‘Bart Starr: America’s Quarterback’ set for Dec. 13 premiere

Who is the greatest NFL quarterback produced by Alabama? Joe Namath, Ken Stabler or Bart Starr? Could Jalen Hurts or Tua Tagovailoa be considered on the same level as those Pro Football Hall of Fame members some day?

The next installment of “SEC Storied” will focus on one of those signal-callers when “Bart Starr: America’s Quarterback” debuts at 8 p.m. CST Dec. 13 on SEC Network.

“Bart Starr’s life is so rich with narrative tension,” co-director Keith Dunnavant said. “This story matters because it reflects universal truths about the American experience, especially how you can, indeed, overcome very long odds to achieve your dream. Making the film was a reminder to us all about the fragility of life and about the power of resilience – on and off the football field.”

From an All-State prep career at Sidney Lanier in Montgomery, Starr helped Alabama win the SEC title and play in the Cotton Bowl as a sophomore.

But a back injury affected Starr’s availability and production over the next two years. His passing yardage for his final two seasons didn’t reach the output of his sophomore campaign, and he had one touchdown pass and nine interceptions in 1955, when the Crimson Tide sank to an 0-10 record.

The Green Bay Packers had picked 16 players in the 1956 NFL Draft before they selected Starr at No. 200. Starr wasn’t even Green Bay’s first selection from Alabama that year. Twelve picks before Starr, the Packers chose Crimson Tide right tackle Curtis Lynch.

Green Bay also chose two other quarterbacks in the 1956 draft – Florida’s Bobby Lance and Beloit’s Rod Hermes. Starr was the one who stuck with the team, and he started 19 of the Packers’ 36 games in his first three seasons, with Green Bay winning three of those starts.

In 1959, Vince Lombardi arrived as the Packers’ coach, and although Starr started only five games that season, Green Bay won four of them.

The next season, Starr earned a Pro Bowl invitation and the Packers played in the NFL Championship Game. Green Bay lost that contest 17-13 to the Philadelphia Eagles. But the Packers won the remaining nine playoff games in Starr’s career, including five NFL title games.

From 1965 through 1967, Green Bay became the second team to win three consecutive NFL crowns, with the final two league championships augmented by victories over the AFL representative in the first two Super Bowls.

Starr won the Most Valuable Player Award in both Super Bowl victories and was the NFL MVP for the 1966 season.

Starr entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977, his first year of eligibility.

“As a director, I always thought of Starr as kind of boring, a lousy sound bite,” co-director Fritz Mitchell said. “Humility has a hard time cutting through on television. But working on this film, I came to realize that Starr didn’t glide through life effortlessly. He worked tirelessly and faced adversity at each stage of his journey.”