Alabama football: 15 greatest Crimson Tide NFL careers ever
By Joey Loose
Greatest Alabama football career No. 4: Bart Starr
One of the game’s most successful quarterbacks, Bart Starr was Alabama’s quarterback way back in the mid-1950s, though he’d clearly make more of an impact when he got his shot at the NFL.
Starr was originally nothing more than a project, becoming a 17th-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers way back in 1956. He started a handful of games early in his career with the Packers with limited success but really came into his own when Vince Lombardi was hired in 1959.
Starr was the Packers’ full-time starter moving forward, playing a major role in one of football’s greatest dynasties. Starr helped lead the Packers to NFL titles in 1961 and 1962, two seasons that ended in Pro Bowl bids for him as well, but the best was yet to come.
He was the NFL MVP in 1966, the same year he led the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl I. Combining that with the previous year’s success and his win in Super Bowl II, he’s the only quarterback to win three consecutive NFL titles. His personal record as starting quarterback during this seven-year stretch was a mind-boggling 69-18-4.
Though he passed away a few years ago, Starr is a Pro Football Hall of Famer who had a major impact on the Green Bay Packers and football as a whole. His stats look incomparable to today’s game, but he was a winner and marvelous passer who led the Packers to all sorts of success in the 1960s.