The Green Bay Packers will salute the two greatest quarterbacks in franchise history Thursday night in what promises to be an emotional night at Lambeau Field.
The franchise will retire Brett Favre’s number 4 but in attendance, perhaps for the last time, will be Hall of Fame quarterback and fan favorite Bart Starr, now 81. Starr suffered a series of strokes last year but will make the trip to Green Bay to salute Favre. The two became close during Favre’s long tenure as the Packers’ quarterback.
Our Photo of the Day from RMY Auctions could be the earliest photograph of Starr in a Packers uniform. Taken just after the start of training camp in his 1956 rookie season, it was part of a newspaper archive and was first filed into their archives on August 6 of that year. His rookie card wasn’t produced until the following season’s 1957 Topps set.
The 3 ¾” x 6” photo shows the young University of Alabama graduate posing in the Packers’ 1950s style uniform wearing his now familiar number 15.
The Packers struggled mightily in Starr’s first few seasons but the arrival of Vince Lombardi as coach in 1959 turned their fortunes around and for much of the next decade, the Packers would be a perennial contender.
RMY’s November Premier Auction includes over 1,200 vintage sports and other types of photographs. Bidding concludes December 5 at RMYAuctions.com.
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