Bart Starr passes away.......

He was my hero back in the 60's when I was a kid. Gutsy player, can't remember the number of times he tossed a long ball on 3rd and 1
 
Wow. I didn't think he was that old. I met him and his family in the late 70's - we were on the same flight to Denver for some skiing. Seemed like a decent guy.
 
As a kid he was the guy. I read Jerry Kramer's "Instant Reply" a bunch of times.

RIP.
 
Too young to remember him, but RIP.
 
Remember watching him play when I was a kid. This was after Bart Starr's glory days under Lombardi. Yet, during that era if Unitas was considered the GOAT then Starr wasn't far behind. In the days when QB's called their own plays.

RIP Bart Starr.
 
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I just watched the Ice Bowl at
, which was the most complete replay of that game I found. Some interesting things on the last minute TD play that I did not know.

- The Cowboys were expecting a pass. It was 3rd down, 16 seconds to go, no time outs left, and they had stopped 2 runs already, so they figured Starr would throw for the end zone or out of bounds if no one was open, and they'd still have one play left. There's almost no way they'd have gotten another play off had they not scored on 3rd down. So the Dallas linemen weren't as entrenched as you might have thought. In fact Pugh was a little more upright so he could try to bat down a pass.

- The play Starr called with actually a fullback dive, but he had decided he could get to the hole more quickly himself, so he kept it. He had discussed it with Lombardi on the sidelines during the time out, but told nobody in the huddle, and their fullback, Chuck Mercein, was surprised to not get the ball. In fact he had to hold up and make sure he wasn't penalized for pushing Starr in, which was illegal back then.

- Jerry Kramer, who made the key block (along with center Ken Bowman), actually jumped the snap a bit, which may have given him the advantage needed to beat Jethro Pugh. It should've been called an off-sides penalty, with no play. Who knows what would've happened then? Maybe the Packers would've thrown for a TD on 3rd and 6th. Maybe they tie it with a FG and the game goes to overtime and they all spend even more time out in that cold. Or maybe Dallas wins in regulation with an interception or a missed FG.

- Kramer, btw, noticed during the week that Pugh stood up pretty high and suggested that play (with the FB carrying). Lombardi looked at the film a few times and agreed, and they had it in mind for that type of situation.

One more funny thing, in the post game interviews they take a break and one of the announcers reminds fans that tickets still remain for the Super Bowl. I burst out laughing, since that would never happen today, but I don't think the Super Bowl even sold out.
 
My Bart Starr story…

I grew up in Milwaukee and, like most Wisconsinites at the time (60s and 70s), was a big Packer fan. One of my favorite experiences at the time was an annual visit to Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. (I was also a big nerd.)

For a reason that’s not worth going into, my brother and I got separated from our mother. Not knowing what else to do, we went to the information desk in the center of main lobby. I was completely distraught, partly because we didn’t know where our mother was but mostly because I was missing out on time to peruse the museum. (Yep, big nerd.)

A man approached the information desk, and kindly asked us what was wrong. After we let him know, he introduced himself as Bart Starr, and offered to give us his autograph. My brother and I, born and bred Packers fans, thought this was awesome and calmed down immediately. (We were reunited with our mother about 10 minutes later.)

That was about 50 years ago, but I’ll always remember that moment of simple kindness.
 
Dawg52 said:
When I was a kid I always enjoyed the rivalry between the Packers and Colts. Starr and Johnny Unitas had some classic games against each other. Starr wasn't flashy but got the job done. A field General and winner of the 1st two Super Bowls. May he RIP.
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Yeah, same here. I grew up in Chicago and remember watching a lot of those contests. He was a great quarterback.
 
RunningBum said:
I just watched the Ice Bowl at
, which was the most complete replay of that game I found. Some interesting things on the last minute TD play that I did not know.

- The Cowboys were expecting a pass. It was 3rd down, 16 seconds to go, no time outs left, and they had stopped 2 runs already, so they figured Starr would throw for the end zone or out of bounds if no one was open, and they'd still have one play left. There's almost no way they'd have gotten another play off had they not scored on 3rd down. So the Dallas linemen weren't as entrenched as you might have thought. In fact Pugh was a little more upright so he could try to bat down a pass.

- The play Starr called with actually a fullback dive, but he had decided he could get to the hole more quickly himself, so he kept it. He had discussed it with Lombardi on the sidelines during the time out, but told nobody in the huddle, and their fullback, Chuck Mercein, was surprised to not get the ball. In fact he had to hold up and make sure he wasn't penalized for pushing Starr in, which was illegal back then.

- Jerry Kramer, who made the key block (along with center Ken Bowman), actually jumped the snap a bit, which may have given him the advantage needed to beat Jethro Pugh. It should've been called an off-sides penalty, with no play. Who knows what would've happened then? Maybe the Packers would've thrown for a TD on 3rd and 6th. Maybe they tie it with a FG and the game goes to overtime and they all spend even more time out in that cold. Or maybe Dallas wins in regulation with an interception or a missed FG.

- Kramer, btw, noticed during the week that Pugh stood up pretty high and suggested that play (with the FB carrying). Lombardi looked at the film a few times and agreed, and they had it in mind for that type of situation.

One more funny thing, in the post game interviews they take a break and one of the announcers reminds fans that tickets still remain for the Super Bowl. I burst out laughing, since that would never happen today, but I don't think the Super Bowl even sold out.
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I remember this game well. A classic. Funny how certain games stick out in your mind more than others. Another game that I remember(nothing to do with Starr) more than other games was Super Bowl 3 when Joe Namath led the Jets to a big upset over the Colts. First win for the AFL over the mighty NFL.
 
Dawg52 said:
I remember this game well. A classic. Funny how certain games stick out in your mind more than others. Another game that I remember(nothing to do with Starr) more than other games was Super Bowl 3 when Joe Namath led the Jets to a big upset over the Colts. First win for the AFL over the mighty NFL.
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I remember that too, mostly because my dad was in a rotten mood after the game. I always thought it was just because he was an old time NFL fan and hated the AFL, but just a couple years ago found out he lost a huge bet on the game. Back then he traveled all week and I think he ate PB&Js for a few months and fudged his expense account to recover it. He thinks Mom never found out. I'd love to ask her if she knew, but don't want to dredge any trouble up.
 
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