Category Archives: Southern California

Dec 31

My 10 Favorite Moments of 2012

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Sure, you’ve read your share of 10-best lists of 2012. But most of them are laser-focused: books, movies, music, sports moments, restaurants, etc. Well, this one’s laser-focused, too. But since it’s my blog, that big laser is shining brightly on me — and anyone who knows me realizes that a list of my 10 favorite moments of the year about to pass is going to include a number of different things. So, here they are … my 10 favorite moments of 2012:

Does this look like November to you? It does at Duke's!

Does this look like November to you? It does at Duke’s!

10. Brunch at Duke’s Malibu, November 4: The opportunity to enjoy a Sunday morning on the patio at the Barefoot Bar at Duke’s in Malibu is something anyone — native or tourist — should enjoy as often as possible. This particular November Sunday featured unseasonably warm temperatures tickling the 80-degree mark and great company, as Caitlin’s family was visiting for the weekend. Sunshine, relaxed smiles, tiki drinks and a great buffet made for one of the best mornings of the year.

9. Jack White at the Shrine Auditorium, August 11: As I wrote in my quick-hitting review on the blog on Aug. 12, “There’s nothing better than going into a concert with high expectations and having them met, let alone exceeded. Such was the case with Jack White’s epic performance last night at the Shrine Auditorium near USC.” The moment of moments that night, though, was White’s stinging performance of his White Stripes classic, “Ball and Biscuit.” To grab my Spotify playlist of that night’s setlist, find it here: Jack White Shrine Setlist 8/11/12

One of the most beautiful spots in NYC.

One of the most beautiful spots in NYC.

8. A Sunday in New York City, September 9: In town for the previous night’s USC football game against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium across the river in New Jersey, we had a full day to kill before catching a late flight back to Los Angeles. It’s been a long time since I did a bunch of “touristy” things in NYC, but with glorious weather to wander the city, we set off on just such a journey, with no pressure and no schedule. The day ended up including: a visit to Gray’s Papaya on the Upper West Side for some dogs; a stop by Strawberry Fields in Central Park; a walk across the park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where we relaxed on the steps and watched the city move by); and, finally, a taxi ride to the Empire State Building where we enjoyed both observation decks. Truly, a perfect day.

7. Dinner at Chicago Chop House, March 10: The company, the city and the celebration would have made this a pretty memorable night no matter what. But, the staff at the Chicago Chop House on this night made it incredible — from the chefs who absolutely nailed the entire meal, to the maitre d’ and servers who made sure the whole experience was smooth, fun and special, there was a high likelihood from the moment this amazing meal ended that it would be my favorite of 2012. Only something incredibly special would be able to push it aside.

6. Christmas Eve at Dad’s, December 24: The most recent entry on this list, last week’s holiday celebration at my dad’s home was among the most relaxed and pleasant we’ve had. After spending last Christmas on the East Coast, it was a pleasure to be back in California for the holiday in 2012. Though the afternoon and evening were still missing a few key pieces, the return of my Aunt Sue to Southern California in 2012 was a massive factor in how great and memorable the day was. It was simply fantastic to have her a part of the family celebration and to see her so happy and relaxed with all of us.

This view of the Eiffel Tower at night was simply stunning.

This view of the Eiffel Tower at night was simply stunning.

5. Viewing the Eiffel Tower Light Show from atop the Arc de Triomphe, October 5: The early fall trip to London and Paris was full of amazing and memorable moments — one of which ranks slightly higher on this very list. However, from the perspective of having a purely “Paris moment,” nothing was better than our climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe on a Friday night. The views were stunning 360 degrees around, but our timing was perfect — we arrived just 10 minutes prior to the 9 p.m. version of the hourly light show on the Eiffel Tower. What happened next can only be the magic of the City of Light.

Compton and Long Beach got back together at Coachella with incredible results, including this great t-shirt.

Compton and Long Beach got back together at Coachella with incredible results, including this great t-shirt.

4. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg Live at Coachella, April 15: My first Coachella was a truly fantastic experience, one that I summed up with one of my longer blog posts of the year. But the highlight of highlights was the event’s closing performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. With “The Chronic” being a major part of the soundtrack of my college years, my hopes were incredibly hight, but as I wrote on April 25: “… to say they lived up to those hopes would fall short. An unbelievable 75 minutes that featured a bevy of SoCal hip-hop greatest hits; cameos by Wiz Khalifa, Warren G., Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Eminem; and the much-discussed Tupac ‘hologram’ – what more could you ask for?” Dre & Snoop grabbed the crowd by the throat, opening with their classic “The Next Episode” and showed the 80,000 in attendance that night one helluva great time. To grab my Spotify playlist of that night’s setlist, find it here: Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg Coachella Set List 4/15/12

3. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Perform “Jungleland,” December 4: It took 27 years and nearly 20 Springsteen shows before it finally happened: I got to see the epic “Jungleland” performed live. That it happened as the third of a four-song arc that also included “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run” — even better. That, two songs later, I also saw my first live performance ever of the band’s version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” — wow. And all of this was at the tail end of a show that had spent its first two hours and 45 minutes being one of the best Springsteen shows I’d seen in more than a decade. It was one great night.

