The Play - Aftermath

Aftermath

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 (much like a coach's diagram) complete with squiggly lines for the laterals, appeared in the Cal bookstore and throughout the Bay Area. In the ensuing years, students at Stanford retaliated by wearing Big Game buttons that said "WE GOT IN."

The season after The Play, the Cardinal 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 leader now annually passes the baton to the new band leader 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. Andy Geiger, the athletics director of Stanford, 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 in both 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 really memorable participants in the game being Elway and announcer Joe Starkey for his famous calling of The Play.

Ron Rivera, a starting defensive end for California, was a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears, which 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.

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 is also the head football coach at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, starting in the 2008–2009 school year.

Gary Tyrrell, the Stanford trombonist who was run over by Moen, is a venture capital 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 The Sports Authority chain of sporting goods stores. 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.

Gale Gilbert was the starting quarterback for the Cal Bears. His son, Garrett Gilbert was formerly the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. Gilbert was granted his unconditional release from Texas on October 5, 2011, allowing him the opportunity to seek a transfer.

It was earlier in the school year that Football Coach Joe Kapp had a conversation with Cal Rugby Coach Jack Clark about having some of the running backs come play rugby in preparation for the upcoming 1983 football season. As it was, Cal Rugby already had a number of the offensive line enlisted in their forward pack. Though none of the running backs stayed with the Rugby team to play that season, it is suspected that "THE PLAY" was the result of the football team's involvement with the Rugby Team earlier in that school year.