FOOTBALL

USC Morning Buzz: Remembering More On C.R. Roberts

C.R. Roberts deserves more attention so I want to highlight some more of his accomplishments.

He was a 200-pound running back in his senior year at Oceanside High School, where he rushed for 1,903 yards and accounted for 30 TD’s, including seven where he threw the TD pass.

He had games with 274, 331 and 317 yards. He averaged 9.5 yards per carry. He was also an Eagle Scout and thought about playing for Army before picking USC.

There wasn’t much dropoff at USC. His senior year, he averaged a team-best 6.5 yards per carry. He was on the USC track team and defeated future Olympic decathlon gold medalist Rafer Johnson in the long jump.

C.R. Roberts scores on a 54-yard TD run vs. Washington State in 1955

Unlike his teammates, Roberts wasn’t always accepted by USC students but he was president of his fraternity and played a key role in getting the university to allow women on the cheerleading squad.

He was initially advised by USC coaches to skip the trip to segregated Texas, where even the seats from Memorial Stadium were separated by race.

His 251 yards against the Longhorns was a USC single-game record until Ricky Bell broke it in 1975. He actually played only 12 minutes. And the play that really drove the hostile crowd wild was when Roberts made a hard hit on the Texas QB. That was when USC’s coaches decided to remove him from the game.

“The crowd just broke out in jeers and saying very negative things about C.R. Roberts (during the game),” said then-Texas freshman student, Leon Holland. “Calling him the N-word. ‘Stop that — and kill that —‘ etc.”

Roberts noted afterward he was most moved by the fact African-American residents wore employee uniforms and snuck into the USC team hotel just to shake his hand.

Later that year, when USC defeated UCLA in 1956, Roberts spoke to the crowd after the game.

“Now we can live in this town,” he said.

39 thoughts on “USC Morning Buzz: Remembering More On C.R. Roberts”

  1. “Unlike his teammates, Roberts wasn’t always accepted by USC students.”
    Why, because he was a Black man? Recall that in the 1950s SC was nearly all white

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. I first saw Roberts during his freshman season at SC… it was the SC – UCLA Frosh game played on SC’s practice field (adjacent to the old gym). My father and I got there at halftime. On his first running play of the second half, Roberts swept left, ran over a Bruin linebacker… and kept running. The defender was helped off the field. I was impressed. SC won 34 – 12.

      My father and I were there to see my older brother, a back-up guard and, as I later learned, SC’s 6th string frosh fullback, which meant that he was well behind Roberts. But he got in that game, so all was good. A few weeks later, he gave me an SC practice jersey. It was a blood spattered #42. A gift to him from Roberts, he told me. I wore it for years… could never entirely wash the blood out, but that didn’t matter.

      Jim

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. “Roberts noted afterward he was most moved by the fact African-American residents wore employee uniforms and snuck into the USC team hotel just to shake his hand.”

    These are the words that make the man’s life so indelible.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  4. Probably shouldn’t stop with that above thought.
    Whites weren’t exposed to Blacks much in the 1950s
    So maybe some of them just didn’t get C.R., the Extrovert

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Cr and I were at USC together. He later asked me to speak in his High School class after he started teaching. We worked at the post office Xmas holodays to make extra money. Big heart, kind and smart. modest and down to earth. I am sad to hear about his passing. He and Jon Arnett were on the team together. I did ask him one day, Why are they playing Jon and not you ?and he said” I do not know”. Wille wood and Lou Byrd were also on that team. He also threw a pass several times and I said to him after one game”that was the ugliest pass I had ever seen ” and he re plied “well it got there didn’t it?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Thanks for sharing your experiences. He must have made an impression on you, your details are still clear after many years.

        Like

      2. Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young's avatar Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young says:

        Look at Cowardly Gabby the hypocrite. She exploded in rage and cursed out Plowhorse for exactly the same thing!

        Plow Horse
        JULY 8, 2023 AT 2:54 AM
        Wow. What are the odds we have 3 regular bloggers attend the 1968 Rose Bowl. I worked with a guy in 1982 who was a cornerback on the Indiana team. I asked him what was his impression of O.J. Simpson. He said “yeah, I meet him in the hole, helmet first, left my impression on him.”

        REPLY
        Gabby (original)
        JULY 8, 2023 AT 3:01 AM
        LIKE YOU FUCKING REMEMBER WORD FOR WORD WHAT A GUY TOLD YOU 40 YEARS AGO…..YET YOU CONVENTILY FORGET YOUR DEBUNKED RANTS OR HOW YOU TALKED SHIT ABOUT ANYONE THAT PROVED YOU WRONG…BUT YOUR OLD LADY IS OFF LIMITS….I SEE WHY YOUR LAW CAREER ENDED EARLY

        Like

  5. I guess we can stop all the harassment of Owns about small crowds at Ucla football games. You can almost count the people in the picture of the Coliseum for that Washington State game. We can’t blame the Dodgers, soccer or other football games (unless all the football fans were waiting for the Bruins to drop by)
    I’ve noticed a lot of yesteryear’s pictures don’t show big crowds, so recent pictures of the Westwood football club should (probably) not be criticized.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    2. I suspect that the big games (ND) were close to a sellout, but not the less consequential games (Wazzu) back in the day. But outside of the USC game, did the gutties ever have high attendance?

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Scooter,

    I met Mr. Roberts one time. You are correct and he was more. He was genuine, kind, nice, and had a smile on his face. McKay got his rb. May he RIP peace with Our Dear Lord Jesus Christ.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Mr. Roberts, know that your actions on and off the field have not been forgotten. You were truly a hero to many African-Americans.

    (thanks for the gumball, Scott)

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    2. President Joe Biden, first lady Jill Biden and other Biden family members left the White House Friday afternoon to spend the weekend at Camp David.

      So if you can’t pin it on a Biden, move on……you’re beating a dead horse.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Not to poke the bears, when we have had a great ceasefire, but I believe the most recent accounting of the Biden family shows them leaving the WH at 6:34 pm on Friday.

        Liked by 2 people

      3. I actually agree with Gabby on this one. It was less than a gram — it definitely didn’t belong to anyone in the Biden family…

        Liked by 2 people

      4. You’re right, Hunter would never bother with saving less than a gram. It’s comparable to the size of a dime.

        Liked by 2 people

      8. Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young's avatar Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Pudly & Plow Horse & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young says:

        Like

  9. No fingerprints is highly suspicious. No cameras in those areas are unacceptable as well. No detail scheduled for that area is plain stupid. Even if the First Family isn’t present, you don’t slack off because an explosion in the White House and the threat always exists. They should be arrested then fired.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
      3. Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Plow Horse & Pudly & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young's avatar Gabby aka The Guy who posts as So Cal's Wife & LawyerJohn & Plow Horse & Pudly & steveg49 & DOJ & Scott Wolf and Frank Young says:

        Here’s the kicker: Dictator For Life Senile Joe refused to cooperate with the investigation…no wonder they didn’t find the culprit.

        “The Biden administration refused to cooperate with the probe. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last week that staffers were not “assisting” the Secret Service with their inquiries.”

        Like

      1. Yes. There are bigger things to worry about.
        #WhyDon’tTheRepubsGiveHunterImmunity?
        #He’dLoveToGetDaddy

        Like

Leave a comment