Kevin Moen, Gary Tyrrell: Bound Together by a Moment in THE PLAY

The unlikely relationship between the Cal player and the Stanford trombonist springs back to life for the 40th anniversary of the 1982 five-lateral play

Kevin Moen has four grandchildren.

That provides a passage-of-time perspective on The Play, the amazing, five-lateral Big Game kickoff return in 1982 that will mark its 40th anniversary on Sunday, one day after this year’s Cal-Stanford game.

Moen was the Cal player who scored the touchdown on The Play, then slammed the ball into Stanford trombonist Gary Tyrrell, putting them both into Big Game history forever and beginning a life-long relationship between the two.

“He was one of the guys at Stanford that kept a good perspective with what The Play was,” said Moen. “It wasn’t life or death. It wasn’t the end of the world. He erroneously thought the game was over and happened to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Moen, now 61, continues to work in real estate in the Palos Verdes Peninsula region in the Los Angeles metropolitan area as he has for 35 years.

He claims he has done “hundreds” of events with Tyrrell, whom Moen calls his “traveling buddy.”

Tyrrell resides in Half Moon Bay, having worked in account management since getting his degree in industrial engineering at Stanford. He is now a chief financial officer for a company that produces plant-based oils, lotions and soaps.

Oh, and for the past 30 years Tyrrell has been brewing beer, with his go-to brew being something he dubbed Trombone Guy Pale Ale, which, he says, “is available at the finest tailgate parties on the Farm.”

And he has been to many tailgate parties. He has attended every Big Game since 1979, with the exception of the pandemic-tainted 2020 Cal-Stanford game.

“And as long as I am on this side of the dirt I hope to continue that streak,” he said.

Gary Tyrrell and Kevin Moen on Nov. 9, 2022 at Cal's Memorial Stadium, site of their first encounter 40 years ago. Photo by Bita Ryan

And as long as he is on this side of the dirt Tyrrell is likely to appear at events with Moen, reliving their unforgettable clash on that Saturday afternoon in the fall of 1982.

“We have a unique bond,” Tyrrell said. “No one did what I did, and no one did what he did. And he’s the nicest guy in the world.”

And there is renewed interest on the 40th anniversary. 

ESPN aired a documentary on The Play this week. A Stanford band member released a book this month titled "Five Laterals and a Trombone." California Magazine published a story in September of this year regarding the recollections of the officials of that 1982 Big Game. And this week our site reprinted a 1992 San Francisco Chronicle story that takes the reader through every moment of The Play and its aftermath in the words of the people who lived it.

The Play is not just about Moen and Tyrrell, of course. Three other Cal players were directly involved in making the laterals that added up to college football immortality.

Richard Rodgers, who took the first lateral from Moen and made the second and fourth laterals, is now an assistant defensive backfield coach for the Washington Commanders. He is also the father of Richard Rodgers II, a former Cal player and current tight end for the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dwight Garner, who took the lateral from Rodgers and got the ball back to Rodgers just before his knee touched the ground, is a risk manager for a renewable-energy company in Florida.

Mariet Ford, who made the final lateral to Moen, resides in a Vacaville prison, serving a 45-year sentence for his conviction in the 1997 killing of his pregnant wife and son in a fire. (He has always denied his involvement in the incident.)

But the most memorable participants are Moen and Tyrrell because of their glorious first encounter.

“At the time I didn’t know what a big deal it was,” Tyrrell said, “until the next day when I saw a headline in the paper that said, ‘Stuff This in Your Trombone.’ I realized that maybe it was going to impact my life a little bit.”

The trombone even has a story to tell. The horn that took the hit from Moen was Tyrrell’s first trombone, one he had had since fifth grade. Tyrrell had protected it well enough when he hit the ground from Moen’s blast that it still worked fine and spent the next few years at Tyrrell’s home.

Then, around 1993 someone from the College Football Hall of Fame called, asking whether Tyrrell would donate the prized horn to the Hall.

Tyrrell was excited about the idea.

“However, given the nature of pranks and various stealing of items between the schools, I told the curator of the museum, ‘If you are a Cal fan and you’re trying to get my horn, you got me. You absolutely fooled me.’”

The curator was who he said he was and the trombone was first displayed in the Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana, before the Hall was moved to Atlanta, Ga., where the trombone is currently and proudly displayed.

the trombone
The Play pic.twitter.com/wYA91uNv1O

— Jeremy Schaap (@JeremySchaap) July 26, 2022

But the stories spring from other angles as well.

“It’s kind of amazing how many people no matter where you are or age level, of people who are familiar with The Play,” Moen said. “Not just what took place, but people’s perspective of what took place, which is kind of fun. To me over time it’s been as much fun to hear other people’s stories.”

Like the people who were about to leave the stadium but decided to stay and were glad they did. Or the people who did leave, only to hear the roar and rush back in. Or the Cal assistant coaches who had made their way down to the field via the elevator before the final kickoff and missed the whole thing.

“It hasn’t been the focus of my life or what my life is about, but it’s allowed for a lot of good camaraderie with old friends and teammates,” Moen said. “It’s a fun thing to be noted for.”

Tyrrell continues to hit just the right notes, balancing humor and perspective.

"I do tell people I peaked at 21 and I'm just coasting on that," he said.

The Play, Called by Joe Starkey

Kevin Moen's Rodeo Venture

Kevin Moen has taken up team roping, as he describes here:

A Final Aside

For 40 years I thought Gary Tyrrell's last name was pronounced ter-RELL. As he notes in the video below, it's TEH-ruhl, rhyming with peril, and pronounced the same as Terrell Owens' first name.

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