The Play (American football)


The Play was a last-second kickoff return during a college football game between the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears on Saturday, November 20, 1982. Given the circumstances and rivalry, the wild game that preceded it, the very unusual way in which The Play unfolded, and its lingering aftermath on players and fans, it is recognized as one of the most memorable plays in college football history and among the most memorable in American sports.
Stanford took a 20–19 lead on a field goal with four seconds left. The Golden Bears used five lateral passes on the ensuing kickoff return to score the winning touchdown and earn a 25–20 victory. Believing that the game was over, members of the Stanford Band came onto the field midway through the return, which added to the confusion and folklore. There remains disagreement over the legality of two of the backward pass attempts, adding to the passion surrounding the traditional rivalry of the annual "Big Game."

Background

This was the two teams' 85th Big Game, and was played on Cal's home field, California Memorial Stadium. Although Cal was guaranteed a winning record for the season, no bowl game was looking to invite them. The implications of this game were far more important to Stanford, led by quarterback John Elway, playing in his last regular season game before heading off to become a future National Football League star enshrined in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. The Cardinal football squad was in the midst of an exciting season—they were 5–5 but had victories over highly ranked Ohio State and Washington—and needed a win to be eligible to play in a bowl game. Representatives of the Hall of Fame Classic committee were in attendance, apparently to extend an invitation to Stanford to play Vanderbilt, if the Cardinal won.
Also at stake was possession of the Stanford Axe, an axe-head trophy that is awarded to the winner of this annual matchup. Its origins date back to 1899, but in 1933, after years of increasingly more elaborate thefts of the Axe by students from one or the other school, the two schools agreed that the winner of the Big Game would take possession of the Axe. The plaque upon which the Axe is mounted carries the scores of previous Big Games.

The situation

With Cal leading 19–17 late in the fourth quarter, Elway and the Cardinal overcame a 4th-and-17 on their own 13-yard line with a 29-yard completion to Sophomore WR Enile Harry, then managed to get the ball within field goal range for placekicker Mark Harmon. Elway called a timeout with 8 seconds left on the clock. Had Elway let the clock run down to four seconds before calling time, the ensuing kickoff would not have taken place since the clock would have run out on the field goal. But Elway was under instruction from coach Paul Wiggin to call timeout at the 8 second mark to allow time for a second field goal try in case Stanford drew a penalty on the first attempt. Harmon's 35-yard kick was good, putting Stanford ahead 20–19. However, the team's celebrations drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, enforced on the ensuing kickoff. This was crucial, as Stanford had to kick off from their 25 yard line instead of the 40. At that point, Cal announcer Joe Starkey praised Stanford and Elway for their efforts, and added, "Only a miracle can save the Bears now!"
With 4 seconds left, Stanford special teams coach Fred von Appen called for a squib kick on the kickoff. Due to confusion, Cal took the field with only 10 men, one short of the regulation eleven, but still legal in American football. What happened next became one of the most debated and dissected plays in college football history.
The Cal players celebrated wildly—but the officials had not signaled the touchdown. Stanford coach Paul Wiggin and his players argued to the officials that Dwight Garner's knee had been down, negating what had happened during the rest of the play. Meanwhile, the officials huddled. The chaos at the end of The Play made the officials' task very challenging. In particular, the questionable fifth lateral took place in the midst of the Stanford band, greatly reducing visibility. Referee Charles Moffett recalled the moment:
Moffett signaled the touchdown, rendering the illegal participation penalty on Stanford irrelevant and ending the game. The final score was Cal 25, Stanford 20, and the Golden Bears won the Stanford Axe. California failed to kick the extra point.

