THE USC TROJANS
COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S ALL-TIME GREATEST DYNASTY
By STEVEN TRAVERS
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
www.rowman.com
Copyright by Steven Travers (2010)
FRONT INSIDE COVER
Praise for Steven Travers
Steve Travers is the next great USC historian, in the tradition of Jim Murray, John Hall, and Mal Florence!
- USC Head Football Coach Pete Carroll
Steve Travers combines wit, humor, social pathos and historical knowledge with the kind of sports expertise that only an ex-jock is privy to; it is reminiscent of the work of Jim Bouton, Pat Jordan and Dan Jenkins, combined with Jim Murray’s turn of phrase, Hunter Thompson’s hard-scrabble Truths, and David Halberstam’s unique take on our nation’s place in history. His writing is great storytelling, and the result is pure genius every time.
- California sports media personality Mike McDowd
Steve Travers is a great writer, an educated athlete who knows how to get inside the player’s heads, and when that happens, greatness occurs. He’s gonna be a superstar.
- Dave Burgin/Editor, San Francisco Examiner
Steve Travers is a phenomenal writer, an artist who labors over every word to get it just right, and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of sports and history.
- StreetZebra magazine
Steve Travers is a Renaissance man.
- Jim Rome Show
He is very qualified to continue to write books such as this one. Good job.
- Marty Lurie/"Right Off the Bat” Oakland A’s Pregame Host
Steve’s a literate ex-athlete, an ex-Trojan, and a veteran of Hollywood, too.
- Lee “Hacksaw” Hamilton/XTRA Radio, San Diego
You’ve done some good writin’, dude.
- KFOG Radio, San Francisco
[Travers is] one of the great sportswriters on the current American scene.
- Joe Shea/Radio Talk Host and Editor
Travers appears to have the right credentials for the task.
- USA Today Sports Weekly
A very interesting read which is not your average…book…. Steve has achieved his bona fides when it comes to having the credentials to write a book like this.
- Geoff Metcalfe/KSFO Radio, San Francisco
Travers…established himself as a writer of many dimensions…a natural.
- John Jackson/Ross Valley Reporter
Steve Travers is a true USC historian and a loyal Trojan!
- Former USC football player John Papadakis
FRONT AND BACK DUSTCOVER
On the morning of January 1, 2000, the dawn of the New Millennium, an Associated Press-style "Top 25" of the all-time greatest collegiate football programs of the 20th Century ranked the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the top. Six football seasons have passed since then. A monumental, heretofore never-seen-before dynasty has taken shape, altering the very historical structure of the college grid landscape.
This book argues in convincing and meticulously researched fashion that now, at the beginning of the 2006 season, the University of Southern California Trojans have surpassed Notre Dame as "history's greatest all-time collegiate football program." Named "Collegiate Athletic Department of the 20th Century," USC continues to hold off cross-town rival UCLA for the top spot in that category. The Trojans under John McKay and John Robinson (1962-81) represent the most dominant 20-year period. In addition, Pete Carroll's Trojans of the 2000s have also surpassed Bud Wilkinson's 1950s Oklahoma Sooners as the greatest dynasty ever. The case is herein made that the 2005 Trojans have replaced the 1972 Trojans as the greatest single-season team of all time. Additionally, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush represent the finest same-team combo since Army's "Mr. Inside" and "Mr. Outside," Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard. Lastly, the two-time Heisman winner Leinart is hereby anointed "best college football player who ever lived."
There is no doubt that author Steven Travers's premise will spur lively debate from fans of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, Oklahoma Sooners, and other storied programs. While there is no "answer" to the question of, "Whose number one?" the author nevertheless uses statistics, analysis, common-sense and drama to arrive at a conclusion that may be disputed but is not without considerable merit.
The USC Trojans: College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty details the fabulous record of Southern California football from its inception in 1888 right on up to Travers's eyewitness account of its third straight national championship in 2005, followed by their present attempt to break Oklahoma's record 47-game winning streak of the 1950s. Within these pages, read about USC's most-ever 12 national championships and (tied-for-most-with-Notre Dame) seven Heisman Trophy winners. Written in the non-narrative, reads-like-a-novel style of Tom Wolfe-meets-Jim Murray, Travers brings to vivid life the fabulous moments that make Trojan football the most exciting, dramatic and glamorous of them all.
Read all about the nation-shaping 77-year rivalry with Notre Dame and its ageless, titanic struggle for national supremacy. Herein is the story of the incredible series with UCLA, which has captivated a country, excited a great city, and formed a backdrop for social change. The history of the Rose Bowl is the history of USC and a country through two World Wars and beyond. This books tells the inside details of Sam "Bam" Cunningham and the mythic 1970 USC-Alabama game in Birmingham, which paved the way for the ending of segregation in the American South. It proudly tells the tale of a school and a football program that provided equal opportunities for African-American athletes long before most of the country did.
Here are the great legends, All-Americans, colorful and controversial figures: Brice Taylor, Morley Drury, Erny Pinckert, Cotton Warburton, Ron Yary, Tim Rossovich, Mike Battle, the "Wild Bunch" and the "Cardiac Kids," Charles Young, Richard "Batman" Wood, Lynn Swann, J.K. McKay, Pat Haden, Anthony Davis, Ricky Bell, Brad Budde, Paul McDonald, Ronnie Lott, Junior Seau, Tony Boselli, Keyshawn Johnson, Mike Williams, "Wild Bunch II," and "The Four Horsemen of Southern California": Leinart, Bush, LenDale White, and Dwayne Jarrett.
Heisman winners: Mike Garrett, O.J. Simpson, Charles White, Marcus Allen, Carson Palmer, and the incredible Leinart. The iconic coaches: Howard "Head Man" Jones, McKay, Robinson, Pete Carroll. Dark days: the O.J. case, losing streaks to Notre Dame and UCLA, the "curse of Marv Goux" and the "fall of the Trojan Empire." Highlights: Johnny Baker's 1931 field goal to beat Notre Dame; Doyle Nave's pass to "Antelope Al" Kreuger to upset unbeaten, untied, unscored upon Duke in the 1939 Rose Bowl; Frank Gifford leading the 1951 upset of Cal at Berkeley; C.R. Roberts' 251 yards in a racially hostile environment at Texas in 1956; beating Wisconsin's Ron VanderKelen in the 1963 Rose Bowl; Craig Fertig-to-Rod Sherman to upset Notre Dame in 1964; O.J.'s mad dash to beat UCLA in 1967 with a national title on the line; Anthony Davis's two superhuman games against the Irish, including 55 straight points to beat Notre Dame in 1974; Pat Haden-to-J.K. McKay to beat Ohio State in the 1975 Rose Bowl; Frank Jordan's field goal to beat Joe Montana's Irish in 1978; Fred Cornwell's catch to defeat Oklahoma in 1981; and Todd Marinovich-to-Johnny Morton to beat UCLA in 1990.
