Tribal Warfare
08-28-2011, 01:56 AM
How 65 Toss Power Trap became a signature play in NFL history (http://www.kansascity.com/2011/08/25/3096517/how-65-toss-power-trap-became.html)
BY RANDY COVITZ | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
It was the eve of Super Bowl IV, and Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson and safety Johnny Robinson sat in their room at the Fontainebleau in New Orleans sizing up their opponent, the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota, the dominant power in the established National Football League, went 12-2 during the regular season, scoring the most points and allowing the fewest. After whipping Cleveland 27-7 in the NFL championship game, the Vikings were 13-point favorites over the American Football League champion Chiefs in the final game between the leagues.
“Johnny asked me about their defense,” Dawson recalled. “He asked, ‘How good are they? Can you score any points against them?’
“I said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to score some points. We have the right offense, we’ve got the right play selections against what they have … our strengths against their weaknesses … we’re going to put some points on the board.’ ”
Then Dawson asked Robinson about the Chiefs’ defense. Could they stop Minnesota quarterback Joe Kapp and the Vikings’ running game?
“I’m going to tell you something,” Robinson told Dawson. “I’ve looked at them all week long, and we might shut them out.”
• • •
Dawson’s offense put points on the board against the Purple People Eaters defense with three Jan Stenerud field goals in the Chiefs’ first four possessions, and Robinson’s defense shut down the Vikings, forcing three punts and a fumble, recovered by Robinson, in their first four possessions.
With the Chiefs leading 9-0 midway through the second quarter, it was time for the right play at the right time.
65 Toss Power Trap.
There have been plenty of famous plays in pro football history. Alan Ameche’s overtime touchdown run in the 1958 NFL championship game … Bart Starr’s quarterback sneak in the 1967 Ice Bowl … The Catch by Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC championship game.
But few people, other than the participants, know the names of those plays.
However, 65 Toss Power Trap became one of the game’s signature plays. It represented the power of the Chiefs and bravado of coach Hank Stram. And it was captured and perpetuated by NFL Films, which had outfitted Stram with a wireless microphone.
The Chiefs faced a third-and-goal situation at the Minnesota 5, and a pass appeared in order.
“But Hank Stram was something …” Chiefs left guard Ed Budde said. “He was ahead of his time. He’s the one who saw something that would make it work.”
Stram sent wide receiver Gloster Richardson into the game with a running play designed for halfback Mike Garrett.
“Gloster, tell (Dawson), 65 Toss Power Trap,” Stram said. “It might pop right open.”
Dawson, who normally called his own plays, was surprised at the coach’s selection.
“I said, ‘Wait, Gloster. We haven’t run that play in weeks. Are you sure?’ ” Dawson recounted.
Richardson repeated: “65 Toss Power Trap.”
Dawson shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“Hank Stram always said, ‘You don’t have to run what I call. You can call your own play, but it had better work,’ ” Dawson thought to himself.
“So I decided to try it.”
• • •
Dawson took the snap from center E.J. Holub and spun toward fullback Robert Holmes, who appeared to be running wide left. Left tackle Jim Tyrer pulled left, convincing Minnesota end Jim Marshall that was the direction of the play. Right guard Mo Moorman pulled to the left, trapping tackle Alan Page and clearing the path for Garrett, who took the ball from Dawson and headed up the middle.
“There was a whole lot that went on with that play,” Moorman said. “First of all, Jim Tyrer had to get an influence on the defensive end and get him going the right way. Ed Budde had to come down and block a linebacker. E.J. had to block the guy I was (facing), and I was supposed to block Alan Page.”
Garrett bolted through the line of scrimmage, waited for tight end Fred Arbanas to wipe out middle linebacker Lonnie Warwick and, for good measure, safety Karl Kassulke as well, and pranced to the goal line.
“I told you that baby was there! …” Stram chortled on the sidelines. “65 Toss Power Trap … The coach pumped one in there!”
Stram simply took advantage of an aggressive Vikings defense that had allowed just 10 points per game in the regular season.
“It’s really a sucker play,” Garrett said. “It only works against real good defenses. If the defense you’re playing is not very good, if you run a sucker play, you’re dead meat. But if they overreact, it works very well. It’s a great play against a team like the Minnesota Vikings. The only person who really has a shot is the middle linebacker, but it hit so quickly …”
The touchdown gave the Chiefs a 16-0 lead.
“It gave everyone a lift on our team going into halftime,” Dawson said. “Not only the offense but the defense as well. A 16-0 lead with our defense? No way they come back.”
• • •
A depiction of 65 Toss Power Trap was carved in stone in the sidewalk in front of the Founder’s Plaza at the refurbished Arrowhead Stadium, where fans can follow Garrett’s footsteps to the end zone and to where he jumped into the arms of wide receiver Otis Taylor.
