FIFTH-YEAR VETERAN Justin Reid will attempt to add to Stanford's history of success in Super Bowls and championship games when the Kansas City Chiefs' starting safety takes the field for Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.
Reid will be the 42nd Stanford alum to play in a Super Bowl. Already, 41 different alums have played in 37 different Super Bowls. Of those, 21 have played in a Super Bowl and won. They are among 25 different alums to have played in and won National Football League championship games.
Justin Reid. Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports..
Some more Stanford title-game facts:
Fifty alums have played in league title games, including the Super Bowl and in the pre-Super Bowl NFL and American Football League, and All-America Football Conference.
The most Stanford players to see action on a Super Bowl-winning team was four, for the 1977 Dallas Cowboys -- DB Benny Barnes, LB Pat Donovan, WR Tony Hill, and RB Scott Laidlaw. The Cowboys beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII (Jan. 15, 1978). Along with defeated Denver defensive back Randy Poltl, the five players represent the most from Stanford in any Super Bowl or NFL championship game.
The first Stanford player in an NFL Championship game was Ernie Caddel, nicknamed the "Blond Antelope," who rushed for 62 yards on 16 carries and scored a touchdown in helping the Detroit Lions beat the New York Giants, 26-7, on Dec. 15, 1935.
Chris Burford makes a catch in Super Bowl I. Photo by the Los Angeles Times.
Stanford's first Super Bowl player was tight end Chris Burford of the Kansas City Chiefs. He had four catches for 67 yards in a 35-10 loss to the Green Bay Packers in what is now called Super Bowl I (Jan. 15, 1967), at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The first alum on a Super Bowl winner was Blaine Nye, Dallas's starting right offensive guard in the Cowboys' 24-3 victory over Miami in Super Bowl VI (Jan. 16, 1962) at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.
Jim Plunkett leads the Raiders to victory in Super Bowl XVIII.
Jim Plunkett was Stanford's first Super Bowl MVP, leading the Oakland Raiders past Philadelphia, 27-10, in Super Bowl XV (Jan. 21, 1981). Plunkett completed 13 of 21 passes for 261 yards and three touchdowns at the Superdome in New Orleans. He also quarterbacked the Los Angeles Raiders to a 38-9 victory over Washington in Super Bowl XVIII (Jan. 22, 1984) in Tampa.
Overall, the most NFL championships won by any alum is three, by receiver Ed McCaffrey (San Francisco in the 1994 season, Denver in 1997 and 1998) and end Hampton Pool (Chicago Bears in 1940, 1941, and 1943). McCaffrey totaled eight catches for 122 yards in three Super Bowls. Pool, a two-way player, returned an interception for a touchdown in Chicago's historic 73-0 title-game victory over Washington in 1940.
Super Bowl MVP John Elway with the Lombardi Trophy. Photo by Getty Images.
John Elway played in five Super Bowls, more than anyone from Stanford, and all for the Denver Broncos. He beat Green Bay and Atlanta in Super Bowls XXXII and XXXIII in the final two seasons of his 16-year career. In the 34-19 victory over the Falcons on Jan. 31, 1999 in Miami, Elway completed 18 of 29 passes for 336 yards and passed and ran for touchdowns on the way to being named as the game's MVP.
Two generations of Stanford alums played in NFL championship games: Bill McColl caught three passes as an end for the Chicago Bears in a 47-7 loss to the New York Giants in 1956 and his son Milt McColl was a linebacker for San Francisco in the 49ers' 38-16 victory over Miami at Stanford Stadium in Super Bowl XIX (Jan. 20, 1985).
Zach Ertz scores the winning touchdown in Super Bowl LII. Photo by Reuters.
Stanford's most recent Super Bowl winner was tight end Zach Ertz, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Eagles' 41-33 victory over New England in Super Bowl LII (Feb. 4, 2018). Ertz had seven catches for 67 yards, including an 11-yarder from Nick Foles with 2:21 left to put the Eagles ahead 38-33. Three former Card played for the Patriots: DB Johnson Bademosi, OL Cameron Fleming, and DB Jordan Richards.
An unsung NFL championship game hero was Norm Standlee of the 1941 Chicago Bears. A year after helping Stanford to an undefeated season and share of the national championship, Standlee rushed 17 times for 89 yards with two touchdowns, caught two passes for 34 yards, and intercepted a pass, in a 37-9 victory over the New York Giants (Dec. 21, 1941).
Norm Standlee had a big performance in the 1941 NFL Championship Game. Chicago Tribune clipping.
Adding to Stanford's Super Bowl legacy are its coaches. Four former Stanford coaches became head coaches of Super Bowl winners.
Bill Walsh coached the 49ers to three Super Bowl titles. He also spent three stints as a Stanford coach – as an assistant from 1963-65 and head coach in 1977-78 and 1992-94.
Bill Walsh is carried off by his San Francisco 49ers after winning Super Bowl XIX at Stanford Stadium.
George Seifert, a Stanford defensive backs coach from 1972-74, coached the 49ers to wins in Super Bowl XXIV over Denver (Jan. 28, 1990) and Super Bowl XXIX (Jan. 20, 1995) over San Diego.
Dick Vermeil was a Stanford assistant from 1965-67, including head freshman coach in 1965, before he was a head coach on two Super Bowl teams: the 1980 Philadelphia Eagles that lost to Plunkett's Raiders in Super Bowl XV, and the 1999 St. Louis Rams, who held off the Tennessee Titans, 23-16, to win Super Bowl XXXIV (Jan. 30, 2000) in Atlanta.
Former Stanford assistant coach Brian Billick coached the Ravens to victory in Super Bowl XXXV.
And Brian Billick, a Stanford assistant head coach and tight ends coach from 1989-91, coached one of history's great defensive teams to a Super Bowl victory when the Baltimore Ravens beat the Giants, 34-17, in Super Bowl XXXV (Jan. 28, 2001) in Tampa.
Sunday's Super Bowl also has a Stanford coaching connection. Eagles wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead was a Stanford offensive assistant from 2010-12 when the Cardinal went to an Orange Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, and Rose Bowl in consecutive seasons.