Overtown’s Duane Starks Still Giving Back to Overtown

Duane Starks was one of the best coverage cornerbacks to play for the University of Miami Hurricanes. He grew up in Miami’s Overtown section and was a gifted option quarterback, defensive back and track athlete at Miami Beach High School. Miami Beach coach Jim Kroll believed in putting his best athlete at quarterback. Starks was the first of a great string of athletes to play quarterback for Miami Beach in the 1990s, which included high school teammates Samari Rolle and Chad Johnson.

Starks’ was considered one of the best athletes to come out of Miami-Dade County in 1993. But his grades needed work. He began his college career at Holmes Junior College in Mississippi. After a great freshman year, he lived out his childhood dream of playing for the Miami Hurricanes. He was named All Big East as a senior and was a also a dangerous punt returner. Drafted in the first round by the Baltimore Ravens in 1998, Starks played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Ravens, Cardinals, Patriots and Raiders, intercepting 25 passes in his career. His most memorable play came in Super Bowl XXXV when he returned an interception for a touchdown in Baltimore’s victory over the New York Giants.

Starks has also been successful since his football career. He currently resides in Davie, FL and owns Quanstar Limousine Service, which operates in South Florida. He’s been a longtime contributor to the Overtown Optimist Club. The park’s football field is named after Starks. To read more stories about the history of the Orange Bowl, visit us at https://www.facebook.com/ghostsoftheorangebowl