Trojans Have Trouble With the Military

A few years ago, longtime USC football partisan Rod Renner was being needled about reading only the sports section during football seasons, never the front news section.

“Listen,” he said. “When I see that the Great Lakes Naval Air Station is ranked in the top 10, I’ll know I’d better take a look at Part 1.”

That’s how it was during World War II, when athletes joined everyone else in answering the call to military service. Military bases were loading up, and many of them had football teams--very good football teams.

In 1943, USC had one of its better football teams. The Trojans went 8-2--with seven shutouts--and beat Washington in the Rose Bowl, 29-0.

Three of USC’s games were against military teams. The Trojans beat St. Mary’s Pre-Flight, 13-0; but lost to the San Diego Navy, 10-7, and to March Field, 35-0.

The March Field game was 56 years ago today, before 30,000 at the Coliseum.

March Field was loaded with NFL players, including quarterback Jack Jacobs, who’d played at Oklahoma before playing the 1942 season with the Cleveland Rams. He would play five more NFL seasons after the war.

Running back Sal “Tank” Rosato, was a 230-pound fullback out of Villanova who would play three seasons with the Washington Redskins after the war. Hank Norberg, from Stanford, was a two-way end who played in both the All America Conference and the NFL after the war.

Needless to say, a very good USC team had its head handed to it. It was 26-0 at halftime. Jacobs passed for three touchdowns in the second quarter and scored the game’s last touchdown himself in the final period.

March Field had 311 net yards, USC 114.

Also on this date: In 1970, Anthony Davis had 326 yards in total offense and scored four touchdowns--one on a 90-yard run--as his San Fernando High team beat Granada Hills, 40-15, and clinched the Mid-Valley League championship.