Improbable Kicker Delivers for Trojans

Gulp. That had to be his reaction, when USC Coach Jess Hill told backup quarterback Ellis Kissinger to go kick a field goal to help beat UCLA.

Major problem here. Kissinger, filling in for an injured kicker, had never kicked a field goal before. Not even in high school.

USC, holding a 7-0 lead early in the fourth quarter, had a fourth and eight at the UCLA 10-yard line.

And so 43 years ago at the Coliseum, the 21-year-old Kissinger, from York, Pa., booted a line drive that barely cleared the line of scrimmage and then the crossbar, wobbling all the way.

The Trojans, as it turned out, needed Kissinger’s kick. UCLA’s Pat Pinkston blocked Ernie Zampese’s punt in the fourth quarter to give UCLA the ball at USC’s 42. Stu Farber, four plays later, scored from one yard out and the conversion made it 10-7.

Both sides had big days from their standouts.

UCLA’s Don Shinnick, from San Pedro and on his way to a 13-season career with the Baltimore Colts, was a major force at linebacker.

USC running back C.R. Roberts, on a day when USC threw only six passes, was the leader of a ground game in which Hill used all his running backs. Roberts had 102 yards in 23 carries and nine other backs accounted for 198 yards.

The Trojans’ only touchdown came in the third quarter on a pitch to Roberts, who then caught UCLA’s secondary napping with a 14-yard pass to Hillard Hill in the end zone.

For UCLA Coach Red Sanders, it was his first Coliseum defeat after 21 consecutive victories.

USC, ineligible for the Rose Bowl, finished its season the next weekend with a 28-20 win over Paul Hornung and Notre Dame at the Coliseum and finished 8-2. UCLA finished 7-3.

Also on this date: In 1960, at Boston Garden, the Philadelphia Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain pulled down 55 rebounds, still the NBA record. But the Boston Celtics, led by Bill Russell, won, 132-129. . . . In 1990, Ty Detmer of Brigham Young passed for 560 yards and five touchdowns, setting an NCAA record for yards passing in a season in a 45-10 victory over Utah State. . . . In 1996, Karrie Webb, capping a sensational rookie year, won the season-ending LPGA Tour Championship to become the first player in tour history to earn more than $1 million in a season.