Tuesday, May 28, 2019

My Parents and Bart Starr

You won't see very many midweek football posts on my blog during the regular NFL season.  You'll see even fewer during the off-season.  However when I heard the news of Bart Starr passing away on Sunday, I knew I couldn't wait until the weekend to publish a post.

Starr holds a special place within my collection.  It's not because he was my favorite player growing up.  He actually threw his final NFL pass nine months before I was born.  It's because he was my mom and dad's favorite player before Joe Montana came along.  My parents met and married in Wisconsin and the Packers were their favorite team until they came to California.  They even cheered for Starr and the Packers at the LA Memorial Coliseum when they played the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I.

So when I think of sports and my parents, Starr will always be one of the first people who comes to mind.  Over the years, I've put together a small collection of his cards.  In honor of #15, here it is:

1971 Topps Pinups #10

2012 Topps Five Star Signatures #FSS-BS (#'d 35/85)

1968 Topps Posters #4

1999 Score Supplemental Inscriptions #BS-15

1962 Topps #63

1971 Topps #200

2001 Topps Heritage Souvenir Seating #S3

2004 Fleer Greats of the Game Autographs #GBA-BS

1968 Topps #1


2001 Topps Gallery Heritage Relics #GRBS

2001 UD Legends Autographs #BST

And rounding out my Bart Star PC is my signed mini helmet:

Mounted Memories COA

Rest in peace, Mr. StarrThank you for all of the great memories you provided for my parents and Green Bay Packers fans out there.  Your legacy will not be forgotten.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

15 comments:

Dennis said...

Wow, great collection! I love those Score Inscriptions. From all I've heard Starr was both a great player and good person. RIP

Johnnys Trading Spot said...

That is a very nice Starr collection.

Tony Lehman said...

Very cool collection! I've read and heard some very cool tributes to him over the past few days. He was a far better person than he was a football player. Considering his HOF status as a player, that is saying something.

Hackenbush said...

Collections don't have to be large to be special. I'm not a Packers fan but I do appreciate class.

Jon said...

Such a great collection! And such a great reason to collect somebody :)

The Lost Collector said...

Really nice collection! Admittedly I knew his name very well, but am embarrassed to say I didn't know very much about his career.

Mark Hoyle said...

Nice collection Fuji

SumoMenkoMan said...

I was definitely saddened to hear that he had passed and glad he brought so much viewing joy to your parents. A nice collection in tribute.

Baltmoss68 said...

Excellent collection Fuji. I pick up his cards whenever I can

Collecting Cutch said...

That's an impressive collection

Fuji said...

dennis - yeah, don't think i've ever heard anything negative about mr. starr. and those acetate inscription autographs from the 90's are awesome, but keep them away from light. they fade quickly.

johnnys trading spot - thank you kind sir. btw, i received your package yesterday. can't wait to open it up.

tony lehman - learned a lot about his character from all of these tributes. he was a class act for sure.

hackenbush - very true. my starr collection will never be one of my largest, but it's definitely special to me.

jon - thanks. i'm having fun finding cards related to my mom.

the lost collector - i knew a little about him, because of my dad. plus being a packers fan, it's almost a prerequisite to learn about the basics of #15

mark hoyle - thanks! hope to continue picking up things here and there

sumomenkoman - sad that so many of those packers from the lombardi era are passing away. i keep their memories alive by collecting their cards

baltmoss68 - thanks. can't go wrong collecting cards of the super bowl i and super bowl ii mvp.

collecting cutch - coming from the greatest cutch collector on the planet... i'm flattered.

Jeremy said...

That's a great collection. Love the mini-helmet!

Fuji said...

Thanks. It goes well with my Rodgers & Favre mini helmets.

Comatoad said...

Starr was also my hero growing up. I even rooted for him as a Packercoach, although I don't feel he was given much to work with. Like sumomenkoman, I have a bunch of Lombardi era cards I've amassed from when I was a kid watching the Pack. It's kind of sad that our childhood heroes are only human after all.

Fuji said...

I really need to add more of his Lombardi era cards to my collection. Maybe I'll make it a goal of mine to add one card of his every year in honor of my parents.