Get out your calendars, Green Bay Packers fans, and start booking your trips to Canton, Ohio, for the 2013 inductions into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That's when quarterback Brett Favre will certainly take his rightful place among the greatest players -- at any position -- to ever play the game.

Favre's position in the NFL record books is secure, for now. With the announcement of his retirement Tuesday -- after 17 years in the NFL, including the last 16 with the Packers -- Favre holds just about every significant career passing record.

"He has the four meaningful quarterback records," said Joe Horrigan, vice-president of communications with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "As far as his place in history, we're all aware of what that is."

Those four records are passing yards (61,655), passing attempts (8,758), pass completions (5,377) and touchdown passes (442). He broke the completion record in 2006 and the rest last season. Horrigan has no doubt which record stands at the top of the list.

"I think he will tell you touchdowns, because they translate into points, which, hopefully, means you're winning," Horrigan said. "As a barometer of success, that's probably the one."

Still, the record that might be most associated with Favre has nothing to do with passes or touchdowns. It shows how his legacy goes far beyond all the records he set.

The seemingly indestructible Favre holds the record for most consecutive starts by a quarterback at 253. If playoff games were counted, the record would be at 275.

Until Favre came along, no one seemed to pay any attention to consecutive starts. Yet, it was probably the statistic that got repeated the most, especially at the start of almost every television broadcast.

"It's certainly a testament to his dedication," Horrigan said. "Consecutive starts doesn't mean he wasn't hurting. We're talking about a guy who put himself behind the needs of the team often. I think it's more of a character record. ... It really does speak to the man."

Of course, Favre also holds the record for most career interceptions, a reflection of his "gunslinger" mentality. He was one of the great improvisational quarterbacks of all time, capable of pulling off miracles -- or disasters -- with equal aplomb.

But Favre's 288 career interceptions should not tarnish the other marks, Horrigan said, since they were a by-product of his playing style and longevity.

"It comes with playing that long, it comes with his style," Horrigan said. "He may have thrown interceptions, but they still won. He didn't let that deter him from continuing to throw the ball, which was his strength."

Favre's 16-yard scoring pass to Greg Jennings in Week 4 last season at Minnesota broke the old TD record of 420 set by the Miami Dolphins' Dan Marino.

The celebration included a taped message from Marino that was played on the scoreboard, in which the Hall of Fame quarterback said, "I loved holding the touchdown record for the past 13 years. But if someone was going to break it, I'm glad it was someone like you, who has always competed at the highest level and always played to win."

Now, Favre gets a chance to sit back and watch as Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning goes after many of those records, just like Marino watched Favre.

Manning, who turns 32 on March 24, has completed 3,468 of 5,405 passes for 41,626 yards and 306 TDs in 160 career games. At his current career pace of 260.2 passing yards per game, it would take Manning 77 games to break the record for passing yards. That's a little less than five years, barring injury.

It would take Manning 72 games, at his current pace, to break the record for TD passes.

Manning has also started 160 straight games and needs 94 starts, or a little less than six full seasons, to break that record.

"It's never say never," Horrigan said. "Obviously, there are very few records, what you would call unbreakable, as we keep seeing.

"If Peyton stays healthy, he has a shot. There's no indication that will come to an end. But guys have to play a long time to accomplish what Brett has done. Sometimes, the motivation to stay in the game that long isn't as strong as it might have been with him."

No matter how long Favre's records last, his legacy will remain intact, especially among fans who got to see him play. He's not only one of the best players of his generation, but also one of the most popular.

"I think of guys of yesteryear that he puts me in mind of, like a Bobby Layne," Horrigan said of the former Detroit Lions quarterback. "Doak Walker, his teammate and old friend, had a great line that 's been reassigned to others. He used to talk about, 'Bobby Layne never lost a game, sometimes time just ran out.' I think of Brett Favre that way. I don't care what the score was, he was always in there to win."

The Pro Football Hall of Fame already has a large collection of what Horrigan called "Favre-abilia."

"Every week (last year), there was some reason to be calling the Packers and saying, 'Can you put that way for us?' '' he said.

The Packers have 21 individuals in the Hall of Fame, second-most behind the Chicago Bears. Rules call for a player to be retired for five full seasons before being eligible for enshrinement.

Favre, who has one Super Bowl ring, will go in having accomplished just about everything possible from an individual and team standpoint. Among the many other records he holds is most wins (160) by a starting quarterback.

In the end, that will probably define Favre's legacy as much as anything: winning and the unbridled joy with which he competed.

"In a team sport, that's ultimately what you want, a winning team," Horrigan said.

"That's why you wear a Super Bowl ring, because you played on a team sport. Eventually, as Brett likely will, he'll wear a Hall of Fame ring, which says, that's your reward for the individual accomplishments he got along the way.

"As an athlete, that's what you want, that individual Hall of Fame ring, but you also want that ring that you can say, 'As a team, I contributed to what the team sport is all about and that's winning.' ''