The Play
The band is out on the field…
Whenever there’s a need for a desperation play at the end of a football game, The Play is referenced. Whenever a play must be kept alive with laterals, The Play is referenced. Forty years ago, The Play played before disbelieving eyes.
November 20, 1982. Cal-Stanford. The Big Game. The Battle for the Axe. Over the past 40 years, the 85th edition of the Big Game has been whittled down to it’s final moments.
The band is out on the field…
Trailing 19-17 with 53 seconds to play, Stanford quarterback John Elway guided the Cardinal (the color, not the bird) down the field. Overcoming a fourth-and-17 from their own 13-yard line, it was an agonizing drive. It was a drive that ended with a 35-yard Mark Harmon (not that one) field goal. 20-19 Stanford. Four seconds on the clock.
The band is out on the field…
A Harmon squib kick brought the ball to Kevin Moen. Then it was chaos.
Kevin Moen to Richard Rodgers to Dwight Garner to Richard Rodgers to Mariet Ford to Kevin Moen
“the most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heart-rending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football.”
Five laterals. Stanford claims that Garner’s knee was down. They’re wrong. Stanford claims that the final lateral was more forward than backward. They’re wrong. Cal won 25-20. Elway was sad.
The Stanford Band was out on the field. That entire band was spread out across the field from the 20-yard line through the end zone. Stanford’s idiotic band has always been a clown show. It’s really no surprise that they blundered their way into a football game before it was done. Trombonist Gary Tyrrell was crushed by Moen in the end zone. They’ve been friends ever since. Yesterday, Cal unveiled a statue in front of Memorial Stadium of Moen with ball held high. Looking for a band member to annihilate. Tyrrell is missing. His trombone is at the base of the statue.
It was insane. Last year, ESPN called it the second-biggest American sports moment. It was a moment made by football craziness and Joe Starkey’s classic call.
I was supposed to be in the Memorial Stadium stands that day. That was supposed to be my freshman year at Cal. It was not to be. My Cal admission was redirected to UC Santa Cruz. I had to be a Banana Slug before I could be a Bear. Instead of sitting in the stadium stands I watched the game in the lounge of my UCSC dorm. Grrrrrah!
The 85th Big Game had some Minnesota Vikings connections.
Joe Kapp was in his first season as Cal’s head coach. He was and is a Cal legend. Vikings legend too. He quarterbacked the Vikings to their first Super Bowl. He quarterbacked Cal to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1958. Sadly, that’s the last time Cal has played in the Rose Bowl. 64 years! Kapp’s last game as Cal’s head coach in 1986 was my only Big Game win as a Cal student.
Paul Wiggin was Stanford’s head coach in 1982. He went on to coach the Vikings defensive line from 1985-91. From 1992-2015, he worked as the Vikings senior consultant for pro personnel.
Joe Starkey has been the voice of Cal football since 1975. I’ve listened to his voice all of those years. In 1977, he was also the radio voice of the Minnesota Vikings.
Today’s Big Game, the 125th edition, will be Starkey’s last game as Cal’s radio voice.
Whenever there’s a need for a desperation play at the end of a football game, The Play is referenced. Whenever a play must be kept alive with laterals, The Play is referenced. Forty years ago, The Play played before disbelieving eyes.
November 20, 1982. Cal-Stanford. The Big Game. The Battle for the Axe. Over the past 40 years, the 85th edition of the Big Game has been whittled down to it’s final moments.
The band is out on the field…
Trailing 19-17 with 53 seconds to play, Stanford quarterback John Elway guided the Cardinal (the color, not the bird) down the field. Overcoming a fourth-and-17 from their own 13-yard line, it was an agonizing drive. It was a drive that ended with a 35-yard Mark Harmon (not that one) field goal. 20-19 Stanford. Four seconds on the clock.
The band is out on the field…
A Harmon squib kick brought the ball to Kevin Moen. Then it was chaos.
Kevin Moen to Richard Rodgers to Dwight Garner to Richard Rodgers to Mariet Ford to Kevin Moen
“the most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heart-rending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football.”
Five laterals. Stanford claims that Garner’s knee was down. They’re wrong. Stanford claims that the final lateral was more forward than backward. They’re wrong. Cal won 25-20. Elway was sad.
The Stanford Band was out on the field. That entire band was spread out across the field from the 20-yard line through the end zone. Stanford’s idiotic band has always been a clown show. It’s really no surprise that they blundered their way into a football game before it was done. Trombonist Gary Tyrrell was crushed by Moen in the end zone. They’ve been friends ever since. Yesterday, Cal unveiled a statue in front of Memorial Stadium of Moen with ball held high. Looking for a band member to annihilate. Tyrrell is missing. His trombone is at the base of the statue.
It was insane. Last year, ESPN called it the second-biggest American sports moment. It was a moment made by football craziness and Joe Starkey’s classic call.
I was supposed to be in the Memorial Stadium stands that day. That was supposed to be my freshman year at Cal. It was not to be. My Cal admission was redirected to UC Santa Cruz. I had to be a Banana Slug before I could be a Bear. Instead of sitting in the stadium stands I watched the game in the lounge of my UCSC dorm. Grrrrrah!
The 85th Big Game had some Minnesota Vikings connections.
Joe Kapp was in his first season as Cal’s head coach. He was and is a Cal legend. Vikings legend too. He quarterbacked the Vikings to their first Super Bowl. He quarterbacked Cal to a Rose Bowl appearance in 1958. Sadly, that’s the last time Cal has played in the Rose Bowl. 64 years! Kapp’s last game as Cal’s head coach in 1986 was my only Big Game win as a Cal student.
Paul Wiggin was Stanford’s head coach in 1982. He went on to coach the Vikings defensive line from 1985-91. From 1992-2015, he worked as the Vikings senior consultant for pro personnel.
Joe Starkey has been the voice of Cal football since 1975. I’ve listened to his voice all of those years. In 1977, he was also the radio voice of the Minnesota Vikings.
Today’s Big Game, the 125th edition, will be Starkey’s last game as Cal’s radio voice.