Controversy

The officials' ruling of a Cal touchdown was highly controversial at the time, and The Play has remained a source of often intense disagreement throughout the intervening decades, particularly between ardent Stanford and Cal fans. The controversy centers on the legality of two of the five laterals as well as on the chaos that ensued when the Stanford team and band entered the playing field while the ball was still live.
Many Stanford players and coaches objected immediately to the third lateral, from Dwight Garner to Richard Rodgers, asserting that Garner's knee was down moments beforehand. Kevin Lamar, a Stanford player who was in on the tackle, maintains that Garner's knee had hit the turf while he was still in possession of the ball; Garner and Rodgers themselves, however, assert the opposite. TV replays were inconclusive; due to the distance from the camera and the swarm of tacklers, one cannot see the exact moment Garner's knee may have touched.
Afterward, upon viewing the game footage, some suggested that the fifth lateral, from Mariet Ford to Kevin Moen, could have been an illegal forward pass. Ford was being tackled at about the 26-yard-line when he released his blind, over-the-shoulder heave, which Moen appeared to catch while crossing the 25. Because both players were in full stride, and because the lateral traveled some distance, some thought the ball had gone forward. Under the rules of football, the direction of a pass is judged relative to the field. Complicating this was the fact that Ford was falling forward upon releasing the ball, while Moen reached backwards to catch it, thus making it quite possible that the ball itself traveled sideways or backward. However, to be a forward pass, the ball must travel forward; a ball that travels laterally is legal.
Finally, while the replays of the tackle of Garner and the fifth lateral are inconclusive, Stanford was clearly guilty of illegal participation, both from too many players on the field and the band. At least two game officials immediately threw penalty flags on Stanford for having too many men on the field. A football game cannot end on a defensive penalty, so had any of the Cal ball-carriers been tackled short of the end zone from this point on, Cal would have been granted at least one unclocked play from scrimmage, and perhaps a touchdown outright for outside interference. The game referee, Charles Moffett, noted this as a likely outcome in a subsequent interview. Rule 9-1, Article 4 of the official NCAA football rules, "Illegal Interference", allows the referee to award a score if "equitable" after an act of interference. For example, officials in the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic awarded a touchdown to Rice after an Alabama player jumped onto the field from the sideline to tackle a Rice ball carrier.
The NCAA's instant replay rules were not adopted until 2005, more than two decades later, so the officials could not consult recorded television footage to resolve these issues. It is unclear whether instant replay would have had any impact, as a field ruling cannot be overturned unless there is "indisputable video evidence" to the contrary.