The "greatest football game ever played": a miracle comeback at South Bend in 2005. The "resurrection" of the Trojan Empire: routing Oklahoma in the 2005 BCS Orange Bowl and beating Texas in the 2006 national championship Rose Bowl game.
In addition to the stirring memory- and quote-filled details of this most storied history, Travers ends each 20-year period with a summary of USC's dominance in other sports: Rod Dedeaux, named "College Baseball Coach of the 20th Century" and the Trojans' 12 NCAA championships, earning them the title "College Baseball Program of the Century"; Dean Cromwell and a track program with 26 NCAA titles; along with UCLA, the most Olympic gold medals of any university.
The USC Trojans, College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty, is the most thorough, comprehensive, dramatic telling of the Southern California football story yet told, filled with Hollwood endings that are a must-read for all Trojans and football fans alike!
BACK COVER
ABOUT STEVEN TRAVERS
Steven Travers is a USC graduate and college football historian. He has written for the Los Angeles Times and was the lead sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner. Steve also authored September 1970: Two Teams, One Night and the Game That Changed A Nation (www.rowman.com), the true tale of how Sam "Bam" Cunningham and USC's 1970 victory over Alabama at Birmingham helped pave the way for the ending of segregation in the American South. That tale is soon to be a major motion picture.
Travers is the author of the best seller Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman (www.sportspublishingllc.com), which went into multiple re-print and is now available in paperback. It was nominated for a Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of 2002. He also was the beat writer for Trojan athletics and was the star columnist for StreetZebra magazine in L.A., where he specialized in a monthly "distant replay" of great events in Southern California sports history. Travers is also writing a book with USC head football coach Pete Carroll that will detail the inside story of modern USC football, titled "It's A Good Day to Be A Trojan!" This is scheduled to be made into a reality TV series.
Travers attended the same suburban California high school as Carroll. After helping to lead his prep baseball team to the mythical national championship in his senior year, he attended college on a baseball scholarship, where he was an all-conference pitcher. The 6-6, 225-pound Travers played professionally for the St. Louis Cardinals, where he was a teammate of Danny Cox. Travers once struck out 1989 National League Most Valuable Player Kevin Mitchell five times in one game (he K’d 14 that night). With the Oakland Athletics organization, he played alongside Jose Canseco. Steve later coached at USC, Cal-Berkeley and managed a team in Berlin, Germany.
Travers interned in the USC sports information department and studied in the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications. At USC, he was a classmate of Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson. Travers also went to law school and is a product of the UCLA Writers' Program. He served in the U.S. Army during the Persian Gulf War.
Travers wrote a novel, Angry White Male; a compilation of his work over the years, The Writer’s Life; and God's County: A Three-Volume Conservative, Christian Worldview of How History Formed the United States Empire and America's Manifest Destiny for the 21st Century. He covered prep football for the Los Angeles Daily News and was a sports stringer on San Diego’s XTRA 690 AM radio station.
"I have encyclopedic knowledge of history,” Steve says. "I am truly versatile as a writer, able to use my knowledge of the past to understand the present.” Steve was a political consultant and also a sports agent, before embarking on a full-time writing career in 1994.
Steve has also written screenplays, including The Lost Battalion (the true story of an American army unit forging victory in the Argonne during World War I), Wicked and Baja California. His writing awards are for Bandit, an America’s Best quarterfinalist; Once He Was An Angel (the story of ex-Angel pitcher Bo Belinsky), a Quantum Leap quarterfinalist; Rock 'n' Roll Heaven was a Writers Network Screenplay & Fiction quarterfinalist. He appeared in the film The Californians, starring Noah Wylie and Illeana Douglas.
A fifth-generation Californian, Travers still resides in the Golden State. He has one daughter, Elizabeth Travers.
Also written by Steven Travers
September 1970: One Night, Two Teams, and the Game That Changed A Nation (soon to be a major motion picture)
Barry Bonds: Baseball’s Superman
"It's A Good Day to Be A Trojan!" (soon to be a reality TV series)
God's Country: A Conservative, Christian Worldview of How History Formed the United States Empire and America's Manifest Destiny for the 21st Century
Angry White Male
The Writer’s Life
To Terry Marks,
who recited the Lord's Prayer
and became a noble Trojan!
Fight on and win
For ol’ SC.
Fight on to victory.
Fight On!
- "Fight On!” USC’s official fight song
" 'Fight On!' meant no matter the conditions, no matter the opponent, you always played your best."
- Mike Garrett, speaking at the Marv Goux Memorial, August 2, 2002
CONTENTS
Foreword By Charles "Tree" Young 13
Introduction THE UNIVERSITY OF THE 21ST CENTURY 14
1 DYNASTY: THE NEW CENTURIONS OF TROY 35
All-Time Greatest College Football Teams 84
PART ONE THE WILD, WILD WEST 1880-1918 94
THE METHODISTS LEARN TO "FIGHT LIKE TROJANS" 95
PART TWO A NATIONAL GAME 1919-1940 113
3 THERE IS A THERE THERE 114
4 THE THUNDERING HERD 140
The "noblest Trojan of them all" 158
The Greatest College Football Team of All Time (1928 edition)
166
Nate Barrager 176
The Duke 179
USC and UCLA: a tradition of equal opportunity 193
Johnny Baker and the comeback at South Bend 209
1932: unbeaten, untied, back-to-back national champs 224
5 THE FALL AND RISE OF TROY 230
Other sports 1900-1939: Like Troy taking Athens, the Trojans take
the Olympics 272
PART THREE A BLOOMING ROSE 1941-1959 281
6 THE WAR YEARS 277
MIDWESTERN DOMINATION 290
The Giffer: everybody's All-American 308
8 MR. TROJAN 316
Out of The Giffer's shadow: Jim Sears 341
Here come the Bruins 350
"Jaguar Jon" Arnett: local kid makes good 358
C.R. Roberts make a statement at Austin 369
Scandal 375
9 DON CLARK AND AL DAVIS 380
Other sports 1940-1959: the College World Series and Hall of
Fame Trojan Hoopsters 391
PART FOUR CONQUEST! 1960-69 387
10 THE "LITTLE WHITE-HAIRED MAN" 388
"I want to beat Stanford by two thousand points." 409
Legend: A Conversation With John McKay By Steven Travers
410
He Was A Legend Of the Old School Variety By Steven Travers
422
Rich McKay By Steven Travers 427
USC Loses One of Its Legends With the Death of McKay By Jim
Perry 430
Cast a giant shadow 437
11 THE PERFECT SEASON 443
The shootout with VanderKelen 447
Fertig-to-Sherman adds to the Trojan heritage 471
MIKE GARRETT: POET-WARRIOR 483
13 "1966: A BILLION CHINAMEN COULD CARE LESS WHO
WON…" 499
14 JUICE 528
South Bend 1967: slaying the dragon 542
"The USC-UCLA game is not a matter of life or death. It's more
important than that." 558
The Promised Land 576
AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY 590
16 THE "CARDIAC KIDS" WERE A "WILD BUNCH" 610
PART FIVE THE TURNING OF THE CRIMSON TIDE SEPTEMBER 1970 612
17 THE UNIVERSITY OF SPOILED CHIDLREN VS. DIRT POOR
613
18 ORANGE COUNTIFICATION 664
A press box Shakespeare and L.A.s "Knights of the Keyboard" 665
Pattonesque 671
19 THE WAR OF NORTHERN AGGRESSION 678
"Black is beautiful." 680
20 CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS 686
21 STUDENT BODY RIGHT 695
22 THE TIPPING POINT 708
"THIS HERE'S WHAT A FOOTBALL PLAYER LOOKS LIKE."
