By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – Nov. 5 marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most famous games in Green Bay Packers’ history – the “instant replay” game against the Chicago Bears in 1989.
With 32 seconds remaining from the Bears’ 14-yard line, Green Bay quarterback Don Majkowski scrambled to his right with Bears’ left end Trace Armstrong chasing.
Majkowski threw a pass to Sterling Sharpe for an apparent touchdown.
Lambeau Field went crazy, but the side official who was on the line of scrimmage about 50 yards across the field on the Chicago sideline, saw Majkowski’s release as over the line and threw a flag.
As the Bears celebrated, the replay official in the press box buzzed down to the referee to signal he was reviewing the play.
Most replays show the official lacked the required “indisputable visual evidence” to overturn the call on the field.
“It was a touchdown,” said a smiling Majkowski at the Packers Hall of Fame Golf Classic this past summer. “It was a close play, but in the end, the officials got the call right.”
After a long, four-plus minute wait, the call on the field was overturned.
With Chris Jacke’s extra point, the Packers won the game, 14-13.
“I can’t imagine what Lambeau would have been like if the call wasn’t overturned,” Majkowski laughed. “It was definitely the highlight of the 1989 season, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it.”
The NFL added instant replay in 1986, removed it after the ’91 season and then brought it back in ’99 under the current coach challenge system.
The rule at the time depended solely on the ball at the point of release and not on the quarterback’s body.
If the ball was behind the line of scrimmage on release, the pass was legal, no matter where the quarterback’s feet were.
Today, the rule is both body and ball have to be behind the line.
Majkowski had turned the ball over twice in the red zone before the score – one on a fumble and the other on an interception with 7 minutes to play.
“I remember coming off the field after the interception and [head coach] Lindy [Infante] grabbed me by the face mask and said, ‘Keep your head up because you’re still going to be the hero,’” Majkowski said.
Majkowski, who played his college ball at the University of Virginia, got the ball back at the Packers’ 27-yard with 4:44 left.
He moved to the Bears’ 7 with 1:26 to play.
On first down, he fumbled while getting sacked, but Packers center Blair Bush recovered.
After two incompletions, the game came down to one play – fourth-and-goal from the 14, with 41 seconds to play.
After the game, both teams were 5-4.
The Packers went on to finish 10-6 but missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker to the Minnesota Vikings.
The Bears won only once more the remainder of the season.
“Even though we missed the playoffs, it was still a magical year,” Majkowski said. “It brought back a lot of excitement to the city of Green Bay. Our team came into its own that season, but what I remember most is beating the Bears twice that year. I was in the right place at the right time.”
In the previous 21 seasons, the Packers qualified for the playoffs only twice and finished above .500 three times.
Going into the Nov. 5, 1989, matchup at Lambeau, Green Bay had lost to Chicago eight straight times.
Majkowski would make the Pro Bowl in ’89 and be named second-team All-Pro.
His 4,318 passing yards also led the NFL the same season.
“It’s an honor to be in such a special group,” Majkowski said. “To be a member of the Packers Hall of Fame and be around all the great players in team history, I’m blessed to be part of. You develop some great bonds, and that’s the thing you miss the most after your playing career is done – the brotherhood.”
Majkowski owned a real estate investment company for 10 years in Atlanta but is now retired.
He has a son playing baseball at Clemson University, and his daughter recently graduated from the University of Georgia.
“I’m enjoying life and love following my son on the baseball team,” said Majkowski, whose wife is from Menomonee Falls. “This is a full-time job for me now, and I love it.”
Editor’s note: Green Bay Preble’s Max Wagner is a Clemson baseball recruit and will join the team in the fall of 2020.