It was less than a month ago I wrote a Friday notes column with a picture of former USC athletic director Willis O. Hunter that said, “Hunter was athletic director for 32 years (1925-57) at USC but is largely forgotten today, unfortunately. He presided over USC’s transformation into a national championship power in many sports.” Well, here is what USC social media has posted for … Continue reading USC Needs A History Refresher

We will start off the weekend on a lighter note with former USC announcer Mike Walden in the opening segment of first Super Dave show on Showtime. Walden was a great guy off air and didn’t have a huge ego, unlike some USC announcers and, frankly, a lot of broadcasters. And it comes across in his Super Dave segments. If you watch this clip, you … Continue reading USC Saturday Buzz: A Little Different Start To Weekend

A friend who sent me the Julie’s restaurant menu last week said a reader thought the menu was from 1970 and that the $11.50 steak sandwich would cost roughly $88 today. Well, the menu is actually from 1996 when the restaurant closed. So the steak sandwich would cost about $22 today. Big difference. Julie’s wasn’t known for being pricey. It catered to a diverse crowd … Continue reading Time For A Restaurant Price Check

There was a lot of reaction Friday to the posting of a picture of Allan Malamud. ESPN reporter Chris Mortensen “liked” it on twitter. So here’s a picture from 1963 of Malamud at USC with the staff of “Scampus,” which was a 103-page handbook printed for incoming freshmen that included everything from “administration to fraternities” along with on-and-off campus events. Continue reading Saturday Column Supplement

These are rare color photos I first ran in September from when Martin Luther King spoke at the Coliseum in May, 1964. The photos were taken by  Jay A. Brown, who worked as an assistant to Congressman Thomas Rees. But it went undiscovered until it was found a drawer by Brown’s daughter about 50 years later. Here’s a close-up that shows Dick Van Dyke on the far left. Van … Continue reading Martin Luther King And USC

I wanted to wrap a retrospective of Trojans who passed away in 2022 with Rink Babka. Babka, a silver medalist in the discus at the 1960 Olympics, died in January. He was 85. Babka held the world record in the discus and was the NCAA champion in 1958. He was USC co-captain on the 1958 NCAA championship team. His best college throw of 198-10 still … Continue reading Remembering Rink Babka