710
24 THE SOUTH RISES AGAIN 715
Other Voices: John Mitchell 754
Other Voices: Art Spander 759
Other Voices: Clarence Davis 764
Other Voices: Pat Haden 766
Other Voices: Rod Martin 769
Other Voices: Dwight Chapin 772
Other Voices: John Robinson 773
Other Voices: John Sciarra 778
Other Voices: Sam Dickerson 783
Other Voices: Coach Dave Levy 789
Other Voices: Bud "The Steamer" Furillo 794
Other Voices: Winston Groom 798
Other Voices: Tom Kelly 799
Other Voices: Mike Walden 803
Other Voices: Dave Brown 811
Other Voices: Manfred Moore 815
Other Voices: Coach Clem Gryska 817
Other Voices: John Vella 822
Other Voices: Dr. Culpepper Clark 828
Other Voices: Keith Dunnavant 832
Other Voices: Coach Jack Rutledge 838
Other Voices: Allen Barra 845
Other Voices: John Hannah 848
Other Voices: Jim Perry 855
Other Voices: Coach Craig Fertig 862
Other Voices: Coach Christ Vagotis 867
Other Voices: Scott Hunter 870
Other Voices: Wilbur Jackson 873
Other Voices: Sylvester Croom 876
Other Voices: Jeff Prugh 881
Other Voices: Wendell Hudson 885
Other Voices: John Mitchell 890
Other Voices: Rod McNeill 895
Other Voices: Coach Willie Brown 898
Other voices: J.K. McKay 900
Other Voices: Charles “Tree” Young 903
Additional articles and excerpts about the 1970 USC-Alabama
game 911
The Eternal Trojan By Steven Travers 911
The Traditon of Troy By Steven Travers 914
Alabama Goes Black 'N White By Jim Perry 918
Two Black Students Had Enrolled Before Wallace Showdown By
Jeff Prugh 922
Excerpt from The Herschel Walker Story By Jeff Prugh 929
The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down By Jeff Prugh 933
George Wallace Was America's Merchant of Venon By Jeff Prugh
936
Anger boiled within Gerald Ford Before This Football Game By
Jeff Prugh 940
Orange Countification: The True Story of How the GOP Helped the
South Rise Again By Steven Travers, 2005.
PART SIX HERITAGE 1970-82 1
25 TEAM OF DESTINY 2
The Hallowed Shrine 2
THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM OF ALL
TIME (1972 EDITION) 16
27 A.D. 1973 48
28 THE MOST EXCITING TEAM EVER 68
It Wasn't A Football Game. It Was A Sighting! By Steven Travers
78
29 TAILBACK U. 91
The Tradition of Troy 101
The green jerseys 117
30 "CAMELOT" 121
Alabama redux: When Legends Played By Steven Travers 123
The best football game ever played (1978 edition) 130
1979: the best team ever not to win the national championship 138
31 LEGENDS: RONNIE LOTT AND MARCUS ALLEN 150
1981 vs. Oklahoma: Mazur-to-Cornwell 161
"Young Juice" 164
32 1982: THE LAST HURRAH 172
Other Sports 1960-79: Jess Hill presides over the greatest athletic
department of all time 180
PART SEVEN THE FALL OF THE TROJAN EMPIRE 1983-2000 195
33 PRIDE GOETH BEFORE THE FALL 196
The "curse of Marv Goux" 205
34 FALSE GLORY 228
1987 UCLA game: Peete chases down Turner 229
1988: Almost a Heisman, almost a national title; "close but no
cigar" 231
35 BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR 240
1990 vs. UCLA: Marinovich-to-Morton beats Tommy Maddox
251
Problem child 248
36 YESTERDAY U. 251
37 J.R. REDUX 258
38 THE PAUL HACKETT ERA
Other sports 1980-2006: "Big Mac," the "Big Unit," the Boone
Brothers, and the legendary Dedeaux retires 287
PART EIGHT RESURRECTION 304
39 "WIN ONE FOR THE GOUX." 305
40 SAVIOUR 325
Turning point: 2001 at Arizona 356
Shutting out the Bruins 357
41 TRADITION RESTORED 360
2002: no longer too early to hype Palmer for the Heisman 379
42 "IT'S A GOOD DAY TO BE A TROJAN!" 382
43 KINGS OF L.A. 392
Leinart goes into the desert and emerges a man 423
At the Rose Bowl: 2003 national champions 429
44 "LEAVE NO DOUBT!" 455
Goin' Hollywood: believe the hype 481
45 DYNASTY! 491
Dominating Notre Dame: "Thunder and Lightning," Leinart
secures the Heisman 507
USC 55, Oklahoma 19: "It's the greatest performance I've ever
seen." - Lee Corso 511
Glory days 523
Re-Pete 541
46 THREE-PETE 556
"The greatest college football player who ever lived." 561
"You don't know Matt." 571
"The President" 576
Mr. White: future Heisman winner? 585
THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL TEAM OF ALL
TIME (2005 EDITION) 588
Empire 623
America's team: the Trojan Nation 632
THE GREATEST COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME EVER
PLAYED (2005 EDITION) 650
49 THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 683
Lion heart 685
"GO FOR IT, MATT!!" 691
Trojan men 693
The tall grass of autumn 699
"It's like USC vs America." 719
50 TEAM OF THE CENTURY 730
"FIGHT ON!": THE MIGHTY EMPIRE OF TROY REACHES
THE HEIGHT OF ITS POWER 732
Dictatin' and dominatin': Troy SIXTY-SIX, Bruins 19 764
52 MAKING HISTORY
FOREWORD
By CHARLES "TREE" YOUNG
Marv Goux and the University of Southern California recruited Charles "Tree" Young out of Fresno's Edison High School in 1969. He was a member of USC's famed 1970 team, which traveled to Birmingham, defeated all white Alabama, and thus helped to effectuate integration in the American South. He was a consensus All-American on USC's 1972 national champions, considered by many to be the greatest collegiate football team of all time. A member of the National Football Foundation's College Hall of Fame, Young was a first round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles. He played in the 1980 Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams, and was a member of the 1981 World Champion San Francisco 49ers. Young's three daughters ("Charle's angels") all ran track at USC. He is an ordained minister in the Seattle, Washington area.
