This is the latest post for an ongoing media project — SoCal Sports History 101: The Prime Numbers from 00 to 99 that Uniformly, Uniquely and Unapologetically Reveal The Narrative of Our Region’s Athletic Heritage. Pick a number and highlight an athlete — person, place or thing — most obviously connected to it by fame and fortune, someone who isn’t so obvious, and then take a deeper dive into the most interesting story tied to it. It’s a combination of star power, achievement, longevity, notoriety, and, above all, what makes that athlete so Southern California. Quirkiness and notoriety factor in. And it should open itself to more discussion and debate — which is what sports is best at doing.
The most obvious choices for No. 41:
= John Lackey, Anaheim Angels
= Jerry Reuss, Los Angeles Dodgers
= Elden Campbell, Los Angeles Lakers
= Glen Rice, Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers
The not-so-obvious choices for No. 41:
= Glenn Davis, Los Angeles Rams
= Ken Norton Jr., UCLA football
= Jeff Shaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
The most interesting story for No. 41:
Glenn Davis, Los Angeles Rams running back (1950 to 1951)
via Bonita High
Southern California map pinpoints:
Claremont, La Verne, Pomona, Los Angeles Coliseum, La Quinta
Glenn Davis’ 1946 Heisman Trophy sits in the main office at Bonita High School in La Verne, rather unassuming in a glass case, with all sorts of newspaper clippings behind it to help explain what it means. It’s near is the Smudgepot Game Trophy — to some, carrying more importance for bragging rights.
Upon further examination, there’s a small addition made to the plaque that wasn’t on the original when it was presented to Davis, who, at that time, was just the 12th recipient in the award’s history.
The Army tailback had finished as the Heisman runner up as a sophomore and as a junior as the sport kept going on during World War II. At last, “Mr. Outside” had had sole possession of the title of outstanding college football player in the United States as deemed by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City.
Now, in the bottom left corner, Davis may not have known that his high school alma mater added the notation: “Bonita High School 1940-1943.”
To the kid known as the “Claremont Comet,” that mattered. To the school, it was an honor and a matter of pride.
“I don’t think there’s too many high schools in the country with a Heisman Trophy in their possession,” said then Principal Bob Ketterling, who arrived a couple of years after the handoff. “People walk by and do a double-take.”
For historians of high school sports in Southern California, this was validation. Davis was the first Heisman Trophy winner with roots in the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section.
And, eventually, to the Los Angeles Rams, it meant bringing a home-town star back in the spotlight where he would play in two championship games during his only two NFL seasons.
Tom Hoffarth's The Drill: More Farther Off the Wall 