FOOTBALL

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

USC football is having a “Beach Day” on Tuesday in Hermosa Beach from 8-10 a.m. between 9th and 10th street. The players will work out, play dodgeball, sign autographs and pose for photos.

  • LeBron James spoke at the Time magazine 100 gala last night after the magazine named him athlete of the century and took a moment to thank USC.

“Obviously, if it wasn’t for the coaching staff and the medical team, everybody at USC being there in a timely fashion, we would possibly be sitting here without our son.”

  • And now for some history:

  • Below is a great photo of a March, 1952 spring practice that showed the depth of USC’s backfield. From left, Al “Hoagy” Carmichael, Jim Sears and Addison Hawthorne under the watch of Frank Gifford (far right), who two months earlier was the 11th pick in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants.
  • It always fascinates me how people can pretty much dedicate their lives to someplace like USC and then within a short time, they are forgotten.

Here is an example: Charlie Graves was USC gymnastics coach and a P.E. professor from 1928-57. He won a national title in 1938 and is in the USA Gymastics Hall of Fame.

  • Johnny Carson hosted the first noon rally of the football season at Bovard Auditorium the day before USC hosted Pitt at the Coliseum on Sept. 25, 1954. At the time, no one knew Carson would go on to become America’s best-known late-night talk show host with his 30-year reign on The Tonight Show (1962-92).

Carson was a writer-performer for CBS when he hosted the rally.

  • When the recently retired USC track coach Dean Cromwell celebrated his 75th birthday in 1954, the Football Writers of Los Angeles had a birthday cake for Cromwell at their luncheon. The only problem was they forgot to invite Cromwell.
  • Has USC ever not had an attendance problem with basketball?

In 1954-1955, the average attendance was 1,642. The previous year, when USC won its conference title, it averaged 3,173 per game.

But those figures were attributed to the fact USC games were played at unsuitable venues like the Shrine Auditorium, Olympic Auditorium and Pan-Pacific Auditorium.

Here’s what an alumni publication wrote in 1956:

“Within the next year — perhaps in time for the 1956-1957 basketball season — the new 17,000-seat Coliseum arena will be completed. Both public and student interest in basketball should soar, particularly with the arena being situated right next door to the Trojan campus. Let us hope so.”

The Sports Arena was completed in 1959. Once it became unfashionable, the theory was attendance problems would be solved once USC built an on-campus arena (the Galen Center). See how history repeats itself!

  • Maybe things would be different if the “Howard Jones Memoral Fieldhouse” had ever been built. It would seat 10,000 and cost $1,000,000 and the athletic dept. tried to raise the money in 1947.

The fieldhouse was to be located where the George Lucas School of Cinematic Arts and McKay Center currently reside. But only $38,000 was raised and the rendering below is all that got produced.

  • On a lighter note, do you remember in 1991 when Traveler bumped a Stanford Dollie cheerleader during the USC-Stanford game at the Coliseum?

Traveler was running down the then-existing track and his shoulder hit Debbie Bain, who was performing a dance move, knocking her to the ground in the third quarter. Bain was not injured and rejoined the Dollies in the fourth quarter.

A member of the Trojan Knights responsible for clearing the track said there were at least three other incidents that night where Traveler almost hit someone.

“I would like to see (Traveler) slowed down a bit,” said Scott Seidenverg, who was a Trojan Knight.

The best quote came from Richard Saukko, who owned Traveler and dressed as Tommy Trojan for decades.

“The girl was told to be off the track and she insisted on still kicking,” Saukko said.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Ingrid Boulting

Astrid Heeren

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

  1. Hi Scott, thanks as always for the Friday trip down memory lane, but I do need to correct you. Coach Graves was not the coach when USC won its only NCAA gymnastics title in 1962. That team was coached by Jack Beckner, an Olympian and former NCAA all around champ in the 1950’s. The NCAA all around titlist was Bob Linn who also won two individual titles. I believe that Makato Sakamoto was also on that team and went to an Olympic games. Sakamoto coached youth gymnastics in Culver City after he graduated and two of his gymnasts were on the 1984 Olympic team that won a medal. Cal State Fullerton had Division II NCAA winning teams in the 70’s and 80’s and my oldest son was coached by Eric Will who was a fullerton gymnast who specialized on pommel horse and, who arranged competitions against Sakamoto’s teams. Great memories. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962

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      2. KAM: The NCAA website says the University of Chicago won the men’s gymnastic title in 1938.

        DON: USC won two titles in 1962 and 1968.

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      3. Did I say NCAA anywhere in what I wrote. Today is really reading comprehension day.

        “A coach for more than 35 years, Charles “Charlie” Graves molded the men’s gymnastics program at the University of Southern California into a cradle of champions. He coached two Olympians and dozens of gymnasts in all areas of competition en route to USC’s first national title in 1938.”

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      4. Scott is disappointed with us today.

        #Us:”Geez.We’reDoingTheBestWeCan”

        #Scott/JackNicolson:”YourBestAin’tGoodEnough,Soldier!”

        #Us:”Sorry”

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Ingrid Boulting [who looks like she’s just seen Scott for the first time and remains in an everlasting swoon] is now a pretty damn good painter of still lifes. She starred in the Last Tycoon —which wraps up with Robert De Niro saying the line I used to end every meeting I ever had with a female Supervising Attorney: “This conversation is a waste of time.”

