Governor's Cup (Missouri)

Governors Cup

Chiefs (8) 1974 1980 1983 1997 2000 2002 2006 2010	Rams (0) N/A
Cardinals (1) 1986	Ties (1) 1970

The Missouri Governor's Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner between the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and St. Louis Rams' annual meetings in the preseason and occasional contests in the regular season.

The contest has been a staple of Missourian's football teams from 1968 to 1987 (between the Chiefs and St. Louis' first football team, the Cardinals) and 1996 to the present (featuring the Chiefs and newly-relocated Rams). The local press occasionally refer to the game as The Battle of Missouri, The Show-Me State Showdown (a play on Missouri's state nickname), or the I-70 Series. The Chiefs and Rams meet every year in the pre-season but have only met five times in the regular season.

History

1968-1988

The contest began in 1968 when St. Louis had the football Cardinals ^[1] until the Cardinals' relocation in 1988. The Governor's Cup game was resumed in the 1996 season between the Chiefs and the Rams.

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. ^[2]

1996-present

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 2000's, 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 buddies with the Rams--including his offensive coordinator of "The Greatest Show on Turf," Mike Martz--whom succeeded Vermeil for the Rams head coaching job.

St. Louis Football Cardinals vs. Kansas City Chiefs

All-Time Pre-Season Results

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.

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	@ Memphis, Tennessee

All-Time Regular Season Results

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

All-Time Pre-Season Results

The Chiefs and Rams meet every pre-season to determine the best NFL team in Missouri. The Rams lead the pre-season series 6-5-0.

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

All-Time Regular Season Results

Note: The Governor's Cup was not awarded for games between the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs, only since the Rams relocated to St. Louis in 1995.

The Chiefs lead the regular season series 5-0-0. ^{[3] [4]}

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Stadium	Game notes
October 26, 1997	Kansas City Chiefs 28	St. Louis Rams 20	Trans World Dome	Isaac Bruce becomes the first NFL player since 1968 to throw a touchdown, catch a touchdown and rush for a touchdown in the same game.
October 22, 2000	St. Louis Rams 34	Kansas City Chiefs 54	Arrowhead Stadium	Game played a week after Governor Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash. He was supposed to attend the game. A moment of silence was held beforehand.
December 8, 2002	St. Louis Rams 10	Kansas City Chiefs 49	Arrowhead Stadium	Dante Hall records two kick returns for touchdowns in the first quarter.
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

See also

• Governor's Cup (Texas)
• Battle of Ohio (NFL)

References

1. ^ Dean, Rick. Grbac to get playing time tonight, The Capital-Journal, 22 August 1997
2. ^ Chiefs-Rams news release for 9/2/05 preseason game
3. ^ Chiefs-Rams news release for 11/5/06 regular season game
4. ^ Herb, Patrick. BATTERING RAM: Johnson and Chiefs take Governor's Cup 31-17 KCChiefs.com, 5 November 2006.