Joe Starkey Reflects on “The Play” 40 Years Later
Longtime Cal Broadcaster reflects on the Most Memorable Call of His Career
** FILE ** California’s Kevin Moen (26) leaps with the ball in the air after scoring Cal’s winning touchdown while the Stanford band runs to get out of his way in Berkeley, Calif., in this Nov. 25, 1982 photo. When the Big Game rolls around each fall, Kevin Moen and Gary Tyrrell can’t help being reminded about their roles in the wackiest four seconds in college football history. In 1982, Moen scored for California on the game-ending, five-lateral kickoff return known simply as The Play – and Tyrrell was the Stanford band’s trombone player who got leveled by Moen in the end zone. (AP Photo/Oakland Tribune/Robert Stinnett)
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Since 1975, broadcaster Joe Starkey has been calling all the action for the University of California-Berkeley football team as their play-by-play announcer. A position that he will retire from at the end of this season after 47 years. He has seen and done it all, but no event or call was more memorable than the one he made on November 20, 1982.
(Courtesy: Nathan Phillips/Cal Athletics)
It was the 85th annual matchup between longtime rivals Cal and Stanford known as the “Big Game”. The back and forth contest reached its climax with 53 seconds left in the fourth quarter and the score tied at 19. Stanford quarterback John Elway led an incredible drive which included a conversion on 4th and 17 from the 13-yard line, setting up for the extra point with 4 seconds left. Stanford kicker Mark Harmon converted on the field goal to put them up 20-19. All signs pointed to a Cardinal victory and in the words of Starkey “only a miracle can save the Bears”.
(Courtesy: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
As both teams took the field, the Stanford marching band were becoming exuberant and eventually made their way to the field celebrating what they and many others thought was the end of the game. Harmon squibled kicked the ball to the Bears who ended up throwing five lateral passes to keep the game going. They kept moving with the ball and it ended up in the hands of return man Kevin Moen and as he headed toward the end zone, Starkey shouted with a mixture of excitement and bewilderment from the booth “The band is out on the field! He’s gonna go into the end zone! He got into the end zone!”
Moen ended up colliding into trombonist Gary Tyrrell and as he raised his hands in jubilation, there was uncertainty as to whether the touchdown would count. Nobody knew what the end result was going to be. There were flags on the field and there was some question about the legality of the laterals by Cal. When all was said and done, the referees blew the whistle signaling the end of the game giving Cal the victory 25-20.
When it became official, Starkey reacted with one of the greatest expressions of glee by any sportscaster in history.
“And the Bears, the Bears have won! The Bears have won!” Starkey shouted following the ruling. “Oh my god. The most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heart-rending, exciting and thrilling finish in the history of college football. California has won the Big Game over Stanford. Oh, excuse me for my voice, but I have never, never seen anything like it in the history of I have ever seen any game in my life!”
The game left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Stanford players, most notably John Elway who felt that the touchdown shouldn’t have counted. It denied them a chance to compete in the All American Bowl, now known as the Hall of Fame Classic and stripped Elway of a chance at winning the Heisman Trophy. It was the end of his college career and he would go on to have one of the most successful careers in NFL history which included two Super Bowl titles with the Denver Broncos and induction into the College Football and Pro Football Hall of Fames.
(Courtesy: Carl Viti / Associated Press
As for Starkey, the legacy of that game and his memorable call is one that gives him tremendous pride. When asked if he is comfortable with being known for one game, he exudes tremendous humility and provides some words of advice for other sportscasters.
“Yeah I can live with that,” he said. “No matter what game I’ve done, the key of the play is to never interrupt until it is over. You can carry the broadcast of the play until it’s over and apologize afterwards.
He says he made the mistake of being too generic and not providing enough detail. He wasn’t so sure if he got the call right and fear along with excitement started to overcome him during that moment.
Nevertheless, the call has withstood the test of time and Starkey said he has had people in Japan and Italy come up to him talking about the game. So he must have done something right.
“It is amazing to see how it has taken on a life of its own,” he said.
This past weekend, along with the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of “The Play” which included the unveiling of a statue of Moen on Cal’s campus, Cal overcame a 17-6 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Stanford 27-20.
The tradition continues. The rivalry is still strong. But there will likely never be a moment as bizarre and as memorable as the one that occurred on that sunny fall day in 1982.
Kevin Moen turned the game around and Joe Starkey turned it into legend.
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