An encounter with St. Louis Cardinals defensive back Jimmy Hill put Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr out of action.
Starr led the Packers to five NFL championships and twice won the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Starr played in 10 postseason games and the Packers won nine of those.
On Oct. 20, 1963, the Packers played the Cardinals in St. Louis and Starr started at quarterback for the 44th consecutive game.
In the third quarter, Starr was flushed out of the pocket by the Cardinals’ pass rush and took off running. After a gain of 15 yards, Starr was headed out of bounds when Hill swung a forearm into him. The force of the blow knocked both Starr and Hill off their feet.
As Starr fell, he used his right hand to try to soften the impact with the ground and a bone snapped. He suffered a hairline fracture to his throwing hand.
Entangled with Hill on the ground, Starr kicked his leg and struck Hill in the mouth. Hill punched Starr in the face.
“I know he didn’t mean it and I know I shouldn’t have hit him,” Hill said to the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Hill was ejected by the officiating crew and Starr, unable to continue, was replaced by a former Cardinal, John Roach.
“I apologized to him after the game and we shook hands, but it still makes me feel badly,” Hill said. “It was a refex action, I guess.”
Said a dazed Starr: “I don’t remember what happened out there.”
According to the book “Bart Starr: America’s Quarterback,” when Starr leaned down to retrieve his helmet, he couldn’t lift it. “That’s when I realized my hand was hurt,” he said.
Using a ground game to gain 225 yards rushing, the Packers (5-1) went on to a 30-7 victory over the Cardinals (4-2). The Packers’ top rushers were Elijah Pitts (77 yards), Jim Taylor (63 yards and two touchdowns) and Tom Moore (60 yards and a touchdown). Game stats
Starr was sidelined for four games and the Packers were 3-1 in his absence. He returned for the last four games of the season and though the Packers were 3-0-1 in those games, they finished in second place, behind the Chicago Bears, in the West Division. They missed the playoffs despite an 11-2-1 mark.
Two decades later, Starr joined a group trying to bring a NFL expansion team, the Phoenix Firebirds, to Arizona, but the effort ended when Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill moved his franchise from St. Louis to Phoenix for the 1988 season.
RetroSimba 
When I started following sports, it was Starr and Unitas, Mays and Mantle, and Russell and Chamberlain.
True legends and champions.
Sports Illustrated ran a hit piece on Jimmy Hill after this game saying that he “attacked” star and it was the “most reprehensible play of the season.” SI made no mention of Starr’s kick after the tackle or Starr’s exoneration of Hill after the game. Hill was never the same player after this hit and he sued Sports Illustrated for libel. It was later settled out of court.
Thanks for the insight, Bob. Didn’t know that!
Reblogged this on THE BIG RED ZONE and commented:
Another great blog from Mark Tomasik over at RetroSimba on Jimmy Hill’s hit on Bart Starr which may have cost the Packers a shot at another NFL Title.
The one loss with Starr on the sidelines was fatal. Losing a second time to the Bears not only cost Green Bay the division title, but in my opinion a third straight NFL championship.
You are quite right. In the game before Bart Starr returned to the lineup, the Packers were defeated 26-7 by the Bears on Nov. 17, 1963. Packers quarterbacks John Roach and Zeke Bratkowski were intercepted five times and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.
I was 10. The image of Bart on his back straddled by the db, being struck, haunted me for my adult life. I thought it was L.W. I thought he was the dirtiest player. Thanks for the revelation.
Thanks for reading and for commenting, Michael.
[…] The turning point in Jimmy Hills’ career came on October 20, 1963. The Green Bay Packers were visiting old Sportsman’s Park (Busch Stadium I) and had a 23-7 third quarter lead. Hill made a hard tackle on Packers quarterback Bart Starr along the west sideline. Starr kicked Hill in the mouth and Hill followed up with a punch to Starr’s face. Later the Big Red veteran expressed his regret. […]