So Cal's All-Time Roster: No. 37
No. 37:
Our pick:
==Lester Hayes, Raiders ('82-'86, started in Oakland in '77)
Former teammate Fred Biletnikoff used stick-um on his hands and body, but Judge took it to another level and it the NFL had to ban its use. His notoriety preceeded him to Los Angeles, having played the first five years in Oakland. He had 13 interceptions in '80 (an NFL record), and five more in the post season as the Raiders won the Super Bowl. When the L.A. Raiders were on their way to face Washington in Super Bowl XVIII in '84, Hayes had one pick against Pittsburgh in the AFC divisional playoffs, and another in the AFC title game against Seattle. Hayes intercepted 39 passes during the regular season and 47 overall. during his career before he retired what he termed a "fit of rage" toward everyone within the Raiders organization. A character to talk to that endeared him to the media, Hayes, despite a stuttering problem, was always great for a quote. Here's one from a Raiders fan website, talking about Super Bowl XVIII: "I had a Star Wars dream before the Super Bowl. I got on the plane that was destined for Tampa Bay the first night. It is very vivid to this day. The dream had the final score of 42-10. I am telling the honest to God truth! I told the writers about my dream beforehand, and they all laughed at me as if I was crazy! And behold, the final score was 38-9! It was very, very close as my dream indicated, and I knew beforehand based on our blitz package that there was no way that Joe Theisman and his Redskins' offensive game plan would be successful. I knew that our package would be too much for them, we surprised them. They had no idea we were that good; they only observed what they seen on game films.”
You be the judge.
Runner up:
==Donnie Moore, Angels ('85-'88)
An AL All-Star in his first season with the team, which picked him up from Atlanta. But '88 was his last year, and the last game was Moore is unfortunately most remembered: Giving up a homer to Boston's Dave Henderson in Game 5 of the 1986 ALCS with only one more strike needed to clinch the team's first-ever pennant. On July 18, 1989, all of the repercussions of the 1986 loss along with his battle with alcoholism, drug abuse, and severe depression, led to an argument with his wife Tonya (she survived). Moore shot her three times in front of their three children. He then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head and died at age 35. RIP, DMoore.
Other No. 37s:
==Darren Dreifort, Dodgers ('94-'05)
==Kermit Johnson, UCLA football ('71-'73)
==Bobby Castillo, Dodgers ('80-'81)
==Tom Seaver, USC baseball ('66)
Sports Illustrated's pick for the all-time No. 37: Doak Walker, over Casey Stengel and Hayes.
Did we miss anyone?
You've got our vote, now let's see yours: