Bart Starr - Determination Pays Off

Born Bryan Bartlett Starr in Montgomery, Alabama in 1934, Starr was one of two children of U.S. Air Force master sergeant Benjamin Bryan Starr and homemaker Lulu Inez Tucker. His father ran the household with the same discipline and insistence on responsibility that he demanded from his squadron, and at his father's insistence, Starr attended school at Hurt Military Academy.

Starr enjoyed playing baseball with friends in a vacant lot during the summers, but in the fall he played football, often imagining that he was playing in a championship game. His football hero during this period was Harry Gilmer, a star tailback at the University of Alabama, and he dreamed of throwing as well as Gilmer did.

At Baldwin Junior High in Montgomery, Alabama, Starr played wingback, as well as running back, blocker, and receiver. The school often used the "box formation," devised by famed Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne. By the time Starr entered Sidney Lanier High School in 1949, his coach, Bill Moseley, noted that Starr was not particularly talented for the game. His personality was a factor in this: Starr was notably modest and quiet, and his coach believed he was too shy to be a good quarterback. However, Moseley did praise Starr's focused concentration on football, as well as his determination to become a good player.

In 1951, Starr began receiving special coaching from Vito "Babe" Parilli, an All-American quarterback at the University of Kentucky. Parilli taught Starr basic skills and encouraged him to feel confident in himself. Under Parilli's tutelage, Starr began dreaming of becoming a star player for coach Paul "Bear" Bryant at the University of Kentucky.

Starr improved so much that at the end of his senior year of high school he was selected for the All-Star team. Every college in the Southeastern Conference except Tennessee tried to recruit him to play for their team. Starr was still interested in playing for Bryant at Kentucky and visited the school with some of his friends, but Starr's father urged him to stay closer to home and play for Alabama. In addition, Starr's girlfriend's school was close to the University of Alabama, and the issue was decided: he would accept a football scholarship from Alabama.

Bart Starr

During Starr's freshman year, in 1953, Alabama and Syracuse competed in the Orange Bowl; Alabama won 61-6. Starr, playing third quarterback, threw 29 passes in the game and completed 17 for 170 yards. Partly as a result of this performance, in the following year, Starr became the team's starting quarterback. His punting average was 41.4, the second-highest in the Southeastern Conference; only Zeke Bratkowski of Georgia beat him.

On May 8, 1954, Starr married Cherry Louise Morton; they would later have two children.

In the 1954-1955 season, Starr was out of play because of back injuries. Alabama scored 4-5-2 without his contribution. In 1955-1956, Starr was benched again after spraining his ankle; Alabama then lost ten games in a row, ending the year with 0-10.