On Nov. 20, 1982, Cal and Stanford met in a football game that concluded in perhaps the most shocking, wildest ending in college football history: The Play.
The five-lateral kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the game, which concluded with Cal's Kevin Moen running over Stanford trombone player Gary Tyrrell, gave the Bears a 25-20 victory over their hated rivals.
It's arguably known as the best college football ending of all time.
But over 25 years later, where are the key players from that moment? Click at the left to learn more.";
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Long reluctant to discuss the 1982 Cal-Stanford game because it prevented him from playing in a bowl game, Elway and several other participants in The Play were part of a taped group discussion last month that will be aired by Versus before this year’s Cal-Stanford game.
The Hall of Fame quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion with the Denver Broncos is co-owner and CEO of the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League and also owns two steakhouses and two car dealerships.
Elway’s son Jack is a highly touted high school quarterback who also wears No. 7, and last month verbally committed to play at Arizona State next fall. In August, John Elway was hired as quarterbacks coach for his son’s team at Cherry Creek (Colo.) High School.";
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After the 1983 season, when Stanford went 1-10, Wiggin was fired as coach. In 1985, he joined the Minnesota Vikings staff as an assistant coach and has been with the Vikings ever since, filling a variety of coaching and front-office roles. He is currently a player personnel consultant and is responsible for evaluating players and advance scouting. Wiggin, a two-time All-American defensive tackle at Stanford, was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.";
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The Play, which gave Cal a 7-4 record, was the highlight of Kapp’s coaching career at Cal. The Bears did not have another winning season under Kapp, who was fired in 1986 when Cal went 2-9. He had several subsequent stints in coaching, but nothing high profile. He offers his services as a guest speaker, and his son, Will Kapp, is a walk-on freshman fullback at Cal.";
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The man who scored the touchdown on The Play currently manages several Coldwell Banker real estate offices in Palos Verdes, in the Los Angeles area. As part of the 25th anniversary of The Play, he is analyzing home values as they relate to college towns.";
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He is the saddest case of the The Play participants because he is now in a California prison, serving a sentence of 45 years to life after being convicted of second-degree murder and arson in connection with the 1997 deaths of his 37-year-old pregnant wife, 3-year-old son and unborn child. Ford made the final lateral in The Play, a blind pass over his head that found its way to Kevin Moen, who carried it in for a touchdown.";
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Rodgers made two laterals during The Play and is credited with advising teammates in the huddle before the final kickoff to keep the ball alive. Rodgers has been an assistant coach with New Mexico State, Portland State, San Jose State and the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe and is now in his third season as the defensive coordinator at Holy Cross, a Division I-AA (now Championship Subdivision) school.";
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Perhaps the most famous participant in the Play even though he has nothing to do with football, Tyrrell is currently the Chief Financial Officer for Woodside Fund, a venture capital firm not far from Stanford. Tyrrell (on the right in photo above) is a regular tailgater at Stanford football games and he usually brings some of the tasty beer he brews.";
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An official during the 1982 Big Game, Riese would have been the one to call the illegal forward lateral on the final toss if he had not been racing toward the end zone to see if California would score. He was also the replay official for the controversial blown call that cost Oklahoma its game against Oregon in 2006. He received death threats after the Oregon-Oklahoma game and was suspended by the Pac-10. He later asked for and received a leave of absence because his guilt and the threats had made him ill. Charlie Moffett, the chief of the officiating crew for the 1982 Big Game and the man who raised his arms to signal touchdown, retired after the season and died in 2002.";
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Now the general manager of the Chicago White Sox, Williams played cornerback and wide receiver for Stanford in 1982 and was supposed to be on the field for the final kickoff. But coach Paul Wiggin told him not to bother because the game was over and inserted a backup.";
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Stanford’s offensive coordinator in 1982, Fassel was coach of the New York Giants from 1997-2003 and offensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens last season before being fired. He currently is a Westwood One radio analyst for NFL games and helps run a commercial real estate business, although a return to coaching is possible.";
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Garner, who still claims his knee was not down on the most controversial part of The Play, lives in Coral Springs, Fla., and is the director of risk and insurance for Interim Health Care, Inc., a nurse staffing company. His son, Phil, is a sophomore wide receiver at Kent State and is the team’s leading receiver. In Phil’s Kent State bio says “his father Dwight carried the ball five yards during ‘The Play.’”";
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Bark was supposed to be on the field for Cal for the final kickoff, but he was already headed for the locker room and did not hear the coaches call for the hands team instead of the regular kick return team. Steve Dunn raced on the field at the last instant to take Bark’s place. Bark is the founder and president of Student Sports, a Torrance (Calif.)-based media and marketing company that focuses on high school sports.";
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Starkey was Cal’s play-by-play announcer in 1982 and it is his half-crazed account of The Play that everyone hears and remembers. He still is the radio voice for Cal football and is now also the radio play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco 49ers. ";
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The instrument Gary Tyrrell was playing when he got clobbered by Moen made the rounds in the days and months after the play, and the dented instrument is now resting comfortably on display in the Rivalries section of the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.";
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It was lateraled five times and spiked into trombone player Gary Tyrrell’s head. It’s slightly deflated now and sits in the trophy case at the home of Kevin Moen’s father in Rolling Hills, Calif."; // END editorial data