My friend Manfred Moore e-mailed me about Steve Travers, the author of Barry Bonds: Baseball's Superman, wanting to do a story about the 1970 USC football team that played Coach Bear Bryant's Alabama football in Birmingham. 36 years ago, I was blessed to be an important member of that team. As I look back on the canvas of time, the main hero would be none other than my friend, Sam "The Bam" Cunningham.
Hollywood's star maker and rule-breaker, USC grad John Singleton, and his production company, New Deal Productions, shouldn't have any problems finding financing to make this into a movie. I was quite honored when Steve called and we set a time to discuss this historical event. That book, September 1970: One Night, Two Teams, and the Game That Changed A Nation, will be a must read from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Subsequently, Steve and I became friends. He asked that I write the foreword to this book, which details the entire history of USC football. Steve's books deal with historical events that expose paradigm shifts, cultures and philosophical changes through the world of athletics. Most people are aware that the University of Southern California builds leaders in all disciplines. USC is on the cuttting edge of history and that is why the great historical human right event that I was a part of - the 1970 game between USC and Alabama that helped end segregation - unfolded in our time, and is emblematic of the importance of my alma mater and her football history.
In 1875, the Rev. John R. Tansey, then presiding Elder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, proposed the organization of a college in Southern California and in 1880, that Methodist College became what is now known as the University of Southern California. I mention this to let you know that some of the early abolitionists were Methodist and it was only natural that the University of Southern California would be part of this this great event.
So, what does it mean to be a true Trojan? In God we trust and Fight On! USC was founded on that tradition. Despite the odds, you Fight On! Despite your financial or economic situation, you Fight On! So having this glorious history, it was predestined that this great team would have its beginning in times such as these.
Predestination is to foreordain by divine decree or purpose. It is true that the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Act of 1965 provided a framework for significant changes in American Civil Rights policy. There were two major aspects of these laws; the adoption of the law and the implementation of the law.
The U.S. Supreme Court issued it's ruling in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson and established the doctrine of "separate but equal." I told you that the University of Southern California was and is on the cutting edge of historical events. This is History 570 and History is a branch of knowledge that deals with His-Story of past events.
On April 11, 1968, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was passed with opposition from Southern Democrats. This nation's cities were ablaze, and political leaders were being assassinated. Two years later USC would be playing football in Birminghan, Alabama. A strong hold of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a city that bombed and killed four little girls in church, and had the infamous Bull Connor. What Congress and marching took years to do, USC and the University of Alabama did in a season.
Scripture says, where there is no Vision, the people perish. Coach John McKay and Coach Paul Bear Bryant had vision. They set out to change the cultural landscape of a nation. This debate or difference of opinion wasn't acted out on the battlefield of Gettysburg, but on the gridiron of Legion Field. I am an eyewitness and I know what it is to "Fight On!" At USC, we have many great traditions, but the greatest of these is to trust God and Fight On! What does that mean? Regardless of the situation you Fight On! The odds may be against you, but you Fight On! You may be down to your last dime, but you Fight On! There isn't any "greatest" without a great trial. Greatest is born out of a great trial and because we Fought On! the 1970 Trojans soon became national champions and one of the greatest teams in the history of college football.
A few years later in 1972, if you examine the members of that team you would find at least five ministers. Offensive lineman Dave Brown helped to organized the coming together of the faithful believers in God. In my opinion that turned our team around. We were undefeated, untested and untied; we were national champions! Some of the leading sports experts believe that the 1972 USC football team was the greatest team in college history. But, the debate continues.
Coach John McKay said, " It isn't just the players that make a team great, but the mix of those players. How well do they get along? Do they respect each other?" Coach Pete Carroll did a great job of assembling and putting together a great mixture of players: Matt Leinart, LenDale White, Reggie Bush ("Thunder and Lightning") and a plethora of outstanding players.
In 1972 we not only had tremendous talent, we had the perfect blend of personalities. We had the original "Thunder and Lightning," Sam "The Bam" Cunningham and Anthony "A.D., I can do it " Davis. But, no matter how sophisticated your offense is or who is playing quarterback or tailback, if you don't have a great defensive team, it's hard to be a champion. In my humble opinion, that was where the 2005 team fell short.
Over the last hundred years, the USC Trojan football program is recognized as one of the greatest dynasties in the history of college football. USC builds leaders. I'm sure other programs such as Notre Dame, Texas, Ohio State and UCLA build their share of leaders also. Leaders like Joe Montana, Vince Young, Troy Aikman and Jack Tatum. But USC has leaders all over the NFL. I'm uncertain, but I think that every Super Bowl played had a Trojan in the game. Lynn Swann and Ronnie Lott have won four each. In the last seven straight years a Trojan has been inducted into the NCAA Hall of Fame.
A wise man once said, "What you do, speaks so well, I need not hear what you say."
Most generations in our times know of the greatest of the Trojan football program.
Charles "Tree" Young
(Trust God and Fight On!)
USC '73; USC 1972 national champs; Super Bowl XVI Champs; NCAA Football Hall Of Famer
Left page title: "FIGHT ON!" USC's Trojans, College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty
Right page title: Steven Travers
INTRODUCTION
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE 21ST CENTURY
"You're a Bruin for four years. You're a Trojan for life!"
When I entered the University of Southern California, my next-door neighbor remarked that I "would be able to call my own shots," a reference not only to the first-class education I would receive at USC, but also to the fact I would have access to the school's legendary "old boy" alumni network.
