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If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column

Rutgers is playing USC at 11 p.m. ET today. Washington plays Indiana at 9 a.m. PT on Saturday.

Welcome to the Big Ten!

This was supposed to be parents’ weekend at USC but when the game got switched to a Friday night, USC had to postpone it to later in the season.

  • And now for some history:
  • Willie Brown breaks free for a 49-yard TD run against Ohio State in 1963. The Trojans defeated the Buckeyes, 32-3.

USC was ranked No. 10 in the nation after the victory with a 3-2 record. It had played Colorado, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State. It lost to Oklahoma, 17-12, and Notre Dame, 17-14.

Did John McKay say the Trojans were two plays from being 5-0?

  • Here is a newspaper ad for the opening of the 1953 movie, “All-American.” I’ve written before about the this film, which features more USC players than any film.
  • It was produced by USC All-American Aaron Rosenberg and directed by USC All-American Jesse Hibbs. It featured USC All-American Frank Gifford in a speaking role.

The football scenes featured All-American quarterback Jim Hardy, All-American halfback Jim Sears (the first Trojan to receive Heisman Trophy votes), center Lou Welch, quarterback Dean Schneider, offensive tackle Earl Audet, defensive tackle Bob Van Doren, tailback Aramis Dandoy, guard Ed Pucci, quarterback George Bozanic, All-American guard Elmer Willhoite, wide receiver Tom Nickoloff, All-American tailback Al Carmichael and quarterback Ed Demirjian, who doubled for actor Tony Curtis.

As the ad states, it also featured the debut of Mamie Van Doren.

USC tailback Al Carmichael, Mamie Van Doren, Tony Curtis and USC tailback Jim Sears in a promotional photo for “All American.”
  • So in 1953, USC coach Jess Hill had a weekly TV show on Channel 9 on Thursday nights. But in 2024, Lincoln Riley does an appearance on a weekly radio show. Is that progress?

PICTURE OF THE WEEK

Raquel Welch

VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Singer Jack Jones, a two-time Grammy winner, died Thursday at age 86. The graduate of University High School might be best known for singing the theme song to The Love Boat.

RESTAURANT OF THE WEEK

Carl’s restaurant was a staple at USC from 1931-1979. It was located at near Julie’s at Figueroa and Flower and was not related to Carl’s Jr.

It started as a hamburger stand built for the 1932 Olympic Games but became so successful it was enlarged three times in four years and served up to 5,000 people daily in 1937.

Carl’s was also popular because it offered drive-in service with car hops.

What I didn’t know until seeing this ad was that it had three other locations in Los Angeles.

12 thoughts on “If It’s Friday, It’s Time For A USC Notes Column”

  4. Colorado, Oklahoma, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State. The type of schedule that USC should play. Ever since the SEC was rewarded for ducking every non-conference challenge that they could, scheduling has been pathetic nationally. What USC should do is state that they are an institution of higher learning. Their mission is to train students to succeed in their chosen profession. If their chosen profession is professional football, they should play the toughest schedule possible to prepare them for the NFL. This approach may resonate with top recruits as much as NIL does. The pitch: If you want to be the best, play the best. Players are not the ones ducking competition. It’s weak administrators and coaches with bonuses tied to wins and conference titles.

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    1. Of course! She’s always the one whose mind goes to sick places. Then she turns around and accuses others of it. Typical Lib.

      And she does it over & over & over & over again. Lame, stale and all kinds of others things she says about other peoples’ posts.

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  6. Man Carl’s sounds wild, even for back in the day.

    With architecture inspired by Southern plantations and white female servers costumed as Southern belles and top-hatted coachmen? With an ornate mahogany doorway leading from the staid dining room into a streamlined moderne barroom? [see below] And a thoroughly modern, thermostatically controlled stainless steel kitchen turning out spaghetti and turkey with New England dressing?

    Far from allowing revelry or role reversal, gracious Southern dining took place in a forbidding room decorated with murals of slaves picking cotton and a portrait of George Washington looming from above the mantle. Only white girls were allowed to dress as Southern belles; ice water and rolls were dispensed by dark-skinned “mammies.”

    https://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/tag/carls/

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