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    1. Come on MG, certainly you did not “end every meeting you ever had with a female Supervising Attorney by saying, “This conversation is a waste of time'”

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      3. btw,

        John —Not only did I say what I said I said…. one of them walked into my office while I was eating M&M Peanut candies and said “Give me some of those”….so I threw one on the floor….and then I threw another one on the floor and said “have two.”

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      4. COME UP FOR AIR……. YOU HAVE POSTED OVER 50 COMMENTS ALREADY, AND IT’S MID-MORNING

        FIND A NEW H0BBY, BETTER YET, FIND A REAL J0B.

        THE ENDURANCE TR0LLING IS BEY0ND PATHETlC

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      5. KAM: No one is more of an Endurance Troll than you, Cowardly Gabby, aka everyone’s imposter. You are a paranoid schizophrenic so ashamed of your pathetic miserable existence that he/she/it has to pretend to be other people in order to keep from committing suicide, a true low life with nothing better to do.

        DON: Imagine how pathetic it’s life must be spending all day for 26 years on a blog switching between screen names of other people, I mean …that’s beyond pathetic.

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      6. She dreams about being ME more than anyone else.

        I’m so flattered. Can’t blame her for being envious. Of course, she’ll lie about this, but it’s pretty obvious.

        Liked by 2 people

    2. it appears you are lacking in respect for broads. you should learn from the wolfman who cherishes broads, especially the babes.

      #TheMaskIsOff

      #LureOfTheWolf

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      2. You should put down the violence ridden Iliad and pick up some books to help you understand and appreciate broads more: Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Joan Didion & my former professor, Angela Davis.

        #ANewMickeyG

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      5. classic! did you wear a frockcoat with goggles??
        the wolfman needs another cool nickname, how about the Desert Rat??

        #AllDueRespect

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  3. KAM: Most people are forgotten a short time after they retire from their endeavor

    DON: That’s the way it works. You think being a U.S. President is as high as it gets, but yet how many presidents ccan you name?

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  4. KAM: So Johnny Carson hosted an SC rally in 1954 before becoming the king of late night from 1962 to 1992

    DON: Even the great ones have to pay their dues

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  9. DON: As football is to America, soccer is to the world

    KAM: I would love to be in Spain or Argentina right now experiencing all that passion and humor

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  10. KAM: When I said “the beat goes on,” I didn’t think we would re-start the war

    DON: I know I’m not making any friends over there

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  11. KAM: You got a favorite between Spain and Argentina tomorrow?

    DON: Impartial. I did get a little testy with Spain back there but I don’t hold it against them

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  12. KAM: Another Saturday.

    DON: President Reagan would say, “I never stopped working because otherwise Saturdays would never be the same again”

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  13. KAM: And now Iran has a billboard with your children’s pictures on it

    DON: That really puts a damper on things, always looking over our shoulders, but that is the price to pay for a politician’s family

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  14. KAM: I suppose anybody’s opinion about football is as good as any other’s

    DON: Some Trojan foresees 7-5 with the start of the season’s 4 softies a given, but 3-5 the rest of the way

    KAM: Could happen, especially if they lose the Oregon game

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  15. IMAGINARY WILEY: Everybody talks about how much money I make, but money doesn’t move me, I got enough for several lifetimes.

    What’s on the line is my ego or whatever you want to call it, self-pride or whatever. I haven’t proved I am a good coach yet

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  17. Frankly, it’s understandable to not invite Dean Cromwell to his own party, i mean, who really wants a Nazi sympathizer standing in the corner talking smack about how Hitler’s only mistake was pulling a Napoleon and getting stuck in Russia during winter. actually there was probably a cadre of N-Sympathizers on campus based on my research.

    of course the Big Peedo is noticeably popular on SC’s campus, not technically a Nazi, however his top advisor is a neo-Nazi who employs many classic Nazi hallmarks i.e. misinformation campaigns, use of Secret Police, championing Racial Nationalism and vilification of minorities.

    in the near future we’ll also see the MAJA’s denying they were loyal confederates of the Big Peedo; thank god for the internet!! we got locked in digitally!

    #HistoryRepeatingItself

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      1. poor vetting pure and simple. Right is rife with Neo-Nazis. MIller leads the parade and he has plenty of company! Jan 6th crowd was loaded with neo-nazi symbols and references to Auschwitz.

        #OrAmIWrong?

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      3. …and they had a little Nazi son….

        #KillThisReplyASAP,Mr.Moderator…ItDoesn’tDeserveToLive…

        #IKnowICanCountOnYou

        Liked by 1 person

    3. What happened to “Charlie: the Man who hates violence & revenge”?

      #NoSophistryInYourReply,Please

      #[YouAreUppingYourGame,Though…Kudos]…

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  19. LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE GUILTY OF THE SAME THINGS YOU CONSTANTLY WHINE AND CRY ABOUT……THERE IS SOMETHING REALLY WRONG BETWEEN YOUR EARS……..FREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Great Boardroom Presentation!

      #”Upon’NoKings’Recommendation,TheBoardVotes”YES!”

      #[SomePeopleJustKNowHowToPersuade…It’sAGift]!

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