In our countdown, these are the five biggest plays in Kansas City sports history
Well, we’ve reached the end.
This week, The Kansas City Star has been counting down the 25 biggest sports plays involving our professional, college and high school teams or individuals.
We’ve unveiled five a day and we’ve come to the final installment. These aren’t the best single-game performances or milestones — these are singular moments, the kind where you readily recall where you were and who you were with when you watched them.
With no further ado, here are the five biggest plays in Kansas City sports history.
1. ‘It might pop wide open’ ... and did
A 5-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to give the Chiefs a 16-point lead hardly sounds like a list-topper. But consider this:
The touchdown was the first in Super Bowl IV and helped pave the way for the Chiefs’ 23-7 upset over the Minnesota Vikings. It was beautifully executed, too, with running back Mike Garrett taking an inside handoff from Len Dawson.
But the play — 65 Toss Power Trap — is iconic not only for its importance but the sound of a man who called it. A microphone was attached to coach Hank Stram’s blazer, and on that day he became an NFL Films legend.
“Hank understood he was a performer as much as a coach,” the late Steve Sabol of NFL Films once said.
Stram grabbed Chiefs wide receiver Gloster Richardson and sent him into the huddle with instructions.
“Gloster, tell (Dawson), 65 Toss Power Trap. It might pop wide open.”
The trap caught so many Vikings players out of position Garrett could have walked into the end zone, and no Super Bowl highlights show is complete without hearing Stram call his shot.
The Chiefs’ second touchdown of Super Bowl IV was a greater individual effort: receiver Otis Taylor ran through a tackle, made a move and sprinted 46 yards into the end zone.
But in 2015, The Star called “65 Toss Power Trap” the most memorable play in Chiefs history. Five years later, and expanding the list to greatest plays in Kansas City sports history, it remains on top. And it even came with a soundtrack.
2. Stinger of a play begins Super comeback
The Chiefs attempted to get a play off in a hurry, but whistles blew and replays confirmed Tyreek Hill did not come up with a first-down reception. Now, the Chiefs, trailing the 49ers by 10, faced third-and-15 from their 35 with 7:11 remaining. Win-probability charts gave the Chiefs about a 95 percent chance of losing Super Bowl LIV Feb 2 in Miami before the next snap.
But that next snap changed everything. While the incompletion was being reviewed, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes asked offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, “Do we have time to run ‘Wasp’?” He was asking if he’d have time in the pocket to allow Hill’s route to develop.
In the huddle, “Jet Chip Wasp,” was the call. Hill broke free and Mahomes, who dropped back 14 yards, let if fly.
The 44-yard gain set up the first of three KC touchdowns over the next 4:57. The flurry produced a 31-20 triumph and continued a trend of amazing comebacks. The Chiefs became the first team to overcome double-digit deficits in three straight playoff victories.
The last one may not have have happened without Jet Chip Wasp.
The play is now immortalized on T-shirts, a poster and and even via an ale. This is how you make the list of greatest plays in Kansas City sports history.
3. Gordo stays vigilant, Royals stave off defeat
For as good as the Royals’ bullpen had been in the 2015 playoffs, New York Mets closer Jeurys Familia was arguably the best reliever in that postseason ... until the World Series, anyway.
In the first two rounds of the playoffs, Familia had saved five games, allowing just two hits in 9 2/3 scoreless innings.
Called on to protect a 4-3 lead in Game 1 of the World Series against the Royals, Familia got one out before trying to sneak a quick pitch past Royals left fielder Alex Gordon.
Big mistake. Gordon stayed in the batter’s box between pitches.
“I was trying to do that just so I was ready for the quick pitch whenever it was going to happen,” Gordon told The Star’s Lynn Worthy earlier this year. “Sure enough, it did. Lucky for me, it didn’t sink as much as it usually does. That just kind of left it right down the middle of the plate.”
Gordon crushed the pitch. The ball left his bat at 107 mph and traveled 421 feet, landing in front of the batter’s eye in center field. That tied the game and the Royals went on to win 5-4 in 14 innings.
For a team built on speed and defense, Gordon muscled up at just the right time for the Royals, who would win the World Series in five games.
“Looking back on it now, I don’t even remember rounding the bases, just because it was so exciting, such a big moment,” Gordon said earlier this year in a video on the Royals YouTube page. “I remember crossing the plate and kind of pounding my chest ...
“I kind of blacked out after I touched first (base). The atmosphere in Kansas City in ‘14 and ‘15 was nothing I’ve ever seen before. It was just crazy. Just that moment was something special.”
4. One shining moment for Chalmers, Kansas
The NCAA Tournament has come to be defined as much by snapshot moments as its roll call of champions, but some of the most memorable games occur when those moments produce a title.
So it was in 2008.
Memphis missed four of five free throws in the final 75 seconds but led Kansas by three with 10 ticks remaining. “Chop” was the play called by Bill Self. Sherron Collins dribbled to the three-point line and stumbled, but not before handing the ball off to Mario Chalmers, who took one dribble and rose up for The Shot.
“I was able to get a good look at it,” Chalmers said.
Swish. Game tied with 2.1 seconds remaining. And after that, the Jayhawks played nearly perfectly in overtime to win 75-68.
KU had trailed 60-51 with 2:12 remaining.
“I though we were national champions,” Tigers coach John Calipari said later ... but Memphis couldn’t close the deal and KU and Chalmers delivered one very shining moment.
5. Salvy’s winning hit completes a wild night
For nearly three decades, Royals fans had waited for their team to play meaningful games in October.
In the eighth inning of the 2014 American League Wild Card Game, it seemed that wait would continue. The Royals trailed the Oakland A’s 7-3 and a capacity crowd at Kauffman Stadium had already mercilessly booed manager Ned Yost when he pulled Yordano Ventura following a disastrous relief appearance on the last day of September.
No one knew it at the time, but the Royals were about to pull victory from the jaws of defeat, which they made a habit of doing during their heart-pounding two-year postseason run. The Royals scored three times in the eighth and once in the ninth to force extra innings.
The A’s took the lead in the 12th, but the Royals tied it again and had a runner at second when Salvador Perez stepped to the plate to face A’s reliever Jason Hammel. The Athletics pitcher (and future Royal) fed Perez a steady diet of off-speed stuff until, on a 2-2 count, “Salvy” seemingly defied physics by pulling a pitch off the plate down the third-base line.
“For him to even hit that pitch, or even make contact?” Royals teammate Lorenzo Cain marveled afterward. “That’s impressive.”
The ball barely got past a diving Josh Donaldson, the A’s third baseman, and Christian Colon scored easily. The Royals won 9-8, fueling an unexpected run to the World Series.
“As soon as I hit the ball, I saw him try to dive,” Perez said. “I said, ‘Just wait.’ As soon as I saw the ball past him? History.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 9:00 AM.