1989 Green Bay Packers season

1989 Green Bay Packers season
1989 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Lindy Infante
General manager	Tom Braatz
Home field	Lambeau Field; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	10–6
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	QB Don Majkowski; WR Sterling Sharpe; FB Brent Fullwood; LB Tim Harris
	← 1988; Packers seasons; 1990 →;

The 1989 Green Bay Packers season was their 71st overall and their 69th in the National Football League. The Packers finished with a 10–6 record, their best since 1972, but failed to make the playoffs. The team was often referred to as "The Cardiac Pack" due to several close-game wins. The 1989 Packers hold the NFL record for most one-point victories in a season with four. The team was coached by Lindy Infante and led by quarterback Don Majkowski, who attained his nickname "The Majik Man."

Offseason[]

The Green Bay Packers selected Tony Mandarich with their first pick of the 1989 NFL Draft, passing on prospects such as Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Mandarich was a first-team All-American, an Outland Award finalist and a two-time Big Ten Lineman of the Year. Mandarich would later hold out most of the preseason, playing most of the regular season on special teams. Four years after signing Mandarich, the Packers cut him. ESPN rated Mandarich as the third biggest sports flop in the past 25 years.^[2]

Round	Selection	Overall	Player	College	Position
1	2	2	Tony Mandarich	Michigan State	T
3	2	58	Matt Brock	Oregon	DE
3	18	74	Anthony Dilweg	Duke	QB
4	3	87	Jeff Graham	Long Beach State	QB
5	12	124	Jeff Query	Millikin	WR
5	15	127	Vince Workman	Ohio State	RB
6	3	142	Chris Jacke	Texas-El Paso	K
7	2	169	Mark Hall	SW Louisiana	DE
8	3	198	Thomas King	SW Louisiana	DB
8	11	206	Brian Shulman	Auburn	P
9	2	225	Scott Kirby	Arizona State	T
10	3	254	Ben Jessie	SW Texas State	DB
11	2	281	Cedric Stallworth	Georgia Tech	DB
12	3	310	Stan Shiver	Florida State	DB

Personnel[]

Staff[]

**1989 Green Bay Packers staff**

	Front office President and Chief Executive Officer – Bob Harlan Executive Vice President of Football Operations – Tom Braatz Head coaches Head Coach – Lindy Infante Offensive coaches Offensive Backs – Willie Peete Wide Receivers – Wayne "Buddy" Geis Tight Ends – Virgil Knight Offensive Line – Charlie Davis Offensive Assistant – Joe Clark			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Hank Bullough Defensive Line – Greg Blache Outside Linebackers – Dick Moseley Defensive Backs – Dick Jauron Special teams coaches Special Teams – Howard Tippett Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Virgil Knight

^[3]

Roster[]

**1989 Green Bay Packers roster**

	Quarterbacks 8 Anthony Dilweg 10 Blair Kiel 7 Don Majkowski Running backs 27 Herman Fontenot 21 Brent Fullwood 35 Michael Haddix 33 Keith Woodside 46 Vince Workman Wide receivers 83 Carl Bland 81 Perry Kemp 88 Aubrey Matthews 85 Jeff Query 84 Sterling Sharpe Tight ends 80 Clint Didier 89 John Spagnola 86 Ed West		Offensive linemen 67 Billy Ard G 76 Mike Ariey 51 Blair Bush C 63 James Campen C 58 Mark Cannon 65 Ron Hallstrom G 77 Tony Mandarich T 57 Rich Moran G 75 Ken Ruettgers T 73 Alan Veingrad T Defensive linemen 61 Jerry Boyarsky NT 93 Robert Brown DE 72 Mark Hall DE 79 Bob Nelson NT 68 Blaise Winter DE		Linebackers 59 John Anderson OLB 56 Burnell Dent ILB 97 Tim Harris OLB 50 Johnny Holland ILB 91 Brian Noble ILB 54 Scott Stephen OLB 52 Mike Weddington ILB Defensive backs 32 Dave Brown CB 26 Chuck Cecil FS 23 Tiger Greene FS 22 Mark Lee CB 20 Mike McGruder CB 37 Mark Murphy SS 28 Ron Pitts CB 29 Ken Stills SS 49 Mickey Sutton CB 24 Van Jakes CB Special teams 17 Don Bracken P 13 Chris Jacke K		Reserve lists 82 Erik Affholter WR 62 Matt Brock DE (IR) 60 Dave Croston T (IR) 99 John Dorsey LB (IR) 96 Shawn Patterson DE (IR) 70 Keith Uecker T/G (IR) Practice squad 43 TE 36 FB 71 DE 40 WR 38 S Rookies in italics

Regular season[]

