BASEBALL, FOOTBALL

USC Saturday Buzz: Can Another Make This Claim?

Remember how I frequently mention that former USC football players Marvin Powell and Dennis Thurman are in the College Football Hall of Fame but not in the USC Hall of Fame?

Well, USC’s newest inductees into the College Baseball Hall of Fame (Bruce Gardner, Brent Strom) are not in the USC Hall of Fame either.

It’s pretty amazing to have four athletes in the pinnacle of hall of fames for college athletes but not even in their own school’s hall of fame.

Gardner’s stats were impeccable. He had a 40-5 record at USC from 1958-60 with a 2.72 ERA. His 40 career victories was a USC record for nearly 40 years. He won a school-record 18 games in 1960 and was named national player of the year.

It’s hard not to think the nature of his death was the reason he was not in the USC Hall of Fame. And his strained relationship with Rod Dedeaux might have played a role.

But what is the excuse with Strom? He won 35 games in his USC career and played on two NCAA championship teams. He pitched a complete-game, three-hitter in the 1970 title game, a 2-1 victory over Ohio

By the way, Jen Cohen said last year USC would resume Hall of Fame inductions this fall after an eight-year absence. So far, there’s been no word about it this year.

13 thoughts on “USC Saturday Buzz: Can Another Make This Claim?”

  2. Re College World Series —North Carolina may have finally met its match in Oklahoma [Oklahoma is playing with more heat cause they played more recently]….

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  3. Scott, you are raising valid points about the USC Hall of Fame; so, as a journalist, why not ask AD Cohen directly about her plans for future inductees. Part of the problem in today’s society is that we assume answers rather than asking questions directly to get answers from the people who have the answers. The tragic death of Bruce Gardner should have no effect on his being honored for his college baseball prowess. One question that I would ask the current baseball commissioner is why is Pete Rose not in the Hall of Fame for his baseball achievements, and why is Barry Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, etc. not in the Hall of Fame when what they did at the time was not banned and the shape of Yankee Stadium with its short right field has more to do with inflated HR’s than any stimulant. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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    1. Pete gambled thereby breaking one of baseball’s most important rules. 1920 White Sox fixed the world series and that can never happen again. Pete also lied about his gambling and viciously attacked his investigators. Ample grounds to be excluded from the Hall of Fame.

      Steroids were banned when Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, ect. used them to enhance their performance. Do you really think these guys could have hit 70 plus homers without them. Hell, Sosa was a mediocre player before getting jacked up.

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  4. DON: Just saw a clip of the U.S. crowd serenading its team with “Take me home, country road, to the place, where I belong, West Virginia”

    KAM: Is there anything more stirring than thousands of people singing in unison-

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  5. Listened to a French soccer fan praising America the other day. “I can’t believe how almost everyone smiles and says hello. In France, almost nobody smiles. My mother smiled at me maybe twice in my life. And we really need something like Costco in France.”

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