The 1983 Green Bay Packers - 8-8 (T-2ND-NFC Central Division)
Head Coach: Bart Starr
1983 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (1-3)
OFF DEF
AUGUST (1-3) RESULT RECORD ATT RSH PSS RSH PSS STARTING QB LEADING RUSHER LEADING PASSER LEADING RECEIVER
6 G-CLEVELAND BROWNS L 20-21 0- 1-0 39,202 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (25) Rich Campbell (153) Ron Cassidy (3-51)
12 at Seattle Seahawks L 21-38 0- 2-0 54,443 Rich Campbell Rich Campbell (17) Rich Campbell (183) Jessie Clark (3-25)
20 G-PHILADELPHIA EAGLES L 14-27 0- 3-0 48,867 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (37) Lynn Dickey (196) James Lofton (4-106)
27 at St. Louis Cardinals W 39-27 1- 3-0 33,041 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (63) David Whitehurst (105) James Lofton (3-39)
1983 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
SEPTEMBER (2-2)
4 at Houston Oilers (0-0) W 41-38 * 1- 0-0 44,073 135 344 150 348 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (71) Lynn Dickey (333) James Lofton (8-154)
11 G-PITTSBURGH STEELERS (0-1) L 21-25 1- 1-0 55,154 87 276 285 186 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (53) Lynn Dickey (290) James Lofton (5-169)
18 M-LOS ANGELES RAMS (2-0) W 27-24 2- 1-0 54,037 110 253 93 245 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (54) Lynn Dickey (288) John Jefferson (6-91)
26 at New York Giants (1-2) L 3-27 2- 2-0 75,308 53 272 208 104 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (22) Lynn Dickey (283) John Jefferson (5-67)
OCTOBER (2-3)
2 G-TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (0-4) W 55-14 3- 2-0 54,272 164 355 20 273 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (56) Lynn Dickey (267) James Lofton (4-112)
9 at Detroit Lions (1-4) L 14-38 3- 3-0 67,738 87 201 171 225 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (43) Lynn Dickey (214) Paul Coffman (4-58)
17 G-WASHINGTON REDSKINS (5-1) W 48-47 4- 3-0 55,255 70 403 184 368 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (41) Lynn Dickey (387) Paul Coffman (6-124)
23 G-MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-2) L 17-20 * 4- 4-0 55,236 87 327 211 199 Lynn Dickey Eddie Lee Ivery (46) Lynn Dickey (383) Gerry Ellis (6-81)
30 at Cincinnati Bengals (2-6) L 14-34 4- 5-0 53,349 73 210 223 241 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (60) Lynn Dickey (231) Gerry Ellis (6-70)
NOVEMBER (2-2)
6 M-CLEVELAND BROWNS (5-4) W 35-21 5- 5-0 54,089 154 216 119 337 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (86) Lynn Dickey (228) John Jefferson (7-102)
13 at Minnesota Vikings (6-4) W 29-21 6- 5-0 60,113 163 180 158 261 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (79) Lynn Dickey (180) John Jefferson (5-60)
20 M-DETROIT LIONS (5-6) L 20-23 * 6- 6-0 50,050 95 144 254 129 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (87) Lynn Dickey (123) Paul Coffman (4-42)
27 at Atlanta Falcons (5-7) L 41-47 * 6- 7-0 35,688 152 293 134 366 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (63) Lynn Dickey (366) James Lofton (7-161)
DECEMBER (2-1)
4 G-CHICAGO BEARS (6-7) W 31-28 7- 7-0 51,147 184 328 84 274 Lynn Dickey Gerry Ellis (141) Lynn Dickey (345) James Lofton (6-120)
12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-12) W 12- 9 * 8- 7-0 50,763 95 268 93 146 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (35) Lynn Dickey (278) Paul Coffman (4-53)
18 at Chicago Bears (7-8) L 21-23 8- 8-0 35,807 116 222 236 133 Lynn Dickey Jessie Clark (61) Lynn Dickey (262) Paul Coffman (4-122)
G - Green Bay M - Milwaukee * - Overtime
1983 IN REVIEW
The Green Bay Packer offense in 1983 was running on high octane fuel all season. But the defense broke down on more than enough occastions to leave the Packers a .500 team at 8-8. The step back from the playoffs in 1982 meant the end of the Bart Starr era in Green Bay. Lynn Dickey, Gerry Eillis, James Lofton, Paul Coffman and John Jefferson led an offense which rang up 52 touchdowns, 429 points and 6,172 yards. Ellis became the first Packer to have more than 500 yards rushing and receiving in a season. Dickey cracked the 4,000-yard mark with 4,458 yards and 32 touchdowns. The defensive numbers were equally as large - 50 touchdowns, 439 points and 6,403 yards. The defense gave up more than 300 yards in 14 games and 400 yards in 8 contests. Facing a must win the season finale to win the a wildcard berth, Green Bay saw Chicago defeat them 23-21 on a Bob Thomas field goal with 10 seconds left. Bart Starr was fired as head coach the next day.
