Decision day is here for Starling, who has Iola ties

Today is a big day for Kansas  City Royals’ top draft choice, Bubba Starling. Starling  has to make a life-changing decision today.
The Kansas multi-sport star who graduated from Gardner-Edgerton High School has had all summer to mull over whether to sign a multi-million dollar Major League Baseball contract with the Royals or head to Lincoln, Neb., as a full-ride scholarship football player for the Cornhuskers.
Starling, is the grandson of the Shirley (Fox) and the late Gary Strack, both of Iola. Starling’s great-aunt Janice (Strack) Lust of Iola brought the connection to the attention of the Register two years ago. Starling has been known nationally by three different sports factions — football, basketball and baseball.
Starling has until 11 p.m. today to give the Royals an answer after they made him their  first-round pick in the June MLB amateur draft. Starling has Scott Boras, a high-powered sports agent, and his parents, James and Debbie Starling, helping him sort out what his future is going to be.
“He has been in Nebraska this summer,” Lust told the Register over the weekend. “But he is not on the Nebraska football roster right now.”
Gary Strack was a two-sport star for Iola High School in the early 1950s. Gary Strack is the father of Debbie Starling.
According to some clippings from the Register from 1949 to 1952, Gary Strack cracked the starting lineup for the Mustangs as a sophomore in 1949 in both basketball and football. He was an all-state offensive end for the Mustangs’ football team in 1951.
There were four Strack brothers — Bob, Gary, Micky and David — plus Janice. Gary and Micky are deceased.
“As the youngest, I saw a lot of football, basketball and baseball games growing up. All my brothers were good athletes here,” Lust said.
Gary Strack was an All-SEK football and basketball player at 6-2, 180 pounds as a senior in 1951-1952. He went to Kansas State to play on the Wildcats’ freshman football team then transferred to Independence Junior College.
So the 6-5, 195-pound Starling comes by his athletic abilities naturally. By tonight, he will either be playing for his hometown favorite Major League Baseball team as a center fielder or getting ready to run the Cornhusker offense as quarterback.