This menu was simply beyond reproach!

This menu was simply beyond reproach!

2. Dinner at L’Ami Jean, Paris, October 4: I got the idea to possibly visit this bistro during our Paris journey from a short piece I read on BonAppetit.com. When we arrived in town, we had our hotel book a reservation for us. What happened when we showed up is one of the greatest dining experiences of my life. Chef Stephane Jego’s food — advertised at seven courses for $75 Euro, but in reality closer to 10 courses — was beyond creative. I’d have never imagined eating foie gras with smoked eel in a herring bouillabaisse — let alone thinking it was one of the most delectable things I’ve ever tasted. Each course built on the last and was simply spectacular, finishing with the best duck I’ve ever had. For dessert, the restaurant’s famous rice pudding was as good as advertised. Beyond the food, the atmosphere in the tiny (maybe 40 seats) location was so alive. There was great service and great conversation with the folks sitting so close to you that you felt you were at — almost — a communal dinner. The entertainment of Jego finishing each dish for delivery to each table just outside the kitchen was also worth more than the price we paid. If you’re ever in Paris, trust the menu and do not miss this place.

Just minutes after the best moment of 2012, this was captured by the best person of 2012.

Just minutes after the best moment of 2012, this was captured by the best person of 2012.

1. The Kings Win the Stanley Cup, June 11: Yes, certainly the moment of victory was the best. But it was the two months — not to mention the 33 years since my first Kings game in 1979 — leading up to the final seconds ticking away in the 6-1 Game 6 win over New Jersey that made this so sweet. Committing to getting to one game per round prior to the playoffs didn’t seem like such a big thing, considering the Kings were the No. 8 seed in the West. But as they upset Vancouver in round one, thumped St. Louis in round two and put away Phoenix to reach the Stanley Cup Final, those pilgrimages to Staples Center became more and more enjoyable (and expensive). I thought we’d peaked out by attending the Kings’ 4-0 win in Game 3 of the Final, one of the great sports experiences I’ve ever had. But, no … at midnight the night before Game 6, I was about to shut down my computer for the night and head to bed when I decided to jump on Ticketmaster.com to see if anything might have been released for the “sold out” game. When those Premier level seats popped up for face value, I was stunned. Seventeen hours later, we were in the building. And four hours after that, we saw THIS. Go Kings Go, indeed!

All the best for a great 2013!

Aug 28

Countdown to College Football: A 2002 Column About Howard Jones

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With kickoff of the 2012 college football season just about 48 hours a way, here’s the third and final reach back into my archives of special columns I wrote for the now defunct PigskinPost.com website during the early part of the last decade. (PigskinPost was swallowed up into the larger — and still existent — CollegeFootballNews.com after the 2003 season).

As a bookend to the story I posted last week about one legendary USC head coach — John McKay — here’s a piece I wrote on another legendary USC headman, Howard Jones. This column was also a part of PigskinPost’s countdown of the Top 50 college head coaches of all time, with Jones ranking No. 23. Here’s to a great 2012 campaign!

(Originally published March 2002 on PigskinPost.com)

Howard Jones: The Headman Who Created the ‘Thundering Herd’ and Wrote the Opening Chapter of USC’s National Football Tradition

Howard Harding Jones, a.k.a. “The Headman,” arrived on the University of Southern California campus before the 1925 season. But, many believe he was the second choice … to someone whose name a few of you may know.

According to long-time Los Angeles Times’ writer Mal Florence’s book, “The Trojan Heritage,” when USC began looking for someone to replace Elmer C. “Gloomy Gus” Henderson, whose record of 45-7 produced the school’s best winning percentage for any coach in its history, the Trojans’ search started with a certain coach for a certain private Catholic university in Indiana — a guy by the name of Knute Rockne.

1920s-era USC graduate manager Gwynn Wilson (whose name graces the school’s student union to this day), remembers in Florence’s tome, “Rockne came to USC for a football seminar, and we saw a lot of him. We didn’t have a coach, and we talked to Rock about the job. He agreed to come, subject to getting a release from Notre Dame. Mrs. Rockne had fallen in love with Southern California. We had hopes but (Notre Dame) talked him into staying. Maybe it was better that the Rock stayed there, and we got Jones.”

