Tag: sports

Nos. 68 and 86: Mike and Marlin McKeever

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This post is part of a media project called 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 consider the list of athletes attached to it. Who wore it best? Or, what’s the most compelling story linked to it? Any person, place or thing is in play with Southern California connections. Star power, transformational achievement, longevity, notoriety and quirkiness all factor in. Whatever leads to a lively discussion and interpretation.

The most obvious choices for No. 68:

Keith Van Horn, USC football
Mike McKeever, USC football
Frank Cornish, UCLA football
Ross Stripling, Los Angeles Dodgers

The most obvious choices for No. 86:

Marlin McKeever, USC football, Los Angeles Rams
Jack Bighead, Pepperdine football; Los Angeles Rams


The most interesting story for No. 68 and No. 86:
Mike McKeever, USC football offensive and