FOOTBALL

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

USC announced today that women’s volleyball coach Brad Keller will not return. He has been on indefinite leave since early October.

  • Five-star forward Christian Collins could make his debut Sunday at the Galen Center against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. He has been sidelined following foot surgery.
  • Lincoln Riley is 1-7 on the road vs ranked teams as USC head coach.
  • And now for some history:
  • I need to share some stories about Steve Harvey, the Bottom Ten and “Only in L.A.” columnist for the Los Angeles Times. He died this week at age 80.

I grew up reading the Bottom Ten but never crossed paths with Harvey in the media world, even though we were both USC graduates and former Daily Trojan sports editors.

But once I started writing the Friday history column, I came across his work at the Daily Trojan and we started sharing emails about eight years ago.

I sent him this letter from the USC crew team, which was upset over an article Harvey wrote about them.

Harvey responded: “As I recall, the crew members stormed the Daily Trojan sports office, looking for ‘this guy Steve Harvey.’ I pointed them to Stu Zanville, a skinny, mild-mannered, very friendly DT member, and slunk out a side door like a thief in the night. Yes, those were the days.”

  • In October, 1966, Harvey wrote an article for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner about the band harboring fake members. His Daily Trojan colleague, Steve Harris, had originally written an article about it for the school paper.

In the picture, band members hang Harvey in effigy. That’s his name on the front of the T-shirt of the dummy. It remained there for about 30 minutes before campus police cut it down.

“Basically, I love that,” Harvey said. “And the charges (about the band) are true. I must show it to my dad.”

After the dummy was cut down, Harvey begged the police to let him take it home.

Steve Harvey proudly poses with the dummy made by the USC band.
  • Finally, from 1967, here’s a preview of the Daily Trojan vs. Daily Bruin basketball game that references Harvey and City Editor Hal Lancaster.

“Can Steve Harvey and Lancaster manage to stay on the wagon for two nights in a row?”

  • The 1967 USC spring football game was highlighted by a pair of first-year varsity players from the Bay Area. Quarterback Mike Holmgren completed 20 of 38 passes for 276 yards. Tailback O.J. Simpson gained 135 yards in 24 carries and caught two passes for 49 yards.

Sophomore tailback Steve Dale from Yakima, Wash., gained 131 yards in 22 carries.

  • Apparently, in 1967 it was OK to invite high school recruits to team banquets, so Bob Boyd brought six high school players to the basketball banquet highlighted by forward Curtis Rowe of Fremont High School.
  • When USC lost to Notre Dame, 51-0, at the Coliseum, comedian Bill Cosby was a special guest and sat the Trojans’ bench during the game.

After the game, Cosby went into the locker room and Coach John McKay gave him a USC sweatshirt.

“Thanks, Coach,” Cosby said. “I’ll be there (at the Rose Bowl) and I’ll be wearing this.”

“Thanks, Bill,” a dejected McKay said.

This was the game where McKay was eventually kicked out of the Coliseum by stadium personnel because he did not want to go speak to boosters at a post-game party in downtown L.A.

PICTURES OF THE WEEK

Michele Mercier

Raquel Welch

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

    1. KAM: Cowardly Sparrow Gabby displays her Zero Football IQ once again…Cosby was referencing that he only had to wait five weeks to see Coach McKay and that same 1966 USC team that lost to ND 51-0 on November 26th 1966 play Purdue in the Rose Bowl (and lose 14-13) on January 2, 1967.

      DON: BWWWWAAAAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!1.

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  5. In the 1967 SC National Championship year Sogge was the primary quarterback and Toby Page was known for handing the ball off to OJ for his game-winning romp, but did Holmgren even see the field?

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    1. Holmgren was 3-8, 75 yards passing (2 rushes -3 yards) according to sports reference

      The thing about the ’67 team that always hits me is that while everyone for good reason remembers OJ, they forget others, most significantly all-time great Ron Yary.

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  6. In the 1950’s and 60’s there were at least seven daily newspapers in the Los Angeles area headed by the Times and Examiner in the morning and the Mirror and Herald Express in the afternoon. We also had the Daily News, Long Beach Press Telegram and the OC Register. All had great sportswriters with Jim Murray probably the best known, but Bud Furillo, Mal Florence, Mel Durslag and later TJ Simers were terrific writers. Scott, did you model your journalistic style after TJ Simers? Thanks for the memories. Fight on, Dan, Class of 1962. P.S. I forgot the South Bay Daily Breeze.

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      1. They don’t make him like that anymore. Or Glenn Dickey formerly of the SF Chronicle. When I was a teen, I wanted to be a sportswriter. I naively wrote to Dickey, whose columns I read religiously. He was nice enough to write back a very supportive letter.

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  7. another fabulous Friday column by the wolfman!! one marvels at the amount of entertaining anecdotes wolfman managers to wring from a one-dimensional football-centric school like SC. one can only salivate when imagining what wolfman could do if he covered the vast riches of history contained within UCLA’s storied walls!! it would be like the fry cook at Pup n’ Taco being promoted to head chef at the French Laundry!!

    #MonDieu!!

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    1. Total championships – USC 139 UCLA 125 (USC 11 in football; most in baseball; most in track … UCLA? 11 in basketball; most in softball; most in mens volleyball).

      Try again CB! There a reason the Wolfman checks out of USC but can never leave!

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      1. Amusing you included “Fictional” football titles not actually sanctioned by NCAA! However, that’s all meaningless since alas and alack, the loyal Wolfman will never abandon SC no matter how toxic they must be to a man of such integrity!!

        #AtLeastWeHaveTheClassyCadre

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      2. Mythical – but all of the NFL talent produced sure isn’t (umm, even if not exactly happening in the present) … and … the only one that most people care about, mythical or not (besides, if it is mythical, you won’t need to worry, since you only have one half one to eliminate from your tally!) …

        The Wolfman knows CB … he may intrigue and have dalliances across town … but he will always come home!

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  8. The Pac-12 used to call itself the Conference of Champions largely due to SC and ucla’s many championships. Now the ‘Big-10 can call itself the Conference of Champions

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      1. News reports are conflicting….but the consensus is those flights are being grounded. Either way: huge distraction for the team.

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      2. Depends on what the issue(s) is (are). If no problem with air-to-ground transponders, air-to-ground communications, and radar tracking, in route flights should continue to destinations (obviously unless that destination has been adversely impacted by the problem to such an extent that runway space/conditions are unsafe). That word – if – again …

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      4. Had that same thought (the Coyote not protesting to vigorously should travel force postponement … as you suggest, he would be in favor of that postponement not being for only a few days but perhaps for a year or more!) …

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      1. Cool-headed Riley could easily land the plane in an emergency if needed. Never seen a man so cool under pressure.

        #We’reComingInHot!!!

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      3. USC announces “Airplane ” remake starring Lincoln Riley in Peter Graves role..

        “Do you like movies about gladiators, Billy?”

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  13. Not only was Bill Cosby a lecturer at USC during the 1968-1969 school year, he was also a letcher, “dating” the gorgeous red-headed roommate of my then girlfriend, surreptitiously, of course, given his marital status.

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  14. Rather amazed Harvey didn’t mention what Herb Alpert stated about the Trojan Marching Band… faux musicians ‘playing’ solid wooden flutes and other portable ut inoperable items, to ‘flesh out’ to a full robust band.

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