Perhaps Wilson was right. Although USC had come to some regional prominence under Henderson, Jones’ arrival in Los Angeles signaled the beginnings of the famed Trojan character and winning tradition.

Al Wesson, USC sports publicist from 1928-42, told Florence in “The Trojan Heritage,” “Jones was really a character-builder. He did what he thought was right, but he didn’t preach to anyone. The players respected him, but he had very little contact with them except on the field.”

Howard Jones won the first four of USC’s 11 national championships.

Showing his hard nature, and to get the players’ attention, Jones was known to take an offensive line stance in practice to demonstrate his blocking scheme — and then literally pancake the unsuspecting defensive lineman expecting him to walk through the play. But, at the same time, Jones would not swear — on the field, in the locker room, anywhere — and never touched a drop of liquor.

Nick Pappas, who played quarterback for Jones in the 1930s before becoming a USC alumni support fixture, told Florence, “He could stand on the sideline, and he knew what everybody did — or should have done — on every play. When he walked on to the practice field, the atmosphere changed immediately. You might be horsing around but, when he arrived, everybody went right to work without a word being said.”

Before Jones, USC football had won zero national titles and featured no All-Americans. In 16 seasons, Jones coached 19 All-Americans (including African-American lineman Brice Taylor, USC’s first AA), won eight Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) crowns, went 5-0 in the Rose Bowl, had three undefeated teams (1928, 1932, 1939) and won four national titles (1928, 1931, 1932, 1939). He notched an overall record of 121-36-13 at Troy.

Under the Headman, USC played power football out of the classic single-wing formation. Jones’ Trojans became known as the Thundering Herd for their powerful running attack. In this system, Jones developed the prototype for the modern tailback. But in his system, the position was called quarterback. The QB carried the ball 80-90 percent of the time, and also passed, punted and played safety on defense. Among the names that went down in USC lore at the position during the Jones era include: Morton Kaer, Morley Drury, Russ Saunders, Gus Shaver, Orv Mohler, Cotton Warburton and Ambrose Schindler.

While power running was the Trojans’ calling card, Jones did add some spice to the offense at just the right times, like the wingback reverse and a surprise passing attack the Trojans played to perfection in a 47-14 trouncing of Pittsburgh in the 1930 Rose Bowl. Amazingly, with the famed power rushing attack, Jones’ only 1,000-yard rusher was Drury, who gained 1,163 yards in 1927. But all of Jones’ star backs averaged about five yards per carry with many fewer attempts than modern running backs.

Jones came to ’SC after a 4-5 season at Duke, some say on the recommendation of Rockne. But Jones had a stellar resume of his own when he arrived at University Park. Jones was an All-American player at Yale, who then led Syracuse, at age 23, to a 6-3-1 record in 1908 — his first season as a head coach. Jones then split time coaching at Yale and Ohio State, leading an undefeated Yale squad in 1909, until taking the head job at Iowa from 1916-23. He notched two undefeated seasons at Iowa (1921, 1922). And his 42-17 overall record there included an historic 10-7 win against Rockne’s Irish in 1921, ending a 21-game Notre Dame unbeaten streak. But that was just the first of his successful encounters with the Irish.

According to “The Trojan Heritage,” one of the reasons Henderson reportedly had been fired by USC was an inability to beat California. Henderson lost his last four straight to the Golden Bears, while Cal and Stanford administrators questioned Troy’s academic and athletic requirements, due mainly to the Trojans’ rapid ascent after the school joined the PCC in 1922.

Jones didn’t have similar problems against Cal, ripping the Bears 27-0 in his second season and losing only once to Cal in the next seven seasons. The Trojans’ 74-0 victory at the Coliseum in 1930 (a game to which I proudly own a ticket stub) caused Cal to charge USC with “professionalism,” because they claimed the Trojans paid their athletes. The charges were never substantiated beyond mere sour-grape accusations.

Stanford, with Coach Glenn “Pop” Warner, was a tougher assignment for Jones. Jones lost twice and tied once against the Indians before finally prevailing in the Trojans’ 1928 national championship season, 10-0, against a Stanford team that outweighed Troy by 10 pounds per man.

Jones, upon the advice of assistant Cliff Herd (who scouted the Indians all season), created a defense called the “quick mix,” which attacked Stanford’s linemen at the line of scrimmage. This allowed hard-hitting secondary tacklers to get a clear shot at the ball carriers in the Indians’ vaunted reverse attack — a revolutionary scheme in a time where most teams waited for the ball carrier to come to their defensive players at the line of scrimmage. The crashing style of defense forced five Stanford fumbles, of which the Trojans recovered three. Warner never beat Jones again before he left Stanford after the 1932 season.

