After a day off from the Blog, we come to the 1989 Green Bay Packers Yearbook. The cover subject is linebacker Tim Harris, who was becoming a “star“ for the Packers’ defense. Harris played for the team from 1986-1990.
In 1989, the Packers play on the field made fans think that in coach Lindy Infante’s second season, the team was really “back” to winning form, and that a new “glory years” was just around the corner. That season, they would win four games by one point and become known to some as the “Cardiac Pack.” This was also the season that Green Bay drafted Tony Mandarich with the second overall pick in the NFL draft. With their 10-6 record, they tied Minnesota in the standings, but the Vikings had a better Division record, so the Packers missed out on the Playoffs — settling for second place.
Quaterback Don Majkowski became the toast of Titletown that year, really earning the nickname “Majik Man” because of the Packers’ last-minute heoics on the field. He started all 16 games and passed for 4,318 yards, with 27 TD’s and 20 INT’s. He also ran for 5 TD’s. Brent Fullwood led the running backs with 821 yards on 204 carries — with 5 TD’s. For the receivers, Sterling Sharpe exploded with 90 receptions for 1,423 yards and 12 TD’s.
But, all the excitement was short-lived. After the winning season of 1989, the Packers fell to a 6-10 record in 1990, and Majkowski held out for more money before getting injured for the rest of the season. In the words of Bob Harlan, “It didn’t take long before I started to think that 1989 may have been just a flash in the pan.” After Infante won “Coach of the Year,” the team gave him a contract extension for two more years, through 1994. Big mistake — when he was fired after the 1991 season, they wound up paying him for 1992, 1993, and 1994 to sit in Florida and build his dream house.
Some of the stories in the 1989 Yearbook were: “Chapter Two: We Should Expect More of Ourselves” (Lindy Infante)... “The U.F.A. Factor” (Unrestricted Free Agents)... “Tim Terrific” (Tim Harris)... “Majik’s Moment?” (Don Majkowski)... “The 1989 Draft: There’s Nothing Anonymous About Tony (Mandarich)”... “The Packers’ New President — Bob Harlan”... “Retiring Judge (Robert Parins) Reviews His Tenure”... “The Packers Lose a Great Fan” (Former team president Dominic Olejniczak)... “The Doctor of Defense (Defensive Coordinator Hank Bullough)... “Record Breaking Rookie” (Sterling Sharpe)... “The Spotlight’s on Shawn (Patterson)”... “New Hall of Famer: Making Packer Grade Still (Willie) Wood’s Top Thrill”... “Your 1989 Packers”... “Mark Murphy’s Lucky Break”... “Stephanie (Infante) Steps Forward”... “Still Going Strong at 70” (Packers’ 70th anniversary)... “Packer Hall Enshrinees: Zeke Bratkowski and Ron Kostelnik”... “More Than a Football Team: Packers Impact Many Areas of Community Life”... “1988 Green Bay Packers Statistics”... “The 1988 Season in Review”... “ ‘Pokes (Cowboys) Play in Green Bay First Time Since ‘Ice Bowl’ ”...