Opportunity is what we make of it, and USC's extraordinary recent success in football, which has made the school hotter and more glamorous than ever, has increased the opportunity for me to write a trilogy of books about my alma mater.
Following "FIGHT ON!" USC's Trojans, College Football's's All-Time Greatest Dynasty, will be September 1970: Two Teams, One Night and the Game That Changed A Nation. This is the true story of Sam "Bam" Cunningham and the 1970 USC-Alabama game, which helped pave the way for the end to segregation in the South. USC alums Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment entered into discussions regarding the development of the story into a motion picture.
Allan Graf, a lineman on that 1970 USC team, became a second unit director, well respected for his action sequences on football movies such as The Program, Any Given Sunday and Friday Night Lights. A screenplay was written, and Graf has been working to develop it.
In addition, discussions have begun with ESPN to tell the story of the 1970 USC-Alabama game in a Sports Century feature.
I am also working on writing a book with Pete Carroll, modeled on Michael Lewis's Moneyball, that will dissect how Carroll's approach to coaching is creating a paradigm shift in college football. ESPN Hollywood has been in discussions regarding the turning of the book into a reality TV show called "It's A Good Day to Be A Trojan!"
The publication of "FIGHT ON!" USC's Trojans, College Football's All-Time Greatest Dynasty kicks off USC's unprecedented 2006 effort at a fourth straight national championship, as well as its quest to match Oklahoma's record 47-game winning streak of the mid-1950s. Ranked number one in the pre-season polls, the Trojans can attain the record by winning all 12 regular season games in 2006.
My old neighbor was certainly right. My USC connections have paid off, but my love of USC and appreciation for its history had been implanted long before I was a student. The seeds for this book started when I was eight years old.
I was a USC fan from the time I was old enough to be a fan. My father, Donald E. Travers, taught business law at City College of San Francisco when O.J. Simpson set all the California junior college rushing records there from 1965-66. After his freshman year, Simpson wanted to play at a four-year school, but his grades were inadequate for admission to USC. Arizona State and Utah would let him in, and he was ready to go when USC assistant coach Marv Goux flew to San Francisco. Goux told Simpson that "great things are worth waiting for." This story is a well known one in Trojan circles, but what is not known is that a coterie of "wise men" at CCSF also counseled Simpson to stay and hold out for Southern California. The group included school president Louis "Dutch" Conlan and my father.
O.J. went to USC, and my dad followed him closely. When I "came of age," it was the age of the Trojans; national champions, Heisman Trophy winners, All-Americans. To borrow a Rick Pitino phrase, USC was "the Roman Empire of college football."
My dad gave me Don Pierson's book, The Trojans: Southern California Football for Christmas. I read it until I had committed all of it to memory. I was an older student at USC. I had wanted to play baseball for Rod Dedeaux's Trojans, but despite helping to pitch my high school team to a mythical national championship my senior year, the scholarship was not offered. I was ready to walk on, but another college offered me a baseball scholarship. I set a number of pitching records and earned all-conference honors, then played a few years professionally in the St. Louis Cardinals and Oakland A's organizations. I still needed two more years to earn a Bachelor's degree in communications. I decided to transfer to the school of my hopes and dreams, USC.
My grades were not quite up to SC standards, but with the help of two great counselors, Dr. Arthur Verge and Delores Homisak, I was admitted under the proviso that I maintain a B average. Ms. Homisak heard in my voice the conviction and love I had for the school. She knew how much I wanted to be a part of the Trojan Family, and she took a chance on me. I am eternally grateful. I was able to skip the kind of "red tape" that is wrapped around most public institutions. I strove for excellence and found a home where I could achieve just that.
By the time I finally matriculated at the University, I felt like those old-time war vets going to school on the G.I. Bill. I also felt like an art student walking around the Louvre. Strolling the tree-lined lanes of the USC campus; studying in Doheny Library; attending events at Bovard Auditorium; and sitting in class, surrounded by fellow Trojans, being taught by top-notch USC professors; all of it was extraordinary. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was not dreaming. It was an honor and a privilege to be there. To this day, it is a thrill just to walk on that beautiful campus. Driving on the Santa Monica or Harbor Freeways through downtown L.A., getting off at the USC exit; each time I approach USC and see its architecture hovering in the distance, I get a sense of anticipation. I love less USC less than my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but He does have an apartment on West Adams Boulevard!
I made lasting friendships at USC, and have all kinds of wild memories from the times I spent at a dilapidated sports bar. Located at the corner of Jefferson and McClintock, next to the Bank of America in the University Village shopping center, the California Pizza & Pasta Company, also known by the unfortunate moniker 502 Club, was a hangout for athletes and beautiful Trojan girls. It is only a memory now. A Yoshinoya Beef Bowl sits where the "Five-Oh" once raged.
Being at USC was very exciting. The actress Ally Sheedy was on campus. I was a classmate of Jennie Nicholson, the daughter of Jack Nicholson, as well as James Garner's daughter. Laker owners Jerry Buss, a Trojan, had his daughter, Jeannie, on campus around this time. One rumor had it that Tom Cruise was enrolled at USC. Then Risky Business became a big hit. Supposedly Cruise withdrew from school to pursue his now-red hot acting career on a full time basis.
There were many exotic students from faraway lands at USC. I befriended one fellow who claimed to be a member of Sudan's royal family; a crown prince, I believe.
Having played professionally, I naturally gravitated to the USC baseball team. When I graduated, I went to work for a company located in the Wells Fargo Building in downtown Los Angeles. My friends Phil Smith and Terry Marks were coaching USC's junior varsity baseball team, known as the Spartans. They asked me to be a volunteer coach. What a treat!
Every day, I could not wait to make the five-minute drive from the 7th and Flower office to the USC campus. I would change from my suit and tie and wear the glorious Cardinal and Gold baseball uniform that I had wanted to don since high school. I got to know legendary former coach Rod Dedeaux, who just called me "Tiger" as he did everybody else, as well as his replacement, Mike Gillespie, who I stay in regular contact with. Afterwards Terry, Phil and sometimes other baseball Trojans would knock it all off with a couple of beers at the Five-Oh. Great days!
****
Football, particularly the rivalry with Notre Dame, is what put USC on the national map after World War I. There is so much more to USC than just gridiron greatness, however. Hollywood and USC have always had a symbiotic relationship. The school has produced countless actors, directors, screenwriters, producers and agents.