Also during Jones reign, the USC-Notre Dame rivalry began in 1926. 1928 marked USC’s first win against the Irish, a 27-14 thrashing after Rockne’s Irish teams had beaten Jones’ Trojans by one point in each of the prior two meetings. Rockne beat Jones twice more before he perished in a March 1931 plane crash. But what began with Rockne and Jones has lived on as college football’s most tradition-filled rivalry, even in the dark times of the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The 1927 USC-Notre Dame game at Soldier Field in Chicago drew 120,000 fans, still the largest crowd ever to watch a college football game. Two years later, nearly 113,000 filled Soldier Field again.

USC’s come-from-behind win at Notre Dame Stadium in 1931 was one of the greatest moments in L.A. sports history.

USC upset Notre Dame in 1931, 16-14, at South Bend, the first of three straight Trojan wins over the Irish — and, many say, USC’s most important victory in its long football history. After the Trojans’ fourth quarter rally from a 14-0 deficit, USC’s train returned to Union Station in Los Angeles, where the Trojan team was celebrated by more than 300,000 Angelenos in a downtown tickertape parade.

USC had a 27-game unbeaten streak from 1931-33. The 1932 Trojans, among the greatest college football teams of all time, were 10-0 and allowed just 13 points to their opponents. Proving that disgruntled alumni are not a modern phenomenon, Jones had those who wanted him cut loose during a four-year downturn from 1934-37 (a combined record of 17-19-6).

But Jones’ 1938 squad bounced back to 9-2, defeating previously undefeated, untied and unscored-upon Duke, 7-3, in the 1939 Rose Bowl on a fourth-quarter TD pass from fourth-string QB Doyle Nave to end “Antelope” Al Krueger. Then, in 1939, Jones’ Trojans went 8-0-2, capping the season with a 14-0 win over another previously unscored-upon opponent, Tennessee, in the 1940 Rose Bowl.

Jones was also a true believer in sportsmanship. One of the most famous Jones stories related in “The Trojan Heritage” surrounds the 1930 USC-Stanford game. Indians’ star halfback Phil Moffat was considered the key to a Stanford win, but when he went out with a twisted knee on the first play of the game, Jones rushed to the Stanford locker room. There, he asked Moffat if he knew which Trojan had hit him. Moffat, surprised by Jones’ appearance, said yes. Jones then asked him if he’d been hit fairly. After a stunned Moffat didn’t answer, Jones asked him again if he’d been hit fairly, then told the Indian halfback that if his leg was deliberately hit and twisted by the player, that the tackler would never again play for USC. “Moffat said that he had been tackled fairly. Jones said, ‘We don’t want to win any other way on that field.’”

The Trojans’ final national title of the Jones Era was earned in the 1940 Rose Bowl against Tennessee.

Jones died of a heart attack in July 1941 at age 55. USC wouldn’t win another national title for 21 years.

A fitting close to Florence’s chapter on Jones came from the man responsible for hiring the Headman at USC. Many years after Jones’ death, former USC athletic director Willis O. Hunter said, “I’d have to say that all of us hitched our wagon to a star, and Howard Jones was that star. He made all of USC’s later success possible.”

A special thanks in the crafting of this article goes to Mal Florence’s “The Trojan Heritage: A Pictorial History of USC Football.” Published in 1980 by JCP Corp. of Virginia.

Aug 23

Countdown to College Football: A 2002 Column About John McKay

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As we’ve moved within a week of the kickoff of the 2012 college football season, I’ve decided to go back into my archives and pull a few special columns I wrote for the now defunct PigskinPost.com website during the early part of the last decade. (PigskinPost was swallowed up into the larger — and still existent — CollegeFootballNews.com after the 2003 season).

USC opened its new John McKay Center this month.

First up, a piece I wrote on legendary USC head coach John McKay as part of PigskinPost’s countdown of the Top 50 college head coaches of all time. McKay was ranked No. 12 in this countdown, and I was thrilled to be able to handle this piece at the time. Now, with the NCAA-vilified Trojans improbably ranked No. 1 by the Associated Press to start the 2012 season and the university having recently opened the glistening new John McKay Center for all of its athletes on campus, it seems apropos to kick off my own personal 2012 season by sharing this piece anew with all of you. Enjoy … and keep an eye out for a couple more throwbacks in coming days.

(Originally published April 2002 on PigskinPost.com)

#12: John McKay, USC

“In the past, we’ve asked you men to win for your parents, your girlfriends, your school and the alumni … I think it’s about time you went out and won one for yourselves.”

— John McKay

Known for his quick wit and consistently powerful football teams, John McKay not only restored USC to its elite national status during his tenure (1960-75), he may have had more influence on how offensive football was played at the college level than any other coach in his time.

