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 Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

's two

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) teams. The local press occasionally referred to the game as The Battle of Missouri, The Show-Me State Showdown, or the

I-70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, just outside Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 appr ...

Series. Originally played for between the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

, the series went into recess after 1987 following the Cardinals' relocation to

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

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 The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

relocated from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of 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.

History

1968–88

The contest began in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

when St. Louis had football Cardinals until the Cardinals' relocation in 1988. The Governor's Cup game was resumed in the

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

season between the Chiefs and the Rams until the Rams' relocation in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. 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.Chiefs-Rams news release for 9/2/05 preseason game
/ref>

1996–2015

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 Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...

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 Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American American football, football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the History of the St. Louis Rams, St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coor ...

, who succeeded Vermeil for the Rams head coaching job.

Rams return to Los Angeles

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt helped engineer the Rams' return to Los Angeles, their home from 1946–94, in January 2016, when he was the sole dissenting vote for a proposal which would have allowed the Raiders and Chargers to move to a new stadium in Carson. Hunt and

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

owner

Jerry Jones Jerral Wayne Jones Sr. (born October 13, 1942) is an American billionaire businessman who is the owner, president, and General manager (American football), general manager of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He bought t ...

then brokered a deal to allow the Rams to move back to California, where owner

Stan Kroenke Enos Stanley Kroenke (; born July 29, 1947) is an American billionaire real estate magnate and sports team owner. He is the owner of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which is the holding company of Arsenal of the Premier League and Arsenal Wo ...

would construct a new stadium in Inglewood. The substitute proposal was approved 30–2, with the Raiders and Chargers voting no. The Chargers moved to Los Angeles in 2017, then became tenants of the Rams' stadium in 2020.

Regular season results

Chiefs vs. Cardinals

, - , , Tie
6–6 , Municipal Stadium , Tie
0–0–1 , First regular season meeting. , - , , style=", Chiefs
10–0 ,

Busch Memorial Stadium Busch Memorial Stadium (Busch Stadium II) was a multi-purpose sports facility in St. Louis, Missouri, that operated for 40 years, from 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season, 1966 through 2005 St. Louis Cardinals season, 2005. Built as Civic Center Bu ...

, style=", Chiefs
1–0–1 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
21–13 , Busch Memorial Stadium , style=", Chiefs
2–0–1 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
38–14 ,

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). It was built at the same time as neighboring Kauff ...

, style=", Chiefs
3–0–1 , , - , , style=", Cardinals
23–14 , Busch Memorial Stadium , style=", Chiefs
3–1–1 , Last regular season Chiefs-Cardinals all-Missouri meeting. , - , Regular season , style=", Chiefs 3–1–1 , style=", Chiefs 1–0–1 , style=", Chiefs 2–1 , , -

Chiefs vs. Rams

, - , , style=", Chiefs
28–20 , Trans World Dome , style=", Chiefs
1–0 , First regular season Chiefs-Rams all-Missouri meeting. , - , , style=", Chiefs
54–34 ,

, style=", Chiefs
2–0 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
49–10 , Arrowhead Stadium , style=", Chiefs
3–0 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
31–17 , Edward Jones Dome , style=", Chiefs
4–0 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
27–13 , Edward Jones Dome , style=", Chiefs
5–0 , , - , , style=", Chiefs
34–7 , Arrowhead Stadium , style=", Chiefs
6–0 , Last regular season Chiefs-Rams all-Missouri meeting. , - , Regular season , style=", Chiefs 6–0 , style=", Chiefs 3–0 , style=", Chiefs 3–0 , , -

References

{{NFL rivalries NFL rivalries NFL trophies and awards American football in Missouri Kansas City Chiefs St. Louis Cardinals (football) St. Louis Rams American football competitions in Kansas City, Missouri Sports competitions in St. Louis 1970 establishments in Missouri Dissolved sports rivalries 1987 disestablishments in Missouri 2015 disestablishments in Missouri