BART STARR AND THE ARIZONA FIREBIRDS
It was the final game of the 1983 season and the Bart Starr era. The Packers led for most of the contest in one of the coldest games ever played at Soldier Field. With less than a minute remaining, Jim McMahon drove Chicago down the field against one of the worst defenses in the NFL and Bob Thomas kicked the winning field goal, while Starr sat on his timeouts and watched his team out of the playoffs. The Packer legend was was fired the next day. Starr would never return to the NFL in a coaching capacity, but he did not walk away from football. In fact, he tried to come back with a team that did not even exist when he was fired. Arizona NFL Expansion Limited was formed in 1980, and included such supporters as former AFL Commissioner Joe Foss. The group spent more than $2 million trying to convince the NFL to place an expansion team in Phoenix. In February 1983, the group signed a lease with the Gila Indian Community for 500 acres on the Gila River Reservation, 15 miles south of Phoenix. Organizer Bob Whitlow said his group had hopes to construct a privately financed domed stadium, seating 72,000. On January 13, 1984, less than three weeks after he was fired in Green Bay, Starr was named the head coach and director of operations for the Firebirds. In March 1984, Firebirds officials flew to Hawaii, hoping to have a chance to press their case to the NFL. Businessman Tom Stone, who wanted a majority interest in the proposed franchise, joined the group, while Starr stayed behind to deal with other business interests. The Firebirds were nearly driven to extinction in the fall of 1984, when Eagles owner Leonard Tose flirted with the idea of moving his team to Phoenix. Faced with $42 million in debts, Tose had a deal in place to sell part of the team in return for a $45 million loan and a move to the desert. Commissioner Pete Rozelle stepped in and
arranged financing for Tose and the team stayed. By 1987, it appeared there was a chance the NFL would consider the Firebirds' bid, although there were two other groups also bidding for a team. Starr's group hosted a nearly sold-out exhibition game in August 1987 between the Packers and the Denver Broncos at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe. The dream died for good on January 15, 1988, when St. Louis Cardinals owner Bill Bidwell announced he was moving the team to Phoenix. In February 1988, it was mentioned in some media reports that the Bart Starr-John Colbrunn-Joe Foss group was not dead yet, and could turn up in another city, but it was never to be. That July, the younger of Bart's two sons, Bret, then age 24, was living in Tampa, recovering from a cocaine addiction. After not hearing from him for several days, Bart flew to Florida and found his son dead on the dining room floor. Police said that Bret had died three or four days earlier from cardiac arrhythmia, a complication from his addiction.