Although the Packers failed to make the Playoffs, they recorded their best record since 1972. The Packers finished 10–6, placing them second in the NFC Central. The Minnesota Vikings also finished 10–6, but held the tiebreaker due to a better conference record. The team finished with a 10–6 record for their first winning season since the strike shortened the 1982 season. It was also the first club to record 4 1-point victories in a season. The club was 6–2 at home and 4–4 on the road.^[4] The Packers offense had success due to a strong passing game, headed by quarterback Don Majkowski. Majkowski finished first in the NFL in passing yards and completions. He earned a bid to the NFL Pro Bowl. Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe finished the season first in receptions, and second in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Sharpe would also earn a bid to the Pro Bowl.^[5]

The Herschel Walker trade and the Packers[]

On October 8, 1989, the Packers hosted the Dallas Cowboys, featuring star running back Herschel Walker. Four days later, the Cowboys traded Walker to the Minnesota Vikings, the next team on the Packers' schedule. Walker's debut with the Vikings occurred three days after the trade, on October 15, 1989, against the Packers. The Packers faced Walker for a third time during the regular season, on November 26, 1989, when the Packers played the Vikings again. These regular season games between the Packers and Walker occurred in three different cities: Green Bay, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee.

The Instant Replay game[]

On November 5, 1989, the Packers beat the Bears 14–13, but not without controversy. Don Majkowski led the Packers to a comeback and a game-winning touchdown pass to Sterling Sharpe with less than a minute left to play. Initially the play was called a touchdown, but line judge Jim Quirk had called a penalty on Majkowski for being beyond the line of scrimmage when he threw the pass. With a nervous and tense crowd at Lambeau Field, the call went up to the instant replay official, Bill Parkinson. Several minutes later the call came down and the touchdown was awarded as recorded by instant replay. The Lambeau faithful and Packer players erupted with joy because it marked the first time since 1984 that the Packers had beaten their long-time rivals. The Packers would later beat the Bears again in the season.^[6] The game was broadcast on CBS with Dick Stockton and Dan Fouts on the call.

The last team to beat San Francisco[]

On November 19, 1989, the Packers traveled to Candlestick Park and beat Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. It would be one of only two losses for the 49ers, and the last before the 49ers finished out the season 8–0, including a 55–10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXIV. In that game, the Packers matched their win total from the previous season (4–12). Although regarded at the time as a fluke, Green Bay would proceed to win 13 of the next 15 contests with San Francisco over the next 21 seasons.^[7]

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	September 10, 1989	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 23–21	Lambeau Field	55,650
2	September 17, 1989	New Orleans Saints	W 35–34	Lambeau Field	55,809
3	September 24, 1989	at Los Angeles Rams	L 41–38	Anaheim Stadium	57,701
4	October 1, 1989	Atlanta Falcons	W 23–21	Milwaukee County Stadium	54,647
5	October 8, 1989	Dallas Cowboys	W 31–13	Lambeau Field	56,656
6	October 15, 1989	at Minnesota Vikings	L 26–14	Metrodome	62,075
7	October 22, 1989	at Miami Dolphins	L 23–20	Joe Robbie Stadium	56,624
8	October 29, 1989	Detroit Lions	W 23–20 (OT)	Milwaukee County Stadium	53,731
9	November 5, 1989	Chicago Bears	W 14–13	Lambeau Field	56,556
10	November 12, 1989	at Detroit Lions	L 31–22	Pontiac Silverdome	44,324
11	November 19, 1989	at San Francisco 49ers	W 21–17	Candlestick Park	62,219
12	November 26, 1989	Minnesota Vikings	W 20–19	Milwaukee County Stadium	55,592
13	December 3, 1989	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–16	Tampa Stadium	58,120
14	December 10, 1989	Kansas City Chiefs	L 21–3	Lambeau Field	56,694
15	December 17, 1989	at Chicago Bears	W 40–28	Soldier Field	44,781
16	December 24, 1989	at Dallas Cowboys	W 20–10	Texas Stadium	41,265

Season summary[]

Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers[]

Week 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers	0	20	3	0	23
Packers	7	0	7	7	21

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: September 10, 1989
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 60 °F (16 °C)
TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz and Pat Haden
[1]

showGame information

Week 5: vs. Dallas Cowboys[]

Week 5: Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	6	7	0	0	13
Packers	10	7	7	7	31

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: October 8, 1989
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 39 °F (4 °C)
TV announcers (CBS): Tim Brant and Dan Jiggetts
[2]

showGame information

Week 9[]

^[8]

Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs[]

Kansas City Chiefs at Green Bay Packers

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	21	0	0	21
Packers	0	3	0	0	3

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: December 10, 1989
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 23 °F (−5 °C)
TV announcers (NBC): Jim Donovan and Jimmy Cefalo
[3]

showGame information

Week 15 at Chicago Bears[]

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	14	10	6	10	40
Bears	7	7	14	0	28

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: December 17, 1989
Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
Game weather: Overcast, 8 °F (−13 °C)
TV announcers (CBS): Pat Summerall and John Madden
[4]

showGame information

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings⁽³⁾	10	6	0	.625	6–2	8–4	362	356	W1
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	.625	5–3	10–4	362	275	W2
Detroit Lions	7	9	0	.438	4–4	6–6	312	364	W5
Chicago Bears	6	10	0	.375	2–6	4–8	358	377	L6
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	5	11	0	.313	3–5	5–7	320	419	L4

