Here’s USC en route to the national title in its 42-37 victory over No. 2 Wisconsin in the 1963 Rose Bowl.
Can you recall the big deal made in games whenever a quarterback throws a block today? Well, that’s USC QB Pete Beathard (12) attempting the goal-line tackle of Wisconsin fullback Ralph Kurek (34). And that’s College Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Hal Bedsole (19) also trying to stop Kurek. Players were required to go two ways in those days because of limited subtitution rules and Beathard often started at quarterback because he was athletic and not a defensive liability.
How about some recruiting info? How about some info on possible assistant coaches ? How about some info on the basketball team ? How about some info on baseball and the recruits that didn’t go pro? I know water polo went down in the finals but what about the women’s volleyball team ? This is a USC SPORTS blog, not just a football blog
From Scott????…..you should be a comedian……
This is a football blog? I have been waiting the past 6 months for some reasonable insights into SC football…still waiting.
Things that we can absolutely count on; (i) runway behind you has no value, (ii) trolls drink too much, (iii) trolls use this blog as a litter box, (iv) Trojan fans are the greatest people in the universe, (v) Mr. Carpenter did solve Professor Barnhardt’s problem in celestial mechanics, (vi) Clay is rocking the house, (vii) Bama/Sab/Kiff will start the 2016 season 0 – 1, (viii) trolls pee themselves whenever USC is mentioned, (ix) I will have very special shoes (handmade boots) for the Wisconsin game, and (x) Sorry Daddy – Trojans do. FTFO (always)!
Klaatu barada nikto.
It was the ’62 team that locked me in. I loved football as a little boy and played it whenever I got the chance. My parents took me to see their good friends on New Year’s Day, 1963. I plopped myself down in front of the TV and watched the thrilling 42-37 day-to-dark affair. I was sold and USC became my team. I loved Willie Brown, my first hero Trojan.
Ditto, Jack B. Actually, it was the 1958 Giants-Colts game that sold me on the game of football.
And then the Huskies of Washington,with their little team beating the giants of the Midwest Big-10 in the Rose Bowl in1959 and 1960 with the one-eyed quarterback that sold me on college football.
But it was that 1962 team of SC versus Wisconsin that sold me on Trojan football, and I enrolled in the school shortly thereafter, hoping to be a sensation, but I did not have enough game for the game, at that level..
So McKay gave you the business, huh? I knew some very good players at SC who didn’t say much about him. They didn’t seem to know him, frankly. He was not very approachable. Seemed to rule by fear. He definitely had a plan. Years later I had lunch with a couple of his assistants shortly before he died. They said he had a temper, was smart, aloof and didn’t suffer fools. Wasn’t afraid to embarrass coaches in front of the whole team if he was pissed.
I had dinner with him and Corky at a friend’s house as a HS senior. He was good friends with her parents, her dad a former Trojan AA and a big shot who was still an incredibly nice guy. There were only six of us and I literally don’t remember a thing McKay said, I was so starstruck. I was practically sitting right next to him and he probably spoke about two sentences to me. The adults had been out drinking all night and came home for our “midnight supper.” He was like a God and had just come off the 14-12 Dickerson catch game a couple of months before.
Thanks to you and John for sharing those great stories of John McKay.
Now, those were the days, the boys going both ways. Of course, the specialization of activities today (doctors, lawyers, and football players) has probably made those professions better, but still, football was meant to be played both ways.
Xtracrazy32 (is that for O.J.?)– My first day on the football field as a walk-on, and the quarterback was about 10 feet from me, and fired a fastball that I could not handle. McKay walked up to me and said, “You drop another pass and I want you off this football field.”
Classy guy. I hope I don’t meet him heaven, assuming there is one.
My high school coach said the exact same thing to me after I had dropped a punt in late summer practice before my junior year. “You drop another one of those and we’ll send you back down.” Sent chills through me. I can still hear his voice clearly.
John, are you inferring ( or is it implying?) that one of you won’t be in heaven?
Trojan5, there is no Hell. It was made up by myths that have no basis in truth.
But a heaven?– We can only hope. But if there is none, we will never know after we are dead. Because dead is, uuuh, dead.
If the boys were going both ways, it surely was a well kept secret.
I was at that game where fog dominated the viewing from the end zones, such that for those of us who brought, or nearby seatmates who brought, portable TVs saw the game, the rest of those in the end zone had no idea what happened.
One of my 3-4 favorite all-time Trojan games, with the ND Anthony Davis game atop the list – FOREVER!
More than one post-game cocktail was required.
Can you name the future Angels baseball star who played fullback for Wisconsin in that classic game?