Welcome back to Lombardi Ave's series on the greatest Green Bay Packers players to wear every jersey number from No. 0 to No. 99.
For the second straight entry, we've got another one of the more special jerseys in the entire series, as No. 15 is one of only six numbers to be retired by the Packers, the other five being No. 3 (Tony Canadeo), No. 4 (Brett Favre), No. 14 (Don Hutson), No. 66 (Ray Nitschke), and No. 92 (Reggie White).
There's no need to build any suspense, as the obvious winner here is legendary quarterback Bart Starr, but let's still go ahead and take a quick look at every other Green Bay player to wear No. 15.
- Dick Afflis, OT
- Myrt Basing, B
- Charlie Brackins, QB
- Cub Buck, OT/K/P
- Red Dunn, QB/HB
- Rex Enright, FB
- Ray Frankowski, G
- Bobby Garrett, QB
- Paul Held, QB
- Hal Hinte, E
- Swede Johnston, B
- Verne Lewellen, B
- Del Lyman, OT
- Paul Minick, G
- Babe Parilli, QB
- Chuck Sample, B
- Deck Shelley, B
- Red Smith, G
- Bart Starr, QB
- Damon Tassos, G
- Paul Young, C
It's undoubtedly worth mentioning that four other Packers Hall of Famers are on the list, as Cub Buck, Red Dunn, Swede Johnston, and Verne Lewellen all sported the number at one point or another back in the 1920s and 1930s.
But make no mistake about it; this number will forever and always be associated with Starr.
Bart Starr led the Green Bay Packers to the first two Super Bowl titles
While Starr had success as a sophomore at the University of Alabama, a back injury hindered his junior season, and he rarely played as a senior either, as Crimson Tide head coach Jennings B. Whitworth opted to roll with younger players.
Nevertheless, on the recommendation of Alabama basketball coach Johnny Dee, who was close with Green Bay personnel director Jack Vainisi, the Packers took Starr in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft with the 200th overall pick, which obviously turned out to be a wise decision.
Starr began his career backing up fellow legend Tobin Rote as a rookie and then split time with Babe Parilli, who later went on to a great career with the New England Patriots, and Lamar McHan until Vince Lombardi made him the full-time QB1 during the 1960 season, a campaign in which Green Bay made the NFL Championship Game for the first time since 1944. The Packers lost that game to the Philadelphia Eagles, but Starr & Co. were only getting started.
Over the next two years, Starr was elected to the Pro Bowl and led the Packers to 24 wins in 28 regular-season games and back-to-back victories in the NFL title game, defeating the New York Giants on both occasions.
After failing to make the title game in 1963 and 1964, Starr again made the Pro Bowl and led Green Bay to a championship in 1965. And in 1966, he not only earned a trip to the Pro Bowl and the lone First-Team All-Pro selection of his career, but he also took NFL MVP honors after completing a league-best 62.2 percent of his passes for 2,257 yards with 14 touchdowns against just three interceptions, adding another 104 yards and two scores on the ground.
That 1966 campaign, of course, was the first year that the NFL battled the AFL's best in what we now know as the Super Bowl. And when the Packers took on the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Championship Game for the right to represent the NFL in that first title game, Starr threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-27 victory and then went on to throw for 250 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers' 35-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs to take MVP honors in what was then called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
Starr only added to his legacy the following season, as he again received a Pro Bowl nod and led the Packers to an NFL Championship Game victory, again over the Cowboys in the famed Ice Bowl, and again took MVP honors in Green Bay's 33-14 win in Super Bowl 2 over the then-Oakland Raiders, which served as Lombardi's final game as the franchise's head coach.
Starr retired following the 1971 season having thrown for 24,718 yards and 152 touchdowns, both of which were franchise records at the time and are still good for third on the Packers' all-time list. His No. 15 was officially retired in 1973, and he was inducted into both the Packers Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.
Other Green Bay Packers jersey honorees
- No. 0: There's literally only one choice here
- No. 1: Micah Parsons isn't the pick just yet
- No. 2: The Packers' all-time leading scorer
- No. 3: The second player in franchise history to have his jersey retired
- No. 4: There's no introduction needed here
- No. 5: This player should have been the last to wear the number but wasn't
- No. 6: A genuine ironman
- No. 7: This player was straight magic (until he wasn't)
- No. 8: This player has the second-most points in Packers history
- No. 9: The winner here has an extremely famous relative
- No. 10: A star on the rise
- No. 11: Packers' first title-winning QB
- No. 12: Obviously isn't up for debate
- No. 13: Had 'no weakness'
- No. 14: The first to have his jersey retired by the Packers
This list will be updated daily until all 100 entries are complete, so be sure to check back in with Lombardi Ave for updates.
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