Every year when the Super Bowl rolls around, Garrett’s wife, Suzanne looks forward to seeing the NFL Films’ production of Super Bowl IV.
“She’s the first to say, ‘They’re going to run that trap play, aren’t they?’ ” Garrett said. “I say, ‘Honey, they’re going to run it.’ After all these years, that play still rings in peoples’ minds. I never expected that to be the case, but Hank was so colorful, and with him yelling out ‘65 Toss Power Trap,’ it crystallized it in everybody’s mind.”
Because the Chiefs were such underdogs, Stram was not NFL Films’ first choice to be miked for the game, but Minnesota’s staid Bud Grant declined. So Ed Sabol of NFL Films and his son, Steve, pitched the idea to Stram, who agreed to wear the microphone for a small fee and as long as he had final approval on the final product. And no one else on the team was to know about it.
Stram’s candid — and in some cases, orchestrated — dialogue with his players, assistant coaches and referees was a watershed moment in showing the power video had in selling the NFL and recording its history.
“If you look at NFL Films as the film arm of the league, Hank was our Errol Flynn,” said Steve Sabol, whose father was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month. “He was the first swashbuckler, the first coach who really understood, more than any other coach, that football was also entertainment.
“That film did more for NFL Films, and in a way, for the Super Bowl, than any subsequent film we ever did, and it was because of Hank’s personality. … That’s the game that made the Super Bowl.”
• • •
The Vikings managed to draw to within nine, 16-7, with a third-quarter touchdown, but the Chiefs pulled away with another signature play captured by NFL Films — Dawson’s quick hitch to wide receiver Otis Taylor, who shook off cornerback Earsell Mackbee and high-stepped his way 46 yards down the sidelines as Stram chattered to anyone within earshot, “That’s it boys, that’s it!”
The Chiefs’ 23-7 victory legitimized the power of the AFL, squared the series with the NFL at 2-2 and showed that the New York Jets’ upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III was not a fluke. Super Bowl IV was the final game featuring an AFL team, as the leagues merged the following season.
“I think the Jets and the Raiders could have won that game against the Vikings,” Dawson said. “Minnesota’s defense was really good. But take a look at the Jets defense and the Raiders’ defense. They were outstanding. I’m an offensive player but I know defense wins ballgames.”
As did the right play call at the right time.
“Otis’ touchdown was memorable,” Budde said, “but the touchdown that made everybody look at us that we were really a competitor was 65 Toss Power Trap.”
BY RANDY COVITZ | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
It was the eve of Super Bowl IV, and Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson and safety Johnny Robinson sat in their room at the Fontainebleau in New Orleans sizing up their opponent, the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota, the dominant power in the established National Football League, went 12-2 during the regular season, scoring the most points and allowing the fewest. After whipping Cleveland 27-7 in the NFL championship game, the Vikings were 13-point favorites over the American Football League champion Chiefs in the final game between the leagues.
“Johnny asked me about their defense,” Dawson recalled. “He asked, ‘How good are they? Can you score any points against them?’
“I said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to score some points. We have the right offense, we’ve got the right play selections against what they have … our strengths against their weaknesses … we’re going to put some points on the board.’ ”
Then Dawson asked Robinson about the Chiefs’ defense. Could they stop Minnesota quarterback Joe Kapp and the Vikings’ running game?
“I’m going to tell you something,” Robinson told Dawson. “I’ve looked at them all week long, and we might shut them out.”
• • •
Dawson’s offense put points on the board against the Purple People Eaters defense with three Jan Stenerud field goals in the Chiefs’ first four possessions, and Robinson’s defense shut down the Vikings, forcing three punts and a fumble, recovered by Robinson, in their first four possessions.
With the Chiefs leading 9-0 midway through the second quarter, it was time for the right play at the right time.
65 Toss Power Trap.
There have been plenty of famous plays in pro football history. Alan Ameche’s overtime touchdown run in the 1958 NFL championship game … Bart Starr’s quarterback sneak in the 1967 Ice Bowl … The Catch by Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC championship game.
But few people, other than the participants, know the names of those plays.
However, 65 Toss Power Trap became one of the game’s signature plays. It represented the power of the Chiefs and bravado of coach Hank Stram. And it was captured and perpetuated by NFL Films, which had outfitted Stram with a wireless microphone.
The Chiefs faced a third-and-goal situation at the Minnesota 5, and a pass appeared in order.
“But Hank Stram was something …” Chiefs left guard Ed Budde said. “He was ahead of his time. He’s the one who saw something that would make it work.”
Stram sent wide receiver Gloster Richardson into the game with a running play designed for halfback Mike Garrett.
“Gloster, tell (Dawson), 65 Toss Power Trap,” Stram said. “It might pop right open.”
