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Bart Starr Special
Green Bay General Tire Ad, Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 10, 1957.
Who is Employed at the Corner of Madison and Pine?
Today the people who work in the building located at the corner of Madison and Pine Streets in Green Bay are employees of the Brown County’s Central Library. However, between 1956 and 1970, the building at that corner (501 Pine Street) was used to sell tires. Green Bay General Tire was located there from about 1956 to 1961, and Ray’s Tires from 1962 to 1970.
In June 1957, during the off-season period before his second season with the Packers, Bart Starr joined the sales team of Green Bay General Tire.
Green Bay Press-Gazette, June 7, 1957.
Like many Green Bay Packers players before him, Bart Starr – future Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback and Packers Coach – supplemented his income with a job supplied by a community employer.
From the 1920s into the 1970s, the Green Bay Packers worked with local businesses to give players off-season employment and to encourage them to stay in the community year-round. Several players established successful businesses here, such as Don Hutson’s Packer Playdium bowling alley and dance hall in the 1940s. Other players pursued successful professional careers in the area, such as Verne Lewellen, who practiced law with a local firm and served as Brown County District Attorney from 1929 to 1933 while playing for the Packers.
Packers Historian Cliff Christl has written an informative online article about the Packers’ jobs program. Find it here: Packers’ jobs program critical to their early survival
