire after the 1971 NFL season with a record of 94-57-6 as a starter, completing 57.4 percent of his passes for 24,718 yards, 152 touchdowns and 138 interceptions. Starr would go on become the Packers’ head coach for nine seasons from 1975 to 1983, but only had one playoff victory to his coaching resume.

After retiring from play, Starr would have his No. 15 jersey retired by the Packers and be enshrined in the Packers Hall of Fame. Starr made the NFL’s All-Decade Team for the 1960s. In 1977, Starr would be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His Canton classmates would include Frank Gifford, former Packers teammate Forrest Gregg and Bill Willis. While his coaching career wasn’t great, Starr was simply an outstanding quarterback for the Packers.