THE 1982 MILWAUKEE PACKERS?! THE YEAR THE PACKERS PLAYED MORE GAMES IN MILWAUKEE THAN AT LAMBEAU BY SUSAN HARPT GRIMES
W
e all know and love the Green Bay Packers and the storied tradition of football played at Lambeau Field. Forty years ago the players went on strike mid-season to demand better pay, which resulted in five weeks of games being cut from the season. Back then, the Packers usually played three “home” games a year in Milwaukee’s County Stadium, all of which took place before and after the ‘82 strike, so only one of the regular season home games were played at Lambeau that season. Many memorable names were on the roster in 1982. The team was coached by Bart Starr, whose one playoff run as a coach occurred in the ‘82 season. The often interception prone, Lynn Dickey was at quarterback, pro bowler and future longtime Packer radio announcer, Larry McCarren played center, and NFL Hall of Famer and wide receiver, James Lofton was nearly at the pinnacle of his career in ‘82, averaging 19.9 yards per catch. The truncated season would lead to only nine regular season games being played. Green Bay was enjoying a 2-0 start to
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the season when the strike began. They wound up qualifying for a Wildcard berth with their 5-3-1 regular season record. Sadly, the Packers were eliminated from the playoffs a week after their Wildcard win. It would be eleven years before the Packers made it back to postseason play when they returned with Brett Favere at the helm in 1993. A lot of Wisconsin football fans were embittered over the player’s strike, and less stalwart Packer fans chose to celebrate the Brewer’s journey to the World Series that year instead of watching football. Looking back, it must have been a great year for County Stadium considering how much extra use it had hosting both baseball and football well into autumn.
TODAY’S TEAM In the intervening 40 years, the Packers have made the long journey to the Superbowl three times, returning with the Lombardi trophy twice. The team has had serious stability at quarterback too with only four primary players for that position in all that time, which is quite rare in the NFL. Another rare feat is having only nine losing
seasons during those forty years. That consistency likely explains the reason for the “modern era” Packer’ successes and solid record of extending most seasons into the playoffs, often with a real chance to win it all. Unfortunately, there have been all too many heartbreaking near misses during postseason play, keeping Green Bay from making it back to the Superbowl more times than most fans would like to think about. However, hope springs eternal, and once again the Packers are poised for greatness ahead of the 2022 season. Reigning MVP and future Hall of Famer, Aaron Rodgers, will be back to lead the team again. Several returning key players like running back Aaron Jones, and wide receivers like Randal Cobb and Allen Lazard are locked in and ready to work with the new additions to the team, all with a united goal to bring the Lombardi trophy back to Titletown once again. Go Pack!
Susan Harpt Grimes is a Milwaukee writer and longtime contributor to the Shepherd Express. AUGUST 2022 | 35