McKay modernized the “I” formation, with the tailback standing seven yards deep in the backfield, creating the “Tailback U.” image associated with Trojan football. The famed offense featured Heisman winners Mike Garrett and O.J. Simpson, as well as other classic tailbacks including Clarence Davis, Anthony Davis and Ricky Bell. While the tailbacks got the glory, opposing coaches said the key to USC’s monster rushing attack was McKay’s powerful and mobile offensive line players.

A statue of the legendary John McKay stands outside the new athletics center named after him on USC’s campus.

McKay was a huge winner. In 16 seasons, he won four national championships (1962, 1967, 1972, 1974), nine Pac-8 championships and finished in the top 10 in the national polls nine times. His career record at USC was 127-40-8, similar to Howard Jones, but against a much more wide-ranging schedule than USC played in the 1920s and ’30s. The Trojans also played in eight Rose Bowls under McKay, going 5-3.

McKay’s teams featured a veritable who’s who of college football history aside from the famous tailbacks: Ron Yary, Marvin Powell, Gary Jeter, Hal Bedsole, Lynn Swann, Bob Chandler, Charles Young, Damon Bame, Adrian Young, Charlie Weaver, Jimmy Gunn, Willie Hall, Richard (Batman) Wood, Tim Rossovich, Sid Smith, Pete Adams, Mike Battle, Artimus Parker, Marvin Cobb, Mike Rae, Jimmy Jones, Pat Haden, Sam (Bam) Cunningham, and Ben Wilson, to name just a few.

Not only are the names memorable , but some of USC’s most memorable games were played under McKay’s watch:

  • The 1963 Rose Bowl, a 42-37 national title-clinching thriller against Wisconsin.
  • A 20-17 upset of Notre Dame in 1964 that knocked the Irish from the national title race.
  • A 21-20 win against UCLA in a 1967 game that decided the city championship, the Pac-8 title, the Rose Bowl representative, the national championship and the Heisman Trophy.
  • Final-minute thrillers vs. UCLA (14-12) and Stanford (26-24) in 1969, and again vs. Stanford in 1973 (27-26).
  • The incredible, unthinkable 55-24 comeback victory against Notre Dame in 1974.
  • And the 18-17 come-from-behind triumph against Ohio State in the 1975 Rose Bowl that led to a share of the national title.

McKay grew up in West Virginia, before serving as a B-29 tailgunner in World War II. He enrolled at Purdue in 1946, playing freshman football, before transferring to Oregon the next year. McKay was an All-Coast halfback for the Ducks, teaming with friend and future All-Pro quarterback Norm Van Brocklin to form a strong offensive backfield. McKay still holds the Ducks’ single-season record for yards-per-carry average.

McKay remained at Oregon after graduation as an offensive assistant, renowned around the conference for his simple way of scouting opposing defenses.

In Jim Perry’s book on McKay, “A Coach’s Story,” McKay said:

“I wasn’t a genius. I just had a simpler method than the other scouts … a team played the defense they wanted to play 85 percent of the time. For example, Red Sanders’ UCLA teams in the mid-1950s played with what we called a 4-4, or wide-six defense. I’d watch all the other scouts draw a diagram every time UCLA lined up … I thought this was ridiculous. I knew where UCLA was lining up 85 percent of the time. So, unless they lined up differently, all I had to write was ’60’ … I could then see the game while the other scouts were laboriously writing … other scouts would miss a man or two and ask me what defense they were in, and I’d say brightly, ‘They were in 60. This guy was here and that guy was there.’ And they’d think I was a genius.”

In 1959, McKay was convinced to take an assistant’s job on USC coach Don Clark’s staff by his wife Corky, a Southern California native. When Clark resigned after the season, he recommended McKay to USC president Norman Topping, who offered McKay the job.

Much to the dismay of some alumni, USC’s new coach was unknown assistant from Oregon. McKay hardly allayed any fears in 1960, losing his debut to Oregon State, 14-0, and leading the Trojans to a 4-6 mark. The grumbling reached it peak before USC upset UCLA, 17-6, near the end of the season. McKay said at the time, “It was an important game. It only saved my job.”

McKay didn’t improve much in 1961, going 4-5-1. But his tinkering with the “I” formation that season set the stage for his first national championship team in1962.

After some solid recruiting, refinement of the “I” and an assist from Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, whose defensive scheme McKay borrowed, USC rolled to an 11-0 mark and its first national championship in 30 years.

Quarterbacks Pete Beathard and Bill Nelsen, tailback Willie Brown, fullback Wilson and 6-5 wideout Bedsole led a speedy USC team to a 261-92 scoring margin. The season’s highlights included a 14-0 shutout of recently dominant Washington, a 14-3 win against UCLA and a 25-0 victory over Notre Dame in Los Angeles.

