Starr Prefers to Watch, Wait in Planning NFL Franchise in Baltimore

Taking an aggressive posture relative to eventually owning and directing a new professional football team in Baltimore isn’t in the game plan of former Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr. In the parlance of the sport, he and his associates are playing it soft. They are waiting and watching before making any kind of a commitment.

Starr and at least one interested partner, John Colbrunn, will be here Monday to huddle with the Maryland Sports Advisory Commission. On two previous trips, Starr, a much-respected Hall of Fame member, has met with Gov. William Donald Schaefer. They’ve come to know and like each other.

Putting a franchise in Baltimore, if and when the National Football League gives the green light for expansion, is of considerable concern to Starr. But he’s not going to offer anything definitive on the matter. It’s all a question of timing.

“We are merely sharing information with friends in what we know about the possibility of the league eventually adding new teams,” Starr said. Then, three more times he reiterated the same words: “We are merely sharing information.”

But, obviously, Starr and those with him are impressed with Baltimore. “I’ve always felt that way,” he said. “I played there enough to know the enthusiasm of the people and visited in the off-season to know what it’s like. There’s an electricity that is obvious to an outsider. I have respect for the fans and for Baltimore. They deserve a franchise.”

Pressed to express a personal thought on where Baltimore would rank while in expansion competition with other challengers, such as Oakland, St. Louis, Jacksonville and Memphis, he quickly answered: “At the top of the list.”

On a visit to Baltimore in mid-June, when he came here at the invitation of a friend, Phyllis Brotman, president of Image Dynamics Inc., Starr asked his longtime rival on the field and the opponent he admired more than any other, fellow Hall of Famer John Unitas, to spend some time with him.

Again, no promises were made but it’s a natural to link Starr and Unitas. Is it his hope if Baltimore has a future for Starr that Unitas would be included with him? “Very much so,” he answered. Then a pause . . . followed by “if we are fortunate enough to be selected.”

There’s no way Starr is going to speak out prematurely, issue bold statements or endanger the good will and progress that has been made in what, up to now, has been a passive exploration of what is still a nebulous situation.

He did say that in his group, which also includes Tom Stoen, whom he describes as “the most honest man I have ever known”; Joe Foss, a World War II Medal of Honor winner, later governor of North Dakota and the first commissioner of the American Football League; and Willie Davis, a former Packer teammate who is one of the most successful black business leaders in the nation.

Starr is looking forward to a return to Baltimore. But when asked to talk about the franchise possibility, he is cautious and concerned, realizing there’s no point in offering bold predictions.