Back Story - November 2007

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Everyone, its seems was there. As with claims for other gatherings that have attained mythic status (think Woodstock, or, closer to home, Game 3 of the 1989 World Series), the number of those who say they were at the 1982 Big Game and were eyewitnesses to The Play increases in direct proportion to the number of years since its occurrence. In case you’re one of the dozen who missed it, here’s what happened.

The biggest college football event in Northern California, the Big Game is the annual head-to-head contest between the Cal Bears and the Stanford Cardinal. At stake is possession of the Stanford Axe, the axe-head perpetual trophy awarded to the winner of the game. And in 1982, the 85th such battle, there was much more at stake for Stanford. Cal had no chance for a postseason bowl appearance, but Stanford had won against highly ranked Washington and powerhouse Ohio State and needed to beat Cal to be invited to a bowl game.

In the game’s final seconds, in what would become known simply as The Play, Cal, trailing 20­–19, pulled off a desperation play that included a kickoff runback and five lateral passes through the Stanford team — and the Stanford band — to score the winning touchdown. Thinking the game was over, the band marched into the end zone to begin the victory celebration, only to be met by Cal’s ball carrier Kevin Moen, who unceremoniously upended Cardinal trombonist Gary Tyrrell.

Though Cal is officially credited with winning the game, there are those at Stanford who are having none of it, claiming that at least one of the laterals was actually an illegal forward pass. To register their protest, each time Stanford regains possession of the Stanford Axe, the plaque is altered to reflect a 20-19 Stanford victory. When the trophy is returned to Cal, the plaque is changed back to the official score: Cal 25, Stanford 20.

Stanford’s quarterback? Future NFL star and Pro Football Hall of Famer John Elway.

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