Governor's Cup (Missouri)

Summary

The Missouri Governor's Cup (also known as the Chiefs-Rams rivalry, or Cardinals-Chiefs rivalry) was a trophy awarded to the winner of the football game between Missouri's two National Football League (NFL) teams. The local press occasionally referred to the game as The Battle of Missouri, The Show-Me State Showdown, or the I-70 Series. Originally played for between the Kansas City Chiefs and the St. Louis Cardinals, the series went into recess after 1987 following the Cardinals' relocation to Phoenix, Arizona at the end of the season, leaving the Chiefs as the only NFL team in Missouri. In 1996, the year after the St. Louis Rams relocated from Los Angeles, the Governor's Cup series returned and was played until 2015 in the preseason and the interconference regular season matchups between the Chiefs and Rams. The series ended once again after the Rams returned to Los Angeles in 2016, leaving the Chiefs as the only NFL team in Missouri for a second time.

Governor's Cup (Missouri)
Kansas City Chiefs
St. Louis Cardinals (NFL)
St. Louis Rams
First meetingNovember 22, 1970
Cardinals 6, Chiefs 6
Latest meetingSeptember 3, 2015
Chiefs 24, Rams 17
Next meeting(Defunct) [1]
Statistics
Meetings total11
All-time series
  • Chiefs lead Cardinals, 3–1–1
  • Chiefs lead Rams, 6–0–0
Largest victory
  • Chiefs (over Cardinals): 38–14 (October 2, 1983)
  • Chiefs (over Rams): 49–10 (December 8, 2002)
  • Cardinals (over Chiefs): 23–14 (November 23, 1986)
Current win streak
  • Chiefs: 6 wins (1997–2014)

History edit

1968–88 edit

The contest began in 1968 when St. Louis had the football Cardinals[2] until the Cardinals' relocation in 1988. The Governor's Cup game was resumed in the 1996 season between the Chiefs and the Rams until the Rams' relocation in 2016.

The Chiefs posted a 16–7–2 mark in its Governor's Cup series against the Cardinals from 1968 to 1987, going 3–1–1 in the regular season record and 13–6–1 in preseason play.[3]

1996–2015 edit

When the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis, the rivalry among Missourians re-emerged. Both the Rams and the Chiefs possessed the two most productive offenses in the NFL in the early 2000s, and the meetings often resulted in shootouts. Former Rams coach Dick Vermeil was hired by the Chiefs in 2001 after he had won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams with one of the NFL's most powerful offensive squads in history. Once the Chiefs created their own high-powered offense with the arrival of Vermeil, the rivalry became even more exciting. In often meaningless preseason games, the Chiefs and Rams gave all their energy to secure the Governor's Cup, their spot as the best offense in the league, and bragging rights for their respective city in Missouri. Dick Vermeil faced off against his old coaching staff with the Rams - including his offensive coordinator of "The Greatest Show on Turf", Mike Martz, who succeeded Vermeil for the Rams head coaching job.

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs edit

All-Time pre-season results edit

The Chiefs and Cardinals met every pre-season to determine the best NFL team in Missouri. The Chiefs lead the pre-season series 13–6–1.

The 1972 meeting was the first event in Arrowhead Stadium, which opened despite continuing construction.

Date Visiting team Home team Stadium
August 17, 1968 St. Louis Cardinals 10 Kansas City Chiefs 13 Municipal Stadium
August 28, 1969 Kansas City Chiefs 31 St. Louis Cardinals 21 Busch Memorial Stadium
September 12, 1970 St. Louis Cardinals 34 Kansas City Chiefs 24 Busch Memorial Stadium
September 4, 1971 St. Louis Cardinals 17 Kansas City Chiefs 17 Municipal Stadium
August 12, 1972 St. Louis Cardinals 14 Kansas City Chiefs 24 Arrowhead Stadium
September 7, 1973 Kansas City Chiefs 16 St. Louis Cardinals 7 Busch Memorial Stadium
September 6, 1974 St. Louis Cardinals 16 Kansas City Chiefs 21 Arrowhead Stadium
August 9, 1975 St. Louis Cardinals 10 Kansas City Chiefs 3 Arrowhead Stadium
September 3, 1976 Kansas City Chiefs 14 St. Louis Cardinals 31 Busch Memorial Stadium
September 10, 1977 St. Louis Cardinals 20 Kansas City Chiefs 37 Arrowhead Stadium
August 28, 1978 St. Louis Cardinals 12 Kansas City Chiefs 7 Arrowhead Stadium
August 18, 1979 St. Louis Cardinals 3 Kansas City Chiefs 20 Arrowhead Stadium
August 23, 1980 Kansas City Chiefs 20 St. Louis Cardinals 10 Busch Memorial Stadium
August 22, 1981 St. Louis Cardinals 16 Kansas City Chiefs 3 Arrowhead Stadium
September 4, 1982 Kansas City Chiefs 10 St. Louis Cardinals 6 Busch Memorial Stadium
August 20, 1983 St. Louis Cardinals 16 Kansas City Chiefs 17 Arrowhead Stadium
August 10, 1984 Kansas City Chiefs 10 St. Louis Cardinals 14 Busch Memorial Stadium
August 31, 1985 St. Louis Cardinals 13 Kansas City Chiefs 17 Arrowhead Stadium
August 16, 1986 Kansas City Chiefs 27 St. Louis Cardinals 26 Busch Memorial Stadium
September 6, 1987 Kansas City Chiefs 13 St. Louis Cardinals 10 Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN)