The University itself has long been used for many scenes of campus life. The 1967 classic, The Graduate, was supposed to feature Dustin Hoffman pursuing Katharine Ross up at Cal-Berkeley. In truth, it was shot at USC. Ironically, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was filmed not at Notre Dame (either the Paris or South Bend versions), but at USC. The Academy Awards have been held at various locations throughout Los Angeles, often at the Shrine Auditorium, located across the street from USC. On a clear day, the Hollywood sign can be seen from the SC campus.
Famous show biz Trojans include ex-Trojan football player John "Duke" Wayne; Star Wars director George Lucas; actor-director Ron Howard; former Three's Company star John Ritter; The Breakfast Club co-star Ally Sheedy; Boyz N the Hood director John Singleton; former All-American Aaron Rosenberg, producer of countless 1960s and '70s television shows; ex-Magnum P.I. star Tom Selleck, who played baseball, basketball and volleyball at SC; That Girl! star Marlo Thomas; producer David L. Wolper; Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis; Dirty Harry and Magnum Force screenwriter John Milius; musicians Herb Alpert and Lionel Hampton; and opera star Marilyn Horne.
Many Trojan sports heroes have made their mark in broadcasting. They include: Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver, a former Baseball Game of the Week partner of Vin Scully as well as the voice of the Yankees and Mets; Hall of Fame running back Frank Gifford of Monday Night Football fame; Trojan and Ram quarterback, Rhodes Scholar, attorney and national college football announcer Pat Haden; Hall of Famer-turned-sideline-analyst (and possible political candidate) Lynn Swann; Olympic Gold Medallist John Naber, a national swimming broadcaster; ex-big leaguer Ron Fairly, who became an Angels and Giants broadcaster; quarterback and Fox Sports football analyst Craig Fertig.
Legendary sportswriters from USC include John Hall and Mal Florence of the Los Angeles Times. National media figures: Kathleen Sullivan and Sam Donaldson of ABC News. Leading politicians, jurists and statesmen are former Secretary of State Warren Christopher; ex-Congressman and current Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission Christopher Cox; former California Assembly Speaker Jesse "Big Daddy" Unruh, whose name graces USC's political science school; Congressman and former California Attorney General Dan Lungren; U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher; All-American John Ferraro, a longtime Los Angeles City Councilman; and California Supreme Court Chief Justice Justice Malcolm M. Lucas.
In the 1960s, NASA created what came to be known as "The Bubble," a device that tested the manufactured atmosphere of space. Because of this, many well-known astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs earned advanced degrees at USC. The most famed of these American heroes is Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.
Other distinguished alumni include architect Frank Gehry; Persian Gulf War commander General Norman Schwarzkopf; syndicated columnist Art Buchwald; as well as top-ranking executives, including Coca-Cola's Terry Marks and Guy Carpenter & Companies' Peter Cooper.
Just like the Trojans of Homer's The Iliad and the Odyssey, the modern day version fights harder, has more moral fiber and better character than representatives of most colleges. USC has always been a traditional school that has extolled the patriotic values of God and country. Countless Trojans have fought with valor, and many have died for our freedom, on the fields of our nation's battles.
From its earliest days, USC has been a place of equal opportunity. The first black professionals in medicine, architecture and other fields were trained at USC prior to World War I. Women have prepared for meaningful careers at USC since its earliest days in the 19th Century. The ridiculous moniker "University of Spoiled Children" was given to a great, conservative university that was opening its doors to all when those hypocritically deriding it were still cloistered all-white boys clubs.
USC was once falsely described by its jealous detractors as a "football school," despite the fact that the ranks of judges, lawyers, doctors, dentists, and other professions in Greater Los Angeles have long been been dominated by "Southern California men and women." At USC the famous phrase, "There are two kinds of people; those who are Trojans and those who wish they were Trojans," may have been uttered with a touch of arrogance but also with a touch of truth.
Current President Steven Sample carried forth the work done by previous chancellors. Already considered the leading film school and dental school, and among the top business schools, MBA programs, law schools and medical schools in America, USC under Sample has become one of the top 20 academic institutions in the nation. USC was named "College of the Year 2000" by the Time/Princeton Review College Guide, and America's "Hot School 2001" by the Newsweek/Kaplan College Guide.
"More institutions might do well to emulate USC's enlightened self-interest," read the Time/Princeton Review. "For not only has the 'hood dramatically improved, but so has the University…"
"Just as East Coast students go for New York and NYU, the West Coast is gravitating to USC in Los Angeles," wrote the Newsweek/Kaplan College Guide. "USC has morphed from a jock school to a serious contender for top students."
From the 1960s until the early 1990s, the top four film schools in America were NYU and Columbia in New York, and UCLA and USC in California. Over the past 15 years, the USC School of Cinema-Television has emerged head and shoulders above the competition. One of the ways they have achieved this is by instituting a producer's division into their curriculum. Instead of simply educating writers, directors and actors in the art of film (but not the business of it), USC has created a real-world model for Hollywood success.
Directors, writers and actors network and connect with fellow-Trojan producers and agents. The result is that USC alumni at every level of the business now dominate the film industry.
The School of Cinema-Television has benefited tremendously from its many successful alumni. George Lucas has donated countless millions to the program he graduated from in 1966, and one of the school's buildings bears his name. Johnny Carson donated money and has a building housing the study of television production in his name. Steven Spielberg actually was turned down for admission to USC, but he bears no hard feelings. He has contributed his time, money and name to numerous causes benefiting the film school.
The music school and the drama school have reaped natural ancillary benefits of a great film school. Former Ambassador to the Court of St. James Walter Annenberg donated $120 million establishment for a world class communications program, which has produced graduates skilled in advertising, public relations, political campaigns, and Hollywood publicity, just to name a few areas of expertise.
Undergraduate applications doubled over the last few years, as the school led a citywide revival following the 1992 riots and a large 1994 earthquake. Bold political leadership under Mayor Richard Riordan helped decrease crime and clean up the streets. Enlightened corporate and auto industry responsibility resulted in a major decrease in L.A. Basin air pollution from the 1970s and '80s to the 2000s.
USC has made a fabulous, bold outreach to its community. Located in one of Los Angeles' oldest (once one of its best) neighborhoods, the University never ignored its responsibilities as that South-Central neighborhood deteriorated. They have been the driving force behind gentrification projects that have created new housing and shopping in the area. Faculty housing has invested USC professors in the neighborhood many of them now live in. New schools and day care centers have been built and run by USC. Excellent outreach programs have provided deserving African-American, Latino and other minority students from L.A.'s inner city a chance to matriculate at a school that otherwise would only be a "so close and yet so far" dream. Freshmen in local high schools enter a program in which, if they maintain high grades in academic coursework, they are given full scholarships to USC.