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
John Anderson 59 LB 6- 3 229 Michigan 6 6 27 16 1978 Draft-1st round
Greg Boyd 72 DE 6- 6 280 San Diego State 1 6 29 12 1983 Trade-Denver
Byron Braggs 73 NT 6- 4 270 Alabama 3 3 23 16 1981 Draft-5th round
Robert Brown 93 DE 6- 2 250 Virginia Tech 2 2 23 16 1982 Draft-4th round
Rich Campbell 19 QB 6- 4 219 California 3 3 24 1 1981 Draft-1st round
Ron Cassidy 88 WR 6- 0 180 Utah State 4 4 26 16 1979 Draft-8th round
Jessie Clark 33 FB 6- 0 233 Arkansas 1 1 23 16 1983 Draft-7th round
Paul Coffman 82 TE 6- 3 225 Kansas State 6 6 27 16 1978 FA
George Cumby 52 LB 6- 0 224 Oklahoma 4 4 27 15 1980 Draft-1st round
Mike Curcio 57 LB 6- 1 232 Temple 1 3 26 14 1983 FA- Philadelphia
Lynn Dickey 12 QB 6- 4 203 Kansas State 7 11 32 16 1976 Trade-Houston
Mike Douglass 53 LB 6- 0 214 San Diego State 6 6 28 15 1978 Draft-5th round
Dave Dreschler 61 G 6- 3 264 North Carolina 1 1 23 16 1983 Draft-2nd round
Gerry Ellis 31 FB 5-11 225 Missouri 4 4 25 15 1980 FA
Phillip Epps 85 WR 5-10 165 TCU 2 2 24 16 1982 Draft-12th round
Eddie Garcia 11 K 5- 8 178 SMU 1 1 24 12 1982 Draft-10th round
Charlie Getty 77 T 6- 4 270 Penn State 1 10 31 16 1983 Trade-Kan City
Johnnie Gray 24 S 5-11 202 Cal St-Fullerton 9 9 30 16 1975 FA
Ron Hallstrom 65 G 6- 6 283 Iowa 2 2 24 16 1982 Draft-1st round
Leotis Harris 69 G 6- 1 265 Arkansas 6 6 28 6 1978 Draft-6th round
Maurice Harvey 23 S 5-10 190 Ball State 3 5 27 4 1981 FA-Denver (1980)
Estus Hood 38 CB 5-11 189 Illinois State 6 6 27 16 1978 Draft-3rd round
Harlan Huckleby 25 HB 6- 1 201 Michigan 4 4 25 16 1980 FA
Tim Huffman 74 T 6- 5 282 Notre Dame 3 3 24 15 1981 Draft-9th round
Eddie Lee Ivery 40 RB 6- 1 214 Georgia Tech 5 5 26 8 1979 Draft-1st round
John Jefferson 83 WR 6- 1 204 Arizona State 3 6 27 16 1981 Trade-San Diego
Charles Johnson 99 DT 6- 1 265 Maryland 3 3 27 15 1979 Draft-2nd round
Ezra Johnson 90 DE 6- 4 259 Morris Brown 7 7 27 16 1977 Draft-1st round
Mike Jolly 21 S 6- 3 185 Michigan 3 3 24 12 1980 FA
Terry Jones 63 DT 6- 2 265 Alabama 6 6 26 1 1978 Draft-11th round
Syd Kitson 64 G 6- 4 264 Wake Forest 3 3 24 14 1980 Draft-3rd round
Greg Koch 68 T 6- 4 276 Arkansas 7 7 28 15 1977 Draft-2nd round
Jim Laughlin 62 LB 6- 1 222 Ohio State 1 4 25 15 1983 FA-Atlanta (1982)
Mark Lee 22 CB 5-11 188 Washington 4 4 25 16 1980 Draft-2nd round
Cliff Lewis 56 LB 6- 1 224 S. Mississippi 3 3 23 16 1981 Draft-12th round
Gary Lewis 81 TE 6- 5 234 Texas-Arlington 3 3 23 16 1981 Draft-2nd round
Tim Lewis 26 CB 5-11 188 Pittsburgh 1 1 21 16 1983 Draft-1st round
