George Starke

George Lawrence Starke (born July 18, 1948) is an American business owner, activist, broadcaster and former professional football player who was an offensive tackle for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1984.

He played college football for the Columbia Lions and was selected by the Washington Redskins in the 11th round of the 1971 NFL draft. He appeared with the Redskins in two Super Bowls (1982 and 1983), helping them win Super Bowl XVII.

Starke's professional football career lasted 13 years and, at the time of his retirement, Starke had been captain of the Redskins for five years. He was named one of the 70 greatest players in Redskins history.^[1]

The 6'5", 255-pound Starke was known by many as the "Head Hog" of "The Hogs," the Redskins' famous offensive line which also included Russ Grimm, Don Warren, Rick Walker, Mark May, Joe Jacoby and Jeff Bostic.^[2] The Hogs stayed together with a few other later additions nearly a decade after Starke's retirement in 1984.

Following his retirement from professional football, Starke attended Ford Motors Dealer Operations School and opened "George Starke Ford" in Emmitsburg, Maryland. At the same time, he launched a career in television broadcasting.

In 1997, Starke founded the "Excel Institute" in Washington, D.C., a not-for profit adult education vocational training school for at risk individuals above the age of 16. After graduating over 500 students trained as auto technicians, Starke retired from the Institute on October 1, 2010.

Starke's other endeavors include "Head Hog BBQ" restaurants in Bethesda, Maryland and Rockville, Maryland named after the famous Washington Redskins offensive line of which he was the senior member.

Following his retirement from the institute, Starke started Starke Communications, a communications firm that provides communications, public relations and marketing services to corporate clients.