America's Quarterback: Bart Starr and the Rise of the National Football League

Dunnavant (The Missing Ring) is effusive in his admiration of the Hall of Fame quarterback of the dominant Green Bay Packers teams of the 1960s. No one thought Starr would make the team after being drafted 200th overall, but he set a standard for winning championships%E2%80%94his teams won the first two Super Bowls. Dunnavant's use of football metaphors ("Rozelle drew a flag" from a judge) is ubiquitous, and cumbersome, forced analogies ("Hornung's... running was... the predicate in a complex and meticulously crafted sentence") at times render the narrative almost comical. He overcomes those stumbles in establishing the historical, social, and cultural context of the era, juxtaposed with Starr's career, his "squeaky-clean, All-American image," and the coinciding popularity surge of professional football. His brilliant rendition of the 1967 NFL championship game, dubbed the "Ice Bowl" because of the frigid conditions, is an engrossing climax to an era and career. Although somewhat diminished by the effusiveness and strained effects, Dunnavant provides a solid study of an American icon during a turbulent period. Photos. (Sept.)