The Kingdom of Green Bay

When the NFL was taking huge steps in popularity in the 1960's, the small-market Green Bay Packers were at the heart of it.

Led by Vince Lombardi, the club won five NFL titles (and the first two Super Bowls) over the course of seven seasons. And could well have had six.

At the heart of a talent-laden team was Bryan Bartlett Starr, who turns 86 today.

Starr, the Hall of Fame quarterback who, like his peers, called his own plays and ran the offense his way -- after building that playbook with Lombardi. This wasn't the era of passers throwing for 4,000 yards a season. This was an era of game control; for Green Bay, that was Jimmy Taylor and Paul Hornung on the Packer Sweep, turning the corner behind guards Fuzzy Thurston and Jerry Kramer.

It's hard to picture Starr even getting a sniff at today's NFL. At Alabama, from 1952-1955, he completed just 155 of 285 passes (54.4%) for 1,903 yards with 10 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Hardly the numbers of a guy who would go on to win five NFL titles. After all, he was picked in the 17th round (yes, SEVENTEENTH) in 1956. The league had just 12 teams then.

Yet Starr and his wife of 65 years, Cherry, are probably the closest thing to royalty that Wisconsin has ever seen. The Starrs, in 1965, were involved in starting the  Rawhide Boys Ranch to give back to the community. Based in New London, it continues today to offer at-risk youth programs, programs that help reshape lives and provide counseling services for boys, girls, adults and families.

For years, and on his own, Starr would call Green Bay draft picks and welcome them to the Packer family. Not even an ill-advised stint as head coach could dim the shine on this Starr. Without any coaching experience, he responded when the franchise asked him to come in as head coach -- because of the loyalty he felt to the Green Bay Packers. From 1975-83, he directed the Packers to a 53-77-3 record (he was 1-1 in the playoffs).

I was covering the Packers then for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern, and Starr never offered excuses or was anything but a pro's pro.

Despite that lack of success as a coach, Starr is beloved by Packer fans. Whenever he has returned to Lambeau Field for Packer Alumni reunions, no one gets a bigger ovation than Bart Starr, no matter who shared the field with him.

Remember when former persona non grata Brett Favre returned to be honored and mend fences, Packer faithful forgave him because Bart Starr did as well, attending Favre's special evening despite health issues.

Starr is on the mend after heart issues and a couple of strokes. Cherry was on a local sports talk show recently to say he was doing better after stem cell procedures -- well enough, in fact, to head over to be photographed with a couple of quarterbacks at his alma mater, Alabama

I'm sure all Packer fans agree with me here -- that it would be nice if the Royal Couple could walk the Lambeau Field Kingdom just once more.