The season was capped off in a thrilling Rose Bowl against Wisconsin. USC led 42-14, before Badger QB Ron Vanderkelen completed 18 of 22 passes in the fourth quarter to lead a rally that fell five points short, 42-37.

After the game, the normally calm McKay was incensed about the media’s reaction to the Wisconsin rally. As recounted in Mal Florence’s 1980 book, “The Trojan Heritage,” he told his team, “Wisconsin! That’s all they’re talking about. In a few minutes, the writers will be in here telling you men how lucky you were to pull this one out. Don’t you believe it. You’re the best damn team I ever saw. Our intention was to win today — and what does the scoreboard say? Who was picked to lose to the Big-10 powerhouse? We were. Ask the experts which team scored 42 points. You did, and you earned every one of them. We came in No. 1. They came in No. 2 and lost. That makes us still No. 1!”

Though McKay’s temper did run hotter than most of his sportswriter buddies at the time told their readers, the old coach’s sense of humor was his calling card. After McKay passed away last year, a number of obituaries focused on his humor while coach of the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But that humor was a staple of his time at Southern California.

Talking about one of his lesser skilled offensive lines at USC, McKay told a writer, “You’ve heard of the Seven Blocks of Granite? Last year, we had the seven blocks of cement.” Often, McKay would enter his morning press conferences announcing, “O.K. gang, we can begin. The star is here.”

He had no bigger fans than the L.A. sports press. In fact, McKay would spend hours diagramming plays for assistants and sportswriters at his own special table at Julie’s, the famous former hangout for Trojans near the USC campus and the Coliseum. McKay was so fond of his table at Julie’s, when he left USC for the Bucs, he had it shipped to his new watering hole in Tampa with the restaurant’s approval.

No one was safe from McKay’s quips and barbs. He even zinged his wife now and again. Once, when asked if emotion played a big role in the outcome of football games, he said, “Nobody is more emotional than my wife, and she’s a lousy football player.”

Of course, his wife was also his most trusted friend and greatest protector. When asked what he thought of people calling him arrogant, McKay shot back, “I don’t think of myself as arrogant. I think of myself as a friendly horse’s ass. What I don’t like is when a sportswriter doesn’t like me and writes that nobody likes me. That ticks my wife off.”

After the 1962 title season, the Trojans welcomed a sophomore tailback, Mike Garrett, into the fold. 1963 was the first of back-to-back 7-3 seasons. In 1965, the senior Garrett led USC to a 7-2-1 mark, winning the Heisman. But key losses to Washington and UCLA in Garrett’s three seasons kept the Trojans from playing in a Rose Bowl during his career.

Ara Parseghian’s reaction to USC’s stunning 1964 come-from-behind win against the Irish would become rather familiar over the next 10 years.

The shining moment of this era came at the close of the 1964 season, when USC rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit to top-ranked Notre Dame at the Coliseum.

According to Florence, at halftime, McKay lightened the mood in a disconsolate Trojan locker room, telling the team, “Gentlemen, if we don’t score more than 17 points in the second half, we don’t have a chance.”

When Rod Sherman hauled in Craig Fertig’s 15-yard pass in the final minute, McKay had foiled Irish coach Ara Parseghian (not for the last time) and the Irish’s bid for the national championship, 20-17.

After the game, Florence wrote, the Catholic McKay told the press, “Father (Theodore) Hesburgh (Notre Dame’s president at the time) congratulated me and told me, ‘That wasn’t a very nice thing for a Catholic to do.’ I told him, “Father, it serves you right for hiring a Presbyterian (Parseghian).”

McKay’s battles with Parseghian were the stuff of legend. During the 1940s and ’50s, the USC-Notre Dame series had become one-sided in favor of the Irish. But McKay turned things around in the fabled rivalry after losing to Notre Dame in his first two seasons (and then suffering a 51-0 trouncing in 1966).

Although McKay denied the story, he reportedly said after that 1966 game that Notre Dame would never beat him again. In his last nine seasons at USC, McKay was 6-1-2 against ND, leaving Troy with an overall record of 8-6-2 against the Irish.

1967 was McKay’s next season of greatness. It also marked the beginning of a three-year stretch that saw USC go 29-2-2, win the 1967 national championship, finish second and third in the polls the next two seasons, and play in three straight Rose Bowls.

O.J. Simpson arrived from San Francisco City College as a junior in 1967. He averaged 154 yards rushing per game and USC’s defense allowed just 87 points in 11 games in 1967, going 10-1 to win the championship.

McKay led the Trojans to a destruction of their South Bend jinx in 1967. Led by Simpson’s running and seven interceptions, USC notched a 24-7 victory, its first in Notre Dame Stadium in 28 years — and payback for the 51-0 thrashing by the Irish a year earlier.