Season statistical leaders[]

Passing Yards: Don Majkowski 4,318 yards
Passing Touchdowns: Don Majkowski 27 TDs
Rushing Yards: Brent Fullwood, 821 yards
Rushing Touchdowns: Brent Fullwood, 5 TDs
Receiving Yards: Sterling Sharpe, 1,423 yards
Receiving Touchdowns: Sterling Sharpe, 12 TDs
Points: Chris Jacke, 108 points
Kickoff Return Yards: Vince Workman, 547 yards
Punt Return Yards: Jeff Query, 247 yards
Sacks: Tim Harris, 19.5 sacks
Interceptions: Dave Brown, 6 interceptions^[9]

Awards and records[]

Sterling Sharpe, NFL Leader in Receptions (90)
Sterling Sharpe, Second in NFL in Receiving Yards (1,423)

Milestones[]

Don Majkowski, First 4,000 Yard Passing Season
Sterling Sharpe, First 1,000 Yard Receiving Season

Hall of Fame Inductions[]

In 1989 Packer great Willie Wood was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Zeke Bratkowski and Ron Kostelnik were inducted to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame

References[]

^ Pro Football Reference; 1989 NFL Pro Bowlers
^ ESPN 25 Biggest Sports Flops Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine
^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 266
^ 1989 League Leaders – NFL Archived 2004-10-11 at the Wayback Machine from Pro-Football-Reference
^ "Majik" Act Still A Big Hit With Packers Fans Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine from 10/05/2004
^ See 1989 San Francisco 49ers season
^ The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Dec-09.
^ 1989 Green Bay Packers Stats obtained 12/03/2006

External links[]

1989 Green Bay Packers statistics Archived 2007-04-25 at the Wayback Machine – Pro-Football-Reference
1989 Green Bay Packers – Database Football

[1] Pro Football Reference; 1989 NFL Pro Bowlers

[2] ESPN 25 Biggest Sports Flops Archived 2011-05-24 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

[4] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 266

[PFR-5] 1989 League Leaders – NFL Archived 2004-10-11 at the Wayback Machine from Pro-Football-Reference

[6] "Majik" Act Still A Big Hit With Packers Fans Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine from 10/05/2004

[7] See 1989 San Francisco 49ers season

[8] The Football Database. Retrieved 2018-Dec-09.

[jt-sw-9] 1989 Green Bay Packers Stats obtained 12/03/2006

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1920s	1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930s	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940s	1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950s	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
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1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
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show v t Green Bay Packers
Founded in 1919 Based and headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin
Franchise	Founders: Curly Lambeau & George Whitney Calhoun Franchise overview Green Bay Packers, Inc. Charitable Foundation Team history
Records	Coaches Draft history First-round draft picks Hall of Fame Fan Hall of Fame Players A–D E–K L–R S–Z Pro Bowlers Pro Football Hall of Famers Records Retired numbers (3 4 14 15 66 92) Seasons Stadiums Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Hagemeister Park Bellevue Park City Stadium Borchert Field Wisconsin State Fair Park Marquette Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium Lambeau Field
Training facilities	Clarke Hinkle Field Don Hutson Center Ray Nitschke Field Rockwood Lodge (former) St. Norbert College (training camp)
Culture	"Bang the Drum All Day" Bart Starr Award Cheerleaders Cheesehead Driven Fight song Home games in Milwaukee The Hungry Five Indian Packing Company Instant Replay Lambeau Leap Lombardi (film) Lombardi (play) Lumberjack Band Packers Heritage Trail Packers Pro Shop Packers sweep Pigskin Champions Pitch Perfect 2 Receiver (statue) Ron Wolf Second Effort That '70s Show The 60 Yard Line Titletown District Vernon Biever Vince Lombardi When Pride Still Mattered
Lore	4th and 26 Dez Caught It Dolly Gray impostor Fail Mary Instant Replay Game Miracle in Motown The Catch II The Ice Bowl The Snow Bowl
Rivalries	Chicago Bears Dallas Cowboys Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings New York Giants Seattle Seahawks
Division championships (20)	1936 1938 1939 1944 1967 1972 1995 1996 1997 2002 2003 2004 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 2019 2020
Conference championships (9)	1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1996 1997 2010
League championships (13^†)	1929 1930 1931 1936 1939 1944 1961 1962 1965 1966 (I) 1967 (II) 1996 (XXXI) 2010 (XLV)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: Packers Radio Network WIXX WKTI-HD2 WTAQ WTMJ Television: WGBA-TV WTMJ-TV Spectrum News 1 WI Personnel: Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) Larry McCarren (color/analysis)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1921–present) Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present) Division: North Division (2002–present)
^† does not include 1966 or 1967 NFL championships