USC has one of the highest tuition, is among the richest colleges in the nation in terms of private endowments, and among the top three in athletic financial donations. It is a university that has managed to seamlessly combine social responsibility with American capitalistic principles, in a manner not unlike the way Olympic President Peter Ueberroth was able to make the 1984 L.A. Games the most successful before or since.
Trojan football reached an 82 percent graduation rate, an all-time high, and more than 20 percentage points higher than the average Division I college football average. In 2001, 14 members of the team had 3.00 G.P.A.'s. USC ranks in the top 10 in the number of NCAA post-graduate scholarship recipients (49 as of 2004) and has had 26 first team Academic All-Americans. Three Trojans have earned Rhodes Scholarships. USC athletes are universally recognized for their approachable, media-savvy demeanors. They are considered unusually articulate and intelligent by sports journalists in Los Angeles and nationally. Sportstalk host Jim Rome has repeatedly expressed amazement at how outstanding interviews with USC athletes on his program are.
The University reached 29,000 students, including the Health Sciences Campus to the northeast of downtown L.A., known to soap fans as General Hospital. It is the West's oldest private university, with a student-to-faculty ration of 13 to 1. The USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer is among the finest of its kin in the world.
In 1994, the most academically talented class in USC history entered the University; the same year that professor George Olah won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Academic standards and achievements of students and faculty alike have only gotten more impressive in the decade-plus that followed.
40,000 people work for USC, making it the largest private employer in Los Angeles. It has one of the most substantial foreign enrollments of any college in America. Because so many USC students hail from the Pacific Rim, the Middle East, Africa and other exotic locales, it proudly claims the largest non-white population in U.S. higher education. Countless foreign dignitaries - political figures, statesmen, business leaders - learned to love California and America at USC. In turn they have helped foster this nation's international friendships with its global partners.
In its early days, USC offered Methodist religious instruction, but quickly became a private, non-denominational institution serving the needs of the broader world community. In 1912, its athletic nickname was switched from the Methodists to the Trojans. In 1929, a statue dubbed "Tommy Trojan": "faithful, scholarly, skillful, courageous, and ambitious," was erected and stands as a campus landmark for time immemorial.
In the late 1940s, bandleader Tommy Walker also kicked field goals for the football team, leading the music in between! According to legend, he may or may not be one of the inspirations for The Who's rock opera, "Tommy." In the 1950s, the band began the tradition of playing the stirring battle cry, "Conquest," originally heard in the 1947 motion picture, Captain from Castile. In 1961, Traveler I, a magnificent white horse, made his first appearance. Traveler I's progeny have been riding the sidelines at USC football games ever since.
The fabulous Heritage Hall, housing USC's countless trophies and the offices of its athletic department and sports teams, was built in 1971: half office building, half museum. In 1974, Dedeaux Field became the state-of-the-art collegiate baseball stadium in the country. Cromwell Athletic Field, a first-rate track and field facility, was built next to Heritage Hall. The McDonald's Swim Center was created for the 1984 Olympics.
In 1923, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was built, along with the adjacent Rose Garden, in Exposition Park across the street from USC. The Coliseum and the University have together hosted the 1932 and 1984 Games. TheColiseum has been home to USC football ever since. In 1959, the L.A. Memorial Sports Arena was built next to the Coliseum. It was used for the 1984 Olympics, has hosted national political conventions, Final Fours, professional basketball, and Trojan hoops for over 45 years. A new on-campus basketball facility is scheduled to open for the 2006-07 season.
****
While I majored in communications at USC, and put those skills to work in political public relations, I had also taken a number of classes in USC's famed School of Cinema-Television, including fabulous courses taught by the legendary Andrew Casper. I learned the fine art of screenwriting, and after a number of years pursuing politics, the law and sports representation, I decided to pursue my first passion: writing.
This led to the UCLA Writers' Program and several years working in Hollywood. I also started covering prep football for the Los Angeles Daily News and the Los Angeles Times. Trojan football and the phraseology of "conquest" inculcated my thoughts, my speech and my writings. At a meeting of prep stringers at the Times' Orange County offices, however, assistant sports editor Bob Rohwer, a Trojan in his own right, warned us not to use flowery language.
"Just give it to us straight," said Rohwer. " 'Mater Dei High defeated Long Beach Poly last night at Veteran's Stadium in Long Beach, 30-something to 20-something, behind the passing of Matt Leinart, who completed 20-something passes in 30-something attempts for 300-something yards.' "
"You mean," I piped up, "if I see any 'Thundering Herds' outlined against a 'blue, gray October sky,' I'm not supposed to report what I see?"
Rohwer laughed because he understood the reference to Howard Jones's dynasty and Grantland Rice's 1924 classic about the "Four Horsemen of Notre Dame." The rest of the 20-somethings in the room looked at each other like Dumbellionites.
I mostly covered Villa Park High School, and would sometimes call in reports of Redondo Union and Mira Costa High games to downtown main sports editor Gary Klein, who later became USC's football beat writer.
That was 2000. Paul Hackett was in charge at USC. Carson Palmer was a disappointing, overrated quarterback from Orange County. There was no threat of any "Thundering Herds" at USC. However, on the horizon was the future of the University of Southern California. Like Palmer, he was another quarterback from Orange County.
That year, I saw Mater Dei High School of Santa Ana take on De La Salle High School of Concord, California. This was a battle of titans, played at Edison International Field of Anaheim (now known as Angels Stadium) before approximately 20,000 fans. De La Salle was at the height of their glory, which all things considered may be the greatest dynasty in sports history; pro, college or high school. They would go undefeated from 1991 to 2003, 151 comes, good for four national championships. De La Salle had taken some criticism from "experts" who said they played a "soft" schedule, so in the late 1990s and early 2000s they decided to show everybody. They scheduled games against major powerhouses: Long Beach Poly, Honolulu Punahou, Cincinnati Moeller…and Santa Ana Mater Dei.
The 2000 De La Salle-Mater Dei game has been described as the "greatest high school football game ever played." I could not disagree. De La Salle upheld their streak (they would not lose until 2004), 31-28, but Mater Dei's quarterback put on the finest prep performance I have ever witnessed. He was 31-of-47 for 447 yards and four touchdowns. He rallied Mater Dei from a huge fourth quarter deficit, and it was only a failed field goal attempt after he had led the Monarchs down the field with no time left that saved De La Salle.
Those who saw Joe Montana lead Notre Dame in a desperate fourth quarter comeback that fell just short against USC at the L.A. Coliseum in 1978 walked away saying, "I don't care where he is drafted, he's going to be one of the greatest quarterbacks who has ever played the game."
