25 years ago today ...
Fred Cornwell and Nolan Ryan, forever linked on this day in L.A. sports history.
On September 26, 1981, USC (2-0, No. 1 in the UPI poll, No. 2 by AP) and Oklahoma (1-0, No. 1 in the AP poll) met up at the Coliseum in a Saturday afternoon game that didn't need any more buildup. USC pulled within three with just under seven minutes to go on the second of Marcus Allen's two touchdowns. Oklahoma, which fumbled 10 times in the game and lost five, had to punt with about 4:00 to go. Following a few crucial third and fourth-down conversions, USC faced a third-and-goal from the seven with 8 seconds to go, and coach John Robinson could have settled for a tie. But why? USC QB John Mazur scrambled away from Sooner defenders and found tight end Cornwell in the back of the end zone to clinch a 28-24 victory. One play earlier, Mazur tried to throw it to Allen in the end zone, but Cornwell put up an arm and knocked it down by accident. Allen ran for 208 yards en route to a Heisman Trophy season that ended 9-3 for USC and a Fiesta Bowl loss. Oklahoma finished 7-4-1.
(I was at this game as a sophomore going to USC, experienced plenty of beer in the student section and was lying on the floor of the bathroom back at my apartment later in the day when I heard about ....)
And on September 26, 1981, Ryan faced the Dodgers at the Houston Astrodome. The Dodgers had already clinched a spot in the playoffs based on winning the first half of this season split by a players strike. The Houston Astros were trying to fend off the Cincinnati Reds for the "second-half" title with eight games to go. Here, on the NBC Game of the Week, Ryan threw his fifth career no-hitter, breaking a tie with Sandy Koufax no-hitters. In the Astros' 5-0 win, the 34-year-old Ryan improved his record to 10-5. In the final inning, Ryan fanned pinch-hitter Reggie Smith on three pitches for his 11th strikeout of the game. Ken Landreaux grounded out to Denny Walling at first base, then Ryan got Dusty Baker to ground out to Art Howe at third base. "I really didn't feel like I had good velocity today," said Ryan, who at that point led the National League with a 1.74 earned run average. "but I got ahead on my curve balls." The Dodgers and Astros ended up meeting in the first round of the playoffs, with the Dodgers surviving to face (and beat) Montreal for the NL title and the Yankees in the World Series.