James Lofton 80 WR 6- 3 197 Stanford 6 6 27 16 1978 Draft-1st round
Larry McCarren 54 C 6- 3 251 Illinois 11 11 31 16 1973 Draft-12th round
NAME NO POS HGT WGT COLLEGE YR PR AG G HOW ACQUIRED
Mike C. McCoy 29 CB 5-11 190 Colorado 8 8 30 9 1976 Draft-3rd round
Mike Meade 39 RB 5-10 224 Penn State 2 2 23 16 1982 Draft-5th round
Casey Merrill 78 DE 6- 4 255 Cal-Davis 5 5 26 5 1979 FA
Mark Murphy 37 S 6- 2 201 West Liberty St 4 4 25 16 1980 FA
Dwayne O'Steen 44 CB 6- 1 195 San Jose State 1 6 28 7 1983 FA-Tampa Bay
Chet Parlavecchio 57 LB 6- 2 225 Penn State 1 1 23 3 1982 Draft-6th round
Guy Prather 51 LB 6- 2 229 Grambling 3 3 25 16 1981 FA
Larry Rubens 58 C 6- 1 250 Montana State 2 2 29 16 1982 FA
Ron Sams 70 G 6- 3 269 Pittsburgh 1 1 22 5 1983 Draft-6th round
Randy Scott 55 LB 6- 1 222 Alabama 3 3 24 6 1981 FA
Bucky Scribner 13 P 6- 0 202 Kansas 1 1 23 16 1983 Draft-11th round
Daryle Skaugstad 91 NT 6- 5 268 California 1 3 26 9 1983 FA-San Francisco
Ron Spears 79 DE 6- 6 255 San Diego State 1 2 23 13 1983 FA-New England
Jan Stenerud 10 K 6- 2 190 Montana State 4 17 39 16 1980 FA-KC (1979)
Karl Swanke 67 T 6- 6 261 Boston College 4 4 25 16 1980 Draft-6th round
Rich Turner 75 NT 6- 2 261 Oklahoma 3 3 24 6 1981 Draft-4th round
David Whitehurst 17 QB 6- 2 205 Furman 7 7 28 4 1977 Draft-8th round
Rich Wingo 50 LB 6- 1 227 Alabama 4 4 27 16 1979 Draft-7th round
Chet Winters 20 RB 5-11 204 Oklahoma 1 1 21 4 1983 FA
NO - Jersey Number POS - Position HGT - Height WGT - Weight YR - Years with Packers PR - Years of Professional Football AGE - Age on September 1 G - Games Played FA - Free Agent
1983 PACKERS DRAFT (April 26-27, 1983)
RND-PCK NAME POS COLLEGE NOTES
1a 11 Tim Lewis DB Pittsburgh (A)
1b 20 Traded to San Diego in John Jefferson trade
2 48 Dave Drechsler G N. Carolina
3 58 Traded to Houston in Angelo Fields trade
4 104 Mike Miller WR Tennessee
5 132 Bryan Thomas RB Pittsburgh
6 160 Ron Sams G Pittsburgh
7 188 Jessie Clark FB Arkansas
8 216 Carlton Briscoe DB McNeese St
9 243 Robin Ham C West Texas St
10a 253 Byron Williams WR TX-Arlington (B)
10b 271 Jimmy Thomas DB Indiana
11 299 Bucky Scribner P Kansas
12 327 John Harvey LB USC
A-From New Orleans for Bruce Clark B-From Houston in Mark Koncar trade
1983 PACKER TRADES - TRANSACTIONS
JUL 28 - Traded OG Derrel Gofourth to SAN DIEGO for a 1984 12th-round draft choice (WR Lenny Taylor)
AUG 17 - Traded a 1984 8th-round draft choice to DENVER for DE Greg Boyd
AUG 28 - Traded a 1984 9th-round draft choice to KANSAS CITY for OT Charlie Getty