Analysis of the controversy

Many attempts have been made to analyze the disputed areas of The Play and resolve its controversies. This has proven to be a difficult task for several reasons. Only one television replay is available, and it is from a distant and elevated midfield camera. The rules of college football do not precisely cover The Play's bizarre final seconds. Finally, the intense passion from both Cal and Stanford fans often make objective analysis of The Play a great challenge.
Among the notable attempts at deconstructing The Play are:
Four days after the game, students at The Stanford Daily published a bogus version of Cal's student newspaper, The Daily Californian, with the lead story claiming that the NCAA had declared Cal's last play to be dead in a ruling three days after the game. According to that bogus paper, the official score would be recorded in the NCAA record books as Stanford 20, California 19. The Stanford students then distributed 7,000 copies of the phony "extra" on the Cal campus. A few days later, blue and gold t-shirts depicting the play with Xs and Os complete with squiggly lines for the laterals, appeared in the Cal bookstore and throughout the Bay Area.
The season after The Play, Stanford went 1–10 and Paul Wiggin was fired. Wiggin later said The Play "had a big effect on our program, especially on recruiting." Athletics director Andy Geiger said the loss devastated the program. Others blamed the loss on the Stanford Band. Of the band's role, Geiger said, "Although the Band did not cause the Play, it was typical that they would have been in the wrong place at the wrong time." The incumbent Stanford band manager now annually passes his or her position to the new manager with 4 seconds left in the Stanford–Cal game.
Whenever Stanford holds the Stanford Axe, the plaque is altered in protest so that the outcome reads as a 20–19 Stanford victory. When the Axe is returned to Cal's possession, the plaque is changed back to the official score: California 25, Stanford 20.
For many years, John Elway was bitter, on both a personal level and on behalf of his team, about the touchdown being allowed: "This was an insult to college football... They ruined my last game as a college football player." The Play cost Stanford an invitation to the Hall of Fame Classic, in addition to a winning season, and Elway completed his college career having never played in a bowl game. Geiger said that the loss cost Elway the Heisman Trophy. Elway would nevertheless enjoy a tremendously successful NFL career, winning two Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos, and was inducted into the Pro Football and College Football Halls of Fame. Years later, Elway came to terms with The Play, stating that "each year it gets a little funnier."
The participants in The Play faded into relative obscurity in the years since, with the only memorable participants in the game being Elway and announcer Joe Starkey for his famous call of The Play.
Ron Rivera, a starting defensive end for California, went on to play for the 1985 Chicago Bears, who went 15–1 during the regular season and won Super Bowl XX over the New England Patriots. Rivera was named head coach of the Carolina Panthers in January 2011. He won Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2015, and took the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 in 2015.
Emile Harry, Stanford wide receiver, after graduating '85, was drafted with the 89th pick by the Atlanta Falcons, then went on to play 8 seasons for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Gary Plummer, a linebacker for the Golden Bears, was drafted into the United States Football League in 1983. He played 8 seasons with the San Diego Chargers before joining the San Francisco 49ers in 1994, as part of their Super Bowl XXIX winning team. Plummer retired from the NFL after the 1997 season.
The most infamous participant in The Play is Mariet Ford. Ford, who briefly played wide receiver for the Oakland Invaders of the United States Football League, was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife and 3-year-old son in 1997. He is serving a 45 years-to-life sentence.
Kevin Moen had a short-lived professional career and is now a real estate broker in the Los Angeles area. In 2002, he coached the Palos Verdes Colts, a Pop Warner football team. He was also the head football coach at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, starting in the 2008–2009 school year.
Gary Tyrrell, the Stanford trombonist run over by Moen, is a venture capital firm CFO and amateur brewer. He became friends with Moen and Cal coach Joe Kapp. He appeared on television's The Tonight Show along with the key Cal players shortly after The Play; his smashed trombone is now displayed in the College Football Hall of Fame. He has also said, "I thought I'd be famous for my talent as a musician, not for being knocked down at a football game."
Dwight Garner, who later spent two years with the Washington Redskins and retired, is now a risk manager with Interim Healthcare.
Richard Rodgers played in the CFL and is now the assistant special teams coach for the Carolina Panthers after serving as the defensive coordinator at Holy Cross from 2005–11. Rodgers' son Richard Rodgers II became a tight end for the Green Bay Packers in 2014. On December 3, 2015, the younger Rodgers had heroics of his own, catching a Hail Mary from Aaron Rodgers with no time left to help them beat the Detroit Lions 27–23. The Hail Mary was quickly coined as "The Miracle in Motown". After the game Richard Rodgers II admitted thinking about The Play his father was part of stating "It's a really special moment for him and I was kind of thinking on the play before, when Aaron got the facemask, I was kind of thinking we would do something like that. Obviously it turned out differently."
Gale Gilbert was the starting quarterback for the Cal Bears. Gilbert is the only player in NFL history to be a member of five straight Super Bowl teams. His son, Garrett Gilbert, was the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns.
After the game Kapp proclaimed, "The Bear would not quit, the Bear would not die." The phrase became the motto of the Cal team under Kapp.

Rankings

Based on online voting, Pontiac announced the California v. Stanford game of Nov. 20, 1982, as its "Ultimate High-Performance Play of the NCAA," crowning the play as NCAA Football's most memorable moment of all-time in December 2003.
The game was placed in NCAA Football video games as a "College Classic," challenging players to recreate the ending. The challenge begins with the player controlling the Bears as the Cardinal kick the field goal leading up to the final kickoff.

Joe Starkey's Call

Cal announcer Joe Starkey of KGO-AM 810 radio called the game. The following is a transcript of his famous call :
The portion of the call during the officials' deliberation is often edited out when the clip is replayed, making it seem as though Starkey declared Cal the victors immediately after the run.