All-Time regular season results edit

Note: The Governor's Cup was awarded between the Chiefs and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1968 through 1987, the Cardinals' final season in St. Louis.

The Chiefs won the regular reason series 3–1–1.

Date Visiting team Home team Stadium
November 22, 1970 St. Louis Cardinals 6 Kansas City Chiefs 6 Municipal Stadium
December 1, 1974 Kansas City Chiefs 17 St. Louis Cardinals 13 Busch Memorial Stadium
November 23, 1980 Kansas City Chiefs 21 St. Louis Cardinals 13 Busch Memorial Stadium
October 2, 1983 St. Louis Cardinals 14 Kansas City Chiefs 38 Arrowhead Stadium
November 23, 1986 Kansas City Chiefs 14 St. Louis Cardinals 23 Busch Memorial Stadium

St. Louis Rams vs. Kansas City Chiefs edit

All-Time pre-season results edit

The Chiefs and Rams met in most pre-seasons from 1996 through 2015 to determine the best NFL team in Missouri. The Rams, who moved to St. Louis in 1995, led the Missouri pre-season series 9–6, before returning to Los Angeles in 2016.

 
A Chiefs-Rams game in St. Louis during the 2006 season
Date Visiting team Home team Stadium
August 17, 1996 St. Louis Rams 34 Kansas City Chiefs 30 Arrowhead Stadium
August 22, 1997 Kansas City Chiefs 13 St. Louis Rams 14 Trans World Dome
August 28, 1998 St. Louis Rams 10 Kansas City Chiefs 6 Arrowhead Stadium
August 31, 2001 Kansas City Chiefs 17 St. Louis Rams 21 Trans World Dome
August 30, 2002 St. Louis Rams 16 Kansas City Chiefs 23 Arrowhead Stadium
August 28, 2003 Kansas City Chiefs 22 St. Louis Rams 6 Edward Jones Dome
August 23, 2004 St. Louis Rams 7 Kansas City Chiefs 24 Arrowhead Stadium
September 2, 2005 Kansas City Chiefs 23 St. Louis Rams 27 Edward Jones Dome
August 26, 2006 St. Louis Rams 12 Kansas City Chiefs 16 Arrowhead Stadium
August 30, 2007 Kansas City Chiefs 3 St. Louis Rams 10 Edward Jones Dome
August 28, 2008 St. Louis Rams 17 Kansas City Chiefs 21 Arrowhead Stadium
September 3, 2009 Kansas City Chiefs 9 St. Louis Rams 17 Edward Jones Dome
August 26, 2011 St. Louis Rams 14 Kansas City Chiefs 10 Arrowhead Stadium
August 18, 2012 Kansas City Chiefs 17 St. Louis Rams 31 Edward Jones Dome
September 3, 2015 Kansas City Chiefs 24 St. Louis Rams 17 Edward Jones Dome

All-Time regular season results edit

The Chiefs won the regular season series 6–0.[4][5]

Date Visiting team Home team Stadium
October 26, 1997 Kansas City Chiefs 28 St. Louis Rams 20 Trans World Dome
October 22, 2000 St. Louis Rams 34 Kansas City Chiefs 54 Arrowhead Stadium
December 8, 2002 St. Louis Rams 10 Kansas City Chiefs 49 Arrowhead Stadium
November 5, 2006 Kansas City Chiefs 31 St. Louis Rams 17 Edward Jones Dome
December 19, 2010 Kansas City Chiefs 27 St. Louis Rams 13 Edward Jones Dome
October 26, 2014 St. Louis Rams 7 Kansas City Chiefs 34 Arrowhead Stadium

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ The series is currently in recess as the Chiefs are the only NFL team in Missouri following the Rams' relocation back to Los Angeles in 2016.
  2. ^ Dean, Rick. Grbac to get playing time tonight Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Capital-Journal, 22 August 1997
  3. ^ Chiefs-Rams news release for 9/2/05 preseason game
  4. ^ "Chiefs-Rams news release for 11/5/06 regular season game" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2006-11-04.
  5. ^ Herb, Patrick. BATTERING RAM: Johnson and Chiefs take Governor's Cup 31-17 Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine KCChiefs.com, 5 November 2006.