Following the glory years of the Lombardi Era that culminated with winning Super Bowl II in January of 1968, the Green Bay Packers began a lean stretch of futility in the 1970s. Aside from a division championship and a 10-4 record in 1972 and a winning record in 1978, the Packers were regularly at the bottom of the standings throughout the decade; Green Bay posted a measly 57-82-5 mark during the 1970s.
The Chicago Bears were not much better off than their rivals to the north, having posted three more wins than the Packers during that 10-year span.
Both teams began the 1980s facing off on the opening game of the season on September 7, 1980, looking to turn things around in the new decade. Little did anyone of the 54, 381 in attendance at Lambeau Field that day know that they would be witnessing one of the goofiest and most outlandish endings to an NFL game ever.
Dramatic Game vs. The Chicago Bears #2: September 7, 1980
One of the few bright spots on the Packers’ roster in the 1970s was the emergence of a kicker from little-known NAIA Hillsdale College in Michigan. Chester Marcol was born and raised in Poland but moved to the United States when he was 14. Without any knowledge of the language or customs, Marcol’s soccer skills caught the eye of his Imlay City High School in Michigan, and was encouraged to pursue placekicking skills for “American football.” The result was being named NAIA-All-America for four straight years and being drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.
After leading the NFL in scoring, Marcol was named the 1972 NFC Rookie of the Year and All-Pro. He repeated his scoring championship and all-league honors again in 1974.
He remained the Packers’ kicker for the rest of the decade, but he is still-widely known for one singular play against the Chicago Bears in the 1980 season-opener.
How The Green Bay Packers’ Won Could Not Be Made Up…
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Files
Through four quarters, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears could not muster a touchdown between them. Instead, it was a battle of field goals; Marcol kicked two, and Bears’ kicker Bob Thomas matched him.
In sudden-death overtime, the Bears had the ball first but punted back to the Packers. Green Bay moved the ball into field-goal range in just four plays, the big play in the series was a 32-yard Lynn Dickey pass to James Lofton that gave Green Bay a first down at the Chicago 18.
Marcol was summoned by head coach Bart Starr to boot the seemingly-easy game-winning 35-yard field goal; his two previous successful attempts were both over 40 yards.
The snap was good, the hold from punter David Beverly was pure, and Marcol’s concussion of the football was solid. However, there was a second “thud” after the kick, and that was because Hall of Fame defender Alan Page’s hand intervened with the flight of the kick.
Then, inexplicably, the ball fluttered harmlessly into Marcol’s hands, and with a huge block from backup linebacker Jim Gueno, he ran around the left end of the formation untouched for a 25-yard touchdown return.
See Also: Video of Chester Marcol’s Game-Winning Touchdown vs. the Bears in 1980
Marcol’s teammates and Coach Bart Starr mobbed him in the end zone after he completed his run.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Marcol afterward. “It was a very fortunate thing. This is probably the biggest moment in my life. They loaded up the middle and the ball bounced right at me. Once I caught it and saw the opening, nobody was going to catch me.”
It was the first career touchdown for Marcol, who accounted for all 12 of the Packer points that day against the Bears.
The ending to this game would have Hollywood scriptwriters scratching their heads thinking of a way to convince producers that what unfolded was real. But, as they say, you haven’t heard anything yet.
…But What We Learned Afterward Is Even More Crazy
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Files
Having your field goal attempt blocked and the ball ending up in your arms, allowing you to run for your first-ever touchdown to win a game in overtime is crazy, right? OK, but how about doing all that high on cocaine?
Yahoo! Sports writer Eric Edholm wrote an article entitled, “The time a coked-up Packers kicker beat the Bears with an overtime TD” on July 1, 2016. In it, he wrote: “Professionally speaking, it was Marcol’s finest hour. He clutched his game-winning ball as he was mobbed on the field by teammates. Lambeau went bananas. (“It’s bedlam!” said CBS play-by-play announcer Lindsey Nelson.) Tears streamed down Marcol’s face. Starr handed him the game ball in the locker room. His heart raced underneath his perspiration-soaked uniform as he led the team in prayer. But part of that — and what also made it his darkest moment — might also have been because of the cocaine Marcol had snorted at halftime.”
Later in 1980, the Green Bay Packers cut Marcol, with reports that the team was tipped off to his drug use, and after a failed attempt to latch on to the Houston Oilers, Marcol was out of football.
However, in the years that followed, being an unemployed kicker was the least of his worries. Under the throes of addiction to alcohol and cocaine, Marcol attempted suicide in 1986 by ingesting a cocktail of rat poison, battery acid, and vodka. Although he survived, the damage to his body, specifically his esophagus, was permanent and life-altering.
Marcol’s story has a happier ending, though. Today, the 75-year-old works as a drug and alcohol counselor in Upper Michigan, preaching the ills and errors of his former ways.
Dramatic To Say The Least
The 1980 game won by Chester Marcol was, by any definition, dramatic. Other words, such as incredible, unbelievable, outrageous may be closer to the mark.
However, the game was never considered one that changed the course of history in the NFL, one that began a trend that now has become a fixture in today’s game. One Green Bay Packers/Chicago Bears game in 1989 did just that.