Dawson, who normally called his own plays, was surprised at the coach’s selection.
“I said, ‘Wait, Gloster. We haven’t run that play in weeks. Are you sure?’ ” Dawson recounted.
Richardson repeated: “65 Toss Power Trap.”
Dawson shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.
“Hank Stram always said, ‘You don’t have to run what I call. You can call your own play, but it had better work,’ ” Dawson thought to himself.
“So I decided to try it.”
• • •
Dawson took the snap from center E.J. Holub and spun toward fullback Robert Holmes, who appeared to be running wide left. Left tackle Jim Tyrer pulled left, convincing Minnesota end Jim Marshall that was the direction of the play. Right guard Mo Moorman pulled to the left, trapping tackle Alan Page and clearing the path for Garrett, who took the ball from Dawson and headed up the middle.
“There was a whole lot that went on with that play,” Moorman said. “First of all, Jim Tyrer had to get an influence on the defensive end and get him going the right way. Ed Budde had to come down and block a linebacker. E.J. had to block the guy I was (facing), and I was supposed to block Alan Page.”
Garrett bolted through the line of scrimmage, waited for tight end Fred Arbanas to wipe out middle linebacker Lonnie Warwick and, for good measure, safety Karl Kassulke as well, and pranced to the goal line.
“I told you that baby was there! …” Stram chortled on the sidelines. “65 Toss Power Trap … The coach pumped one in there!”
Stram simply took advantage of an aggressive Vikings defense that had allowed just 10 points per game in the regular season.
“It’s really a sucker play,” Garrett said. “It only works against real good defenses. If the defense you’re playing is not very good, if you run a sucker play, you’re dead meat. But if they overreact, it works very well. It’s a great play against a team like the Minnesota Vikings. The only person who really has a shot is the middle linebacker, but it hit so quickly …”
The touchdown gave the Chiefs a 16-0 lead.
“It gave everyone a lift on our team going into halftime,” Dawson said. “Not only the offense but the defense as well. A 16-0 lead with our defense? No way they come back.”
• • •
A depiction of 65 Toss Power Trap was carved in stone in the sidewalk in front of the Founder’s Plaza at the refurbished Arrowhead Stadium, where fans can follow Garrett’s footsteps to the end zone and to where he jumped into the arms of wide receiver Otis Taylor.
Every year when the Super Bowl rolls around, Garrett’s wife, Suzanne looks forward to seeing the NFL Films’ production of Super Bowl IV.
“She’s the first to say, ‘They’re going to run that trap play, aren’t they?’ ” Garrett said. “I say, ‘Honey, they’re going to run it.’ After all these years, that play still rings in peoples’ minds. I never expected that to be the case, but Hank was so colorful, and with him yelling out ‘65 Toss Power Trap,’ it crystallized it in everybody’s mind.”
Because the Chiefs were such underdogs, Stram was not NFL Films’ first choice to be miked for the game, but Minnesota’s staid Bud Grant declined. So Ed Sabol of NFL Films and his son, Steve, pitched the idea to Stram, who agreed to wear the microphone for a small fee and as long as he had final approval on the final product. And no one else on the team was to know about it.
Stram’s candid — and in some cases, orchestrated — dialogue with his players, assistant coaches and referees was a watershed moment in showing the power video had in selling the NFL and recording its history.
“If you look at NFL Films as the film arm of the league, Hank was our Errol Flynn,” said Steve Sabol, whose father was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this month. “He was the first swashbuckler, the first coach who really understood, more than any other coach, that football was also entertainment.
“That film did more for NFL Films, and in a way, for the Super Bowl, than any subsequent film we ever did, and it was because of Hank’s personality. … That’s the game that made the Super Bowl.”
• • •
The Vikings managed to draw to within nine, 16-7, with a third-quarter touchdown, but the Chiefs pulled away with another signature play captured by NFL Films — Dawson’s quick hitch to wide receiver Otis Taylor, who shook off cornerback Earsell Mackbee and high-stepped his way 46 yards down the sidelines as Stram chattered to anyone within earshot, “That’s it boys, that’s it!”
The Chiefs’ 23-7 victory legitimized the power of the AFL, squared the series with the NFL at 2-2 and showed that the New York Jets’ upset of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III was not a fluke. Super Bowl IV was the final game featuring an AFL team, as the leagues merged the following season.
“I think the Jets and the Raiders could have won that game against the Vikings,” Dawson said. “Minnesota’s defense was really good. But take a look at the Jets defense and the Raiders’ defense. They were outstanding. I’m an offensive player but I know defense wins ballgames.”
As did the right play call at the right time.
“Otis’ touchdown was memorable,” Budde said, “but the touchdown that made everybody look at us that we were really a competitor was 65 Toss Power Trap.”