Similar plays

The Play also provided the apparent inspiration behind the proliferation of game-ending multiple-lateral plays since. Some of the most famous game-ending lateral plays since The Play include:

Music City Miracle (January 8, 2000)

The "Music City Miracle" was, like The Play, a kickoff return with a controversial lateral that resulted in a game-winning touchdown. In an NFL Wild Card Playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills at the venue now known as Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, the Bills took a 16–15 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Steve Christie with 16 seconds remaining. The ensuing kickoff was fielded by the Titans' Lorenzo Neal, who handed the ball off to Frank Wycheck. Faced with oncoming defenders, Wycheck turned to his left and passed the ball across the field to Kevin Dyson, who was protected by a wall of blockers. Dyson ran untouched 75 yards down the sideline to score a touchdown. Unlike The Play, NFL rules in 2000 allowed for a replay official to call for video review of any questionable on-field call in the final two minutes of a game, and such a review was immediately declared to determine if Wycheck's pass to Dyson was an illegal forward pass. After a lengthy delay, officials determined that video evidence was inconclusive to overturn the ruling on the field, and the play was upheld as a touchdown. Although there were 3 seconds left on the clock when Dyson scored, nothing came of the Bills' ensuing kickoff return and the Titans went on to win the game 22–16. Later, computer analysis established that Dyson caught the ball on the same yard marker that Wycheck threw it from, confirming that the pass was indeed a lateral.
The Titans special teams coach at the time, Alan Lowry, said he got the inspiration for the play from another game in 1982 between Texas Tech and SMU. The idea was to draw the kickoff coverage to one side of the field and throw the ball back across the field to the other, where a wall of blockers would be set up.
On ABC's television broadcast of the game, color commentator Joe Theismann said immediately after the score, in an obvious reference to The Play, "All that's missing is the band. That's the only thing missing."

River City Relay (December 21, 2003)

The "River City Relay" was, like The Play, a game-ending multiple-lateral play resulting in a touchdown. It brought the New Orleans Saints to within one point of the Jacksonville Jaguars with no time remaining in a 2003 regular season game at ALLTEL Stadium, now TIAA Bank Field, in Jacksonville, Florida. The Saints needed to win the game to remain eligible for the NFL Playoffs. Unlike The Play, the River City Relay was a play from scrimmage, not a kick-off return. The Relay began with :07 left on the game clock and consisted of a forward pass by the Saints which was caught and lateraled three times before they finally scored with no time left. However, the Relay did not tie the game or give New Orleans the lead, and it became as infamous for its aftermath as it was famous for its brilliance; after a long delay, Saints kicker John Carney missed the ensuing extra-point attempt that would have tied the game and resulted in overtime, therefore losing 20–19 to the Jaguars and being eliminated from playoff contention.

Mississippi Miracle (October 27, 2007)

The "Mississippi Miracle" was, like The Play, a game-winning, multiple-lateral touchdown play. Similar to the "River City Relay" it was a play from scrimmage, and not a kick-off return. It occurred in a 2007 regular-season contest between Trinity University and Millsaps College, both members of the SCAC in NCAA Division III. It took place at Harper Davis Field on Millsaps' campus in Jackson, Mississippi. Like the River City Relay, it consisted of a forward pass by Trinity that was caught and lateraled multiple times and resulted in a touchdown. However, the Miracle consisted of an astounding 15 laterals among seven players, six of whom touched the ball multiple times on the play, and covered 60 yards. Trinity had taken the final snap with :02 on the clock and scored after the ball was in play for over a minute of real time, possibly making it the longest play in the history of American football.

Steelers vs. Dolphins lateral (December 8, 2013)

At the end of a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field during the 2013 NFL season, the Steelers needed to score a touchdown from 79 yards out to win the game. The game's last play, which would also be from scrimmage and not on a kick-off return, brought back memories of The Play. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a normal forward pass to Emmanuel Sanders, who then lateraled the ball to Jerricho Cotchery, who then lateraled to Le'Veon Bell, who then lateraled to Marcus Gilbert, who lateraled it back to Roethlisberger before finally lateraling it to Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown. Brown then sprinted down the sidelines into the end zone for what many thought was the game-winning touchdown. However, a referee correctly ruled that Brown had barely stepped out of bounds at the Dolphins 12-yard line. As the clock had expired, there was no time left to run another play, and the Dolphins held on for a 34–28 victory over the Steelers, their first win in Pittsburgh since 1990. There was debate as to whether or not the final lateral between Roethlisberger and Brown was legal as it appeared from some angles to be an illegal forward pass ; however, since no flag was thrown on the play and it was inconclusive, NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino later told NFL.com that the play would have stood had Brown scored. The game wound up having playoff implications for both teams, as the Steelers barely missed the playoffs and would have gone instead of the San Diego Chargers had they won one more game at any point during the season; the win kept the Dolphins alive, but were eliminated in the final week of the regular season and only needed a win in their final two weeks to clinch the playoff spot ahead of the Chargers.