Just as Southern California football fans had seen the future in 1978, and his name was Joe Montana, I had seen the future in the 2000 Mater Dei-De La Salle game, and his name was Matt Leinart. The "disappointing, overrated quarterback from Orange County," Carson Palmer, would come under the tutelage of new coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Norm Chow and win the Heisman Trophy two years later. Carroll had observed the prep landscape in 2000. There were other quarterbacks rated as highly as Leinart, despite his performance against the national champions from Northern California. It was Leinart, however, along with Shaun Cody of Los Altos, who was the centerpiece of Carroll's first recruiting class. He got Leinart to join his Mater Dei teammate, linebacker Matt Grootegoed, and they would form the nucleus of the greatest dynasty in college football history.
In the context of Trojan football lore, he was stepping into a situation whereby any glory or accolades that might come his way had been paved for him by decades of legendary athletes.
My father had been watching USC football since Howard Jones's "Thundering Herd." As a child, he enjoyed playing the "Howard Jones Football Board Game."
"What a great, great legend are the Trojans of yesterday I remember so well. Enjoy them all," my dad had inscribed to me in Pierson's book The Trojans: Southern California Football. This is USC football in a nutshell. It is a history of excellence, passed down from generation to generation; stories of winners, tales of legendary games that shaped America. In the years since my dad had written those words, USC has added countless more stories and tales to their legend. This book chronicles what they have done leading into the 2006 season, but I am entirely confident that they will add many, many more chapters to their glorious history. Future scribes will no doubt always be kept busy describing those chapters to many more generation of people who know that the University of Southern California is synonymous with American excellence!
Over the years, great announcers have described great teams. Chick Hearn, Mike Walden, Tom Kelly and now Pete Arbogast have lent their considerable radio talents to USC broadcasts. The venerable Keith Jackson has called so many incredible Trojan moments that he is our de facto TV announcer.
A book like this is the product of many things coming together, and I would like to hereby acknowledge some people. I would like to first thank my agent, Craig Wiley. Also, thank you to Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., my editor, Rick Rhinehart, and his assistant, Dulce Wilcox.
I want to thank former Trojan football players John Papadakis, Sam “Bam” Cunningham, and Allan Graf. Further thanks to Mark Houska and Petros Papadakis of Fox Sports and movie producer/attorney David Dizenfeld, USC ‘71.
I wish to thank former University of Southern California sports information director (SID) Jim Perry, who also co-authored legendary Trojan football coach John McKay’s successful 1970s autobiography, McKay: A Coach’s Story. Perry has been an institution for years at Heritage Hall. He was the SID when I worked alongside Tim Tessalone during my brief student internship in the USC sports information office. My gratitude goes out to Tim, who after succeeding Perry has maintained the high standards that Jim set for the office. A further shout-out to Jason Pommier and Paul Goldberg of USC’s football media relations, plus Chris Huston, who has helped me many times over the years.
Thank you to the University of Alabama sports information office, in particular Barry Allen and Larry White. Also, thank you to Jan Adams at the Paul W. Bryant Museum, and particularly Ken Gaddy. Thanks go to Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump.
I extend my gratitude to former L.A. Times sportswriters Jeff Prugh and Dwight Chapin, two real pros; to current USC beat writer Gary Klein; and Times sports editor Bill Dwyre. I also thank the widow of the great Jim Murray, Linda McCoy-Murray; to Tony McEwing; as well as Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Thank you to Allen Barra and Keith Dunnavant, who have written extensively on Bear Bryant and Alabama football.
I thank USC head football coach Pete Carroll. Coach Carroll and I went to the same suburban California high school. I grew up hearing stories about Carroll, who was a classmate of the comic actor Robin Williams. Thanks also to others in that circle, who include Skip Corsini, Jim Peters, Bill Peters, Bob Troppmann, Ken Flower, Phil Roark, and Jess Payan.
Coach Carroll’s former assistant, Mark Jackson, and USC athletic director Mike Garrett are in line for acknowledgments as well. Also, thanks go out to Lloyd Robinson of Suite A Management in Beverly Hills. He is an honest man and, in what is also probably not a coincidence, a loyal Trojan. I would also like the opportunity to honor the memory of the late baseball writer Tony Salinn, whose passion and purity, despite what he may have thought, are not forgotten.
Thanks to all the interviewees. I also wish to mention Dale Komai, Bruce Seltzer, Joe Enloe, Brad Wong, Melanie Neff, Lindsay Lautz, Melanie Pedrick and everybody else with the USC Alumni Association; Barry LeBrock of Fox Sports, John Wooden, Dave Daniel and Matt Derringer of USC Report, Loel Schrader, Gary Paskiewitz of www.wearesc.com, Andy Bark of Student Sports, Bob Rowher of the L.A. Times, the late Sam Skinner and Kathy Pfrommer of the Oakland Tribune, John Underwood, Wayne Fontes, Dennis Fitzpatrick, Donavon McNabb, Joe Gibbs, the Washington Redskins, Joe Gibbs Racing, Charlie Evans, Rod Sherman of the Trojan Fantasy Camp, Rich Burg, Stu Zanville, Craig Long and the Oakland Raiders, Sharon Gould of the Eagle Rock High School Alumni Association, San Clemente High School, Charlie Weaver, the Detroit Lions, Richmond High School athletic director Roy Rogers, Arizona Western JC, Ray Butcher, Jimmy Jones, the Harrisburg Boys Club, Joe Namath, the African-American Registry, Ken Hall, Mal Moore, Ken Stabler, Kim Bush, Simon & Schuster, Nancy Covington and Mike Neemah of Mississippi State University, Vigor High School, Suzanne Dowling and Chris Bryant of the University of Alabama media relations department, Alabama Booksmith, the University of Alabama Press, Reid Drinkard, Fred Kirsch of the New England Patriots, Mr. and Mrs. Hannah of Albertville, Alabama, the San Francisco 49ers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Gene Upshaw and the NFL Players Association, the K Club, the University of Alabama Alumni Association, Richmond Flowers Jr., the University of Tennessee sports information office, Jeff Dubinsky of ESPN Classic, Liz Kennedy and Jose Eskenazi of USC, Daniel Hopper and the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the University of Alabama, University of Alabama head football coach Mike Shula, John Sciarra, John Robinson, J.K. McKay, Pat Haden, Art Spander, Don Andersen, Mike Walden, Tom Kelly, Dave Levy, Rod Martin, Johnny Musso, B. Green of the Paul W. Bryant Museum, Shirley Ito and Wayne Wilson of the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, and Howard Schnellenberger.
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