OJ Simpson’s famous cutback during a game-winning 64-yard touchdown run that defeated No. 1 UCLA, 21-20, in 1967.

The 1967 USC-UCLA game, one of the all-time college football classics, featured a top-ranked Bruin squad and the third-ranked Trojans (who had fallen from No. 1 after a 3-0 loss to Oregon State the previous week). It also featured Simpson vs. Bruin quarterback Gary Beban in a Heisman showdown.

The lead had changed hands four times, with UCLA clinging to a 20-14 fourth-quarter lead, when Simpson broke one of the most famous runs in college football history. The 64-yard, cutback jaunt led the Trojans to a 21-20 win. Beban won the Heisman, but O.J. and the Trojans got to the Rose Bowl, where they trampled outmatched Indiana, 14-3, to secure the national championship.

McKay’s “Cardiac Kids” of 1968-69 won or tied 12 games with fourth-quarter comebacks, cementing the coach as one of college football’s great leaders under pressure. McKay’s riverboat gambler image was boosted even further during this era, when the coach who was known for going for a two-point conversion when a simple extra point would have led to a tie became legendary for leading USC to one stunning late-game triumph after the next.

The 1968 team featured just 15 returning lettermen to augment Simpson, who won his Heisman with a 383-carry, 1,880-yard season. When reporters questioned McKay about Simpson’s workload, the coach responded famously, “The ball isn’t heavy. Anyway, O.J. doesn’t belong to a union.”

The 1968 Trojans came from behind to beat Stanford and Oregon State, and broke fourth-quarter ties to defeat Washington and Oregon. USC fell to No. 2 in the polls after it had to rally to tie Notre Dame, 21-21. But the Trojans’ magic ran out when McKay’s kids lost to No. 1 Ohio State, 27-16, in the 1969 Rose Bowl.

The ’69 USC team finished off a 10-0-1 season with a 10-3 win against Michigan in the 1970 Rose Bowl. Without Simpson, the team was now led by quarterback Jimmy Jones, tailback Clarence Davis, and a defensive line known as the Wild Bunch (Gunn, Weaver, Al Cowlings, Tody Smith and Bubba Scott).

In 1969, USC again clipped Stanford, 26-24, this time on a last-play field goal. But no “Cardiac Kids” finish competes with the 1969 UCLA game.

Both teams came into the game with 8-0-1 records, but despite a fearsome beating by the Wild Bunch, UCLA led 12-7 after QB Dennis Dummit’s short TD pass with five minutes left. Jones, who was 0-9 passing in the first half, began connecting with his receivers, finally hitting Sam Dickerson on a controversial 32-yard TD pass in the back corner of the end zone with 1:32 to play for a 14-12 win.

Matching 6-4-1 seasons in 1970 and 1971 were but a bump in the road for McKay. However, the 1970 season did feature an historic 42-21 victory at Alabama that is credited with jump-starting the desegregation of the Alabama football program.

According to legend, Paul (Bear) Bryant, a long-time McKay friend, came into the Trojan locker room after the game, congratulated the Trojan players and asked McKay if he could “borrow” sophomore fullback Sam Cunningham for a moment. Cunningham went with the Bear back to the still strikingly pallid Alabama locker room. Bryant had Cunningham stand before his team (some even say on top of a table) and told his Crimson Tide players, “This, gentlemen, is a football player.” Alabama began actively recruiting African-American athletes the next spring.

McKay also continued his mastery of Parseghian, winning 38-28 in 1970 and 28-14 in 1971. But McKay and his staff felt they had settled for less than the best in recruiting in those late ’60s years. They rededicated themselves to recruiting top-flight players after the 1970 season, seeking speed on defense to combat the growing popularity of the triple-option offense.

By 1972, McKay had found the right blend of experience and youth, speed and power. The 1972 Trojans are still considered by many the greatest team in college football history.

Sam Cunningham’s four airborne touchdown runs against Ohio State in the 1973 Rose Bowl helped seal USC’s 1972 national title, which many believe was the greatest single season of college football ever played.

A 12-0 record; 467 points scored (an average of 38.9 per game); 432 yards of total offense per game; never trailed in the second half; allowed just 2.5 yards per rush, with no runs longer than 29 yards.

McKay had two quality QBs, senior Mike Rae and sophomore Pat Haden. Sophomore tailback Anthony Davis became the starter at midseason. Cunningham was now a senior fullback. Tight end Charles Young and offensive tackle Pete Adams were All-Americans. Sophomore LB Richard (Batman) Wood could run a 4.5-40, unheard of for a linebacker at the time. The receiving corps included junior Lynn Swann and sophomore J.K. McKay, the coach’s son.

