Paul Louis Staroba (born January 20, 1949) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver and punter. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1968 to 1970. During the 1970 season, he caught 35 passes for 519 yards and led the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, and finished fourth in the country, with a 41.5 yard punting average. He also played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in 1972 and the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

and

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in 1973.

Early years

Staroba grew up in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

, attended St. Matthew High School in Flint, and played high school football as a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

University of Michigan

Staroba enrolled at the

and played for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team from 1968 to 1970. He saw limited playing time as a sophomore and junior, catching 11 passes for 158 yards in 1968 and 12 passes for 141 yards in 1969. As a senior, Staroba became a starter and caught 35 passes for 519 yards. He had the best game of his career on October 31, 1970, in a 29-15 victory over the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

. He caught six passes from

Don Moorhead Don Moorhead (born October 11, 1948) is a former Canadian Football League quarterback. He was the starting quarterback for the BC Lions from 1971 to 1975 and for the Michigan Wolverines football team in 1969 and 1970. He set 24 football records ...

for a total of 178 receiving yards, a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Staroba also served as Michigan's punter, punted for 2,240 yards in 1970 (including 401 yards against Arizona), and led the Big Ten, and finished fourth in the country, with a 41.5 yard average in 1970.

Professional football

Staroba was selected by the

in the third round (66th overall pick) of the

1971 NFL Draft The 1971 National Football League draft was held January 28–29, 1971, at the Belmont Plaza Hotel in New York City, New York. The Boston Patriots, who did not officially change their name to New England Patriots until after the draft, used th ...

. He spent the

1971 NFL season The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Patriots changed their name to New England Patriots to widen their appeal to the entire New England region after moving to their new stadium in Foxbo ...

on the "cab squad" and appeared in eight games, one as a starter, for the Browns during the

1972 NFL season The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first (and to date the only) NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins ...

. Staroba had a 19-yard reception for the game-winning touchdown against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

. In June 1973, the Browns traded Staroba to the

in exchange for an undisclosed future draft choice. He caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from

Sonny Jurgenson Christian Adolph "Sonny" Jurgensen III (born August 23, 1934) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins. He was inducted int ...

in an exhibition game against the Broncos, but he was released by the Redskins in early September 1973. He was signed by the

in early December 1973, appeared in two games, and made one catch for a 23-yard gain. Staroba also had 12 punts for an average of 31.1 yards for the Packers. In July 1974, Staroba was one of players arrested for picketing a scrimmage between Green Bay Packers and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Nation ...

s during the

1974 NFL strike The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director De ...

despite a restraining order obtained by the Packers to keep them at a distance from

Lambeau Field Lambeau Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the north central United States, located in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The home field of the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), it opened in 1957 as City Stadium, replacing ...

Post-football life

After retiring from football, Staroba worked for an

Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple glo ...

dealership in Flint, Michigan. Staroba and his wife, Wendy, were married in approximately 1974, settled in

Grand Blanc, Michigan Grand Blanc is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and a suburb of Flint. The population was 7,784 as of the 2020 US Census. History The unincorporated village of Grand Blanc, or Grumlaw, was a former Indian campground firs ...

, and had five daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staroba, Paul 1949 births Living people American football punters American football wide receivers Cleveland Browns players Green Bay Packers players Michigan Wolverines football players People from Grand Blanc, Michigan Players of American football from Flint, Michigan

Early years

University of Michigan

Professional football

Post-football life

See also

References