UPDATE: This story now includes additional comments from Starr's son, Bart, Jr., who says he has a "different take" on whether this will be his last trip to Lambeau.
More than 60 years after Bart Starr stepped foot inside Lambeau Field, he and his wife have announced that their trip to the home of the Green Bay Packers will be what they believe to be his final travels to the place he helped make a football shrine.
Starr, the 16-year quarterback of the Packers (1956-71) and coach of the franchise (1975-83), and his wife Cherry held a powerful news conference Monday, where they announced numerous gifts to the Packers Hall of Fame including his Super Bowl II championship ring.
Bart Starr just said “I’m happy to be here.” We’re ecstatic you’re here Bart. #Packers pic.twitter.com/hI4gSi53T2
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) October 23, 2017
At the news conference, Cherry said that this would be the last trip north for Bart after medical battles including numerous strokes and a heart attack.
However, she said something similar two years ago, around the time they were planning to return for the Favre jersey retirement ceremony on Thanksgiving in 2015.
"I always have a different take, which is you don't know what the future holds," Starr Jr. said Monday. "She was sure that the last one was the last one. I said `No it's not. We're coming back."'
This trip included the 50th anniversary celebration of the Super Bowl II championship team - the only team in modern NFL history to win three consecutive league championships, believed to be a record that may never be matched.
Starr is the winningest championship quarterback in NFL history, as he currently is tied with New England's Tom Brady for the most titles with five (1961-62, 1965-67 for Starr).
The other items donated by the Starr family include:
- Watches commemorating the 1962 NFL Championship and back-to-back Super Bowl titles in Jan. 1967 and Jan. 1968, along with an NFL Players Association watch given by the Better Boys Foundation in 1968
- Microfilm from Bart Starr Day in the state of Wisconsin in October of 1970
- A 1977 Packers Hall of Fame Induction ring
- A jacket given to Starr in 2016 for being Super Bowl MVP in Jan. 1967 and Jan. 1968
Bart's 50th Anniversary Superbowl MVP Jacket & Cherry's Kodak necklace were among the items donated today by the Starr family.#PackersHOF pic.twitter.com/Fg9TDuWlil
— Packers Hall of Fame (@PackersHOF) October 23, 2017