The "Hail-Lateral" (December 24, 2014)

In the 2014 Bahamas Bowl between Central Michigan and Western Kentucky, Central Michigan had just come back from a 49–14 deficit after three quarters of play to within a touchdown at 49–42. A WKU punt put Central Michigan at the 25 yard line with :01 left in the game. Quarterback Cooper Rush heaved the ball 48 yards to Jesse Kroll, who lateraled it to Deion Butler for 10 yards. When Butler was chased down, he lateraled it to Courtney Williams. Williams could only advance 2 yards and made another lateral to Titus Davis. Davis outran 4 other defenders to the corner of the end zone, where he dove in for the touchdown. Rather than attempt the game-tying extra point to send the game into overtime, the Chippewas elected to attempt a 2-point conversion which would win the game. Rush's pass to the end zone was broken up, however, and WKU held on for a 49–48 victory. This play, like "The Play", involved a series of laterals, but it also included a Hail Mary pass, another exceptionally rare play.

The "Debacle in Durham" (October 31, 2015)

The "Debacle in Durham" occurred at the end of a game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, NC. Like "The Play", the "Debacle in Durham" was a kickoff return that included multiple laterals, a game-winning touchdown, and controversial officiating. After scoring a touchdown and converting a two-point conversion attempt with :06 left to play, Duke lined up to kick off leading 27–24. The Blue Devils squibbed the kick to the Miami 25-yard line, where it was fielded by the Hurricanes' Dallas Crawford. On the ensuing return, Miami executed a series of eight laterals that brought the ball back as far as its own three yard line. On the fourth lateral, Mark Walton tossed the ball to his left as he was being tackled from behind. Though photographs later showed that Walton's knee hit the turf before he released the ball, the officials did not whistle the play dead. The ball eventually found its way to Corn Elder at the Miami ten yard line. Assisted by two crucial blocks from teammate Greg Golden, Elder sprinted down the Miami sideline with a clear path to the end zone. As Elder crossed the Duke 16 yard line, teammate Artie Burns threw a block against a Duke defender, prompting the line judge to throw a flag. After Elder trotted into the end zone, the officiating crew immediately declared a video review and announced the flag as an illegal block in the back by Miami, which would have negated the touchdown and forced Miami to run a final untimed play from its own 8 yard line. However, after a lengthy review, the officiating crew declared that all of the laterals were legal, that no Miami ball carrier had gone down, and that the illegal block they had initially called was legal. The touchdown thus stood and resulted in a 30–27 Miami victory.
After the game, the Atlantic Coast Conference announced that the officials had erred and that the final touchdown should not have counted. According to the ACC, the officiating crew had committed three crucial mistakes: 1) they had incorrectly ruled that Walton was not down on the fourth lateral they reversed the flag they had thrown based on their review of the video footage, which cannot be used to overturn penalties, and 3) they missed a couple of crucial penalties against the Hurricanes involving an illegal block on the back deep in their own territory and illegal participation against one of their bench players without a helmet for entering the playing field before Elder crossed the end zone. Although the outcome of the game could not be changed, the ACC suspended the entire officiating crew for two games.

The Miracle in Miami (December 9, 2018)

In a week 13 game of the 2018 NFL season with the Miami Dolphins receiving the New England Patriots and trailing by five points with seven seconds to go, the Dolphins had the ball at their own 31-yard line. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw a pass over the middle that was caught by wide receiver Kenny Stills, who lateraled the ball to the right side of the field that was caught by DeVante Parker at midfield. Parker then tossed the ball to running back Kenyan Drake, who ran the ball 52 yards for a touchdown to win the game 34–33. The Dolphins did not kick the extra point, per the rule change for the 2018 season following the Minneapolis Miracle.

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