A versatile infielder, Starr played in the Chicago Cubs farm system in 1960 and 1961. In 1960, he was on Cub minor league teams in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and Carlsbad, New Mexico. In 1961, he played for the Chiefs, a Cub farm team in Wenatchee, Washington.

Starr was an infielder for Belleville Township High School from 1953 to 1956, and his team won the Illinois state championship in 1954.

He also played for the prestigious Belleville Hilgards Post 58 team that won the Illinois American Legion state championship in 1954. He is a member of the Belleville Hilgards American Legion Hall of Fame.

Starr received a baseball scholarship to the University of Missouri at Columbia and played for the Mizzou Tigers baseball team from 1957 to 1960. His team finished second at the College World Series in 1958. The Tigers lost in the final round to the University of Southern California Trojans. Starr was captain of the 1960 team. He set several team records at the University of Missouri at Columbia. He also received a football scholarship to Mizzou, and he was a quarterback on the Tigers team.

He spent four seasons in the Ban Johnson League with the St. Louis Buick Dealers team, and four seasons in the St. Louis County League with the Sievers Tavern team. During those eight years, he was selected to many all-star teams.

In the 1960s, Starr was the head baseball coach at Joplin Memorial High School in Joplin, Missouri. He guided his team to numerous championships.

In 1987, Starr coached the Berkeley High School football team to the Missouri state championship.