When the Green Bay Packers’ popular quarterback, Don ‘The Majik Man’ Majkowski, went limping off Lambeau Field to the sidelines in the first quarter of the third game of the 1992 season, he didn’t know then he would never return – ever – as the Packers starting quarterback.

As Majkowski was helped off the field with torn ankle ligaments, a young, inexperienced kid by the name of Brett Favre came sprinting onto the Lambeau Field turf to quarterback the team.

Don Majkowski’s career with the Packers (1987-92), was relatively short when compared to other Packers Hall of Fame inductees. As a 10th-round draft pick out of the University of Virginia, he started five games at quarterback in his rookie season before replacing Randy Wright as the regular starting quarterback in 1988. But it was in 1989 that the ‘Majik Man’ led the Packers to a 10-6 record — their best record since 1972 — only narrowly missing a playoff berth. Winning seven of their last nine games, several with spectacular come-from-behind heroics, he re-energized Packers fans with a new excitement which had not been experienced during almost a generation of losing seasons. Green Bay won seven games by a combined total of 13 points that year.

Majkowski’s 1989 statistics were outstanding. He threw for 4,318 yards and 27 touchdowns. He became the first Packers quarterback elected to a Pro Bowl since Bart Starr in 1966. The future looked bright for both team and quarterback. Unfortunately, a severe shoulder injury at Phoenix against the Cardinals the following year, along with a hamstring injury against the Jets in 1991, prevented him from recapturing the magic of 1989. Then, on September 20, 1992, Majkowski was injured again in a game at Lambeau Field against the Bengals. He was replaced Brett Favre who led the Packers back to a stunning 24-23 win. And the rest, as they say, is history.

To see Don Majkowski’s personal website, click here.