USC opened the season with a 31-10 trouncing of No. 4 Arkansas at Little Rock; scored 50 or more points against Oregon State, Illinois and Michigan State; hammered wishbone-oriented UCLA, 24-7; and on the strength of six Anthony Davis touchdowns, including 96- and 97-yard kickoff returns, demolished Notre Dame, 45-23.

USC then made its closing statement against Woody Hayes’ Ohio State team, drubbing the Buckeyes 42-17 in the 1973 Rose Bowl, which featured Cunningham’s four leaping touchdowns. For the first time in history, the Trojans got every first place ballot in both the AP and UPI polls.

Though he lost 12 regulars from his ’72 team, McKay directed the 1973 edition of the Trojans to a 9-2-1 mark and another Rose Bowl appearance. But 1973 also marked McKay’s only loss to Notre Dame in his last nine seasons as coach, a 23-14 defeat at South Bend. The Trojans did defeat heavily favored UCLA, 23-13, to secure their latest Rose Bowl bid, but Hayes got a measure of revenge as Ohio State toppled USC, 42-21.

McKay’s last national championship season started with an inauspicious 22-7 loss at Arkansas, and the Trojans struggled through much of the first half of the season, even tying Cal, 15-15. But once USC got rolling, they weren’t to be stopped, beating Stanford by 24, Washington by 31 and drilling UCLA, 34-9, setting up Troy’s most memorable game ever.

On Nov. 30, 1974, Parseghian’s Irish rushed to a stunning 24-0 second quarter lead over McKay’s Trojans. Anthony Davis scored a TD right before halftime to close the gap to 24-6, and then returned the second-half kickoff 102 yards to make it 24-12. Before there were two minutes elapsed in the fourth quarter, the Trojans led 55-24 — a line score that, to this day, can be found on the back of a USC football T-shirt at the Trojan bookstore.

USC’s shocking 55-24 win against Notre Dame in 1974 was commemorated with a special gatefold cover in Sports Illustrated.

At halftime McKay, humorously and presciently, told his Trojans, “Gentlemen, we’re behind. Now, Davis is going to run back the kickoff for a touchdown and we’ll go from there.” Davis ran back the kickoff and the Trojans went for 49 unanswered points in less than 17 minutes.

After the shocking Trojan triumph, McKay said, “I can’t understand it. I’m gonna sit down tonight and have a beer and think about it. Against Notre Dame? Maybe against Kent State … but Notre Dame?” The game landed Davis and the Trojans on the first-ever fold-out double cover of Sports Illustrated.

But, USC’s comeback abilities weren’t sapped for the 1974 season just yet. In the closing moments, Pat Haden found McKay the younger for a 38-yard touchdown pass to close Ohio State’s lead in the 1975 Rose Bowl to 17-16. One last time, McKay rolled the dice and went for two points and the win. Haden found Sheldon Diggs with a low pass in the back of the end zone to pull out an 18-17 win and a share of the national championship.

After the game, a reporter asked McKay if he’d considered kicking the extra point and settling for a tie. McKay responded, “No, I never even thought about not going for two points. We always play it that way. Always have, always will.” It would be McKay’s last victory in the venerable Pasadena stadium.

The Trojans opened 1975 with a 7-game winning streak, including a 24-17 victory at South Bend, when Ricky Bell gained 165 yards on 40 carries. However, USC wasn’t as strong as its record (only eight starters returned from the 1974 team) and persistent rumors about McKay taking a job (and a $2-million, multi-year contract) with the NFL’s Tampa Bay expansion franchise peaked at midseason.

McKay announced after the Notre Dame game that 1975 would be his final season at USC. After the announcement, the Trojans lost their last four Pac-8 games (Cal, Stanford, Washington, UCLA). The Cal loss was USC’s first Pac-8 defeat since 1971, and the streak was the first time the Trojans had lost so many in a row since 1958.

McKay went out a winner, however, when the Trojans pulled a mild upset in the Liberty Bowl, shutting out Texas A&M, 20-0.

While much of the pro sports world remembers McKay as the sly old coach of a dismal expansion franchise (though McKay did direct the Buccaneers to the NFC Championship Game in 1979, their fourth season), it’s those who follow college football that know the real McKay.

Yes, McKay was a jokester. He was the kind of guy you’d want to sit down and have a beer with. He was the kind of guy you’d feel comfortable stewarding your son through four years of college. He was all of that. And most of all, he was a winner — standing shoulder to shoulder (if not above) his contemporaries like Hayes, Bryant, Parseghian and Michigan’s Bo Schembechler.

It’s been 27 years since he left the University Park campus, and the Trojans are still seeking his replacement. Fight on, coach!

A special thanks in the crafting of this article goes to Mal Florence’s “The Trojan Heritage: A Pictorial History of USC Football.” Published in 1980 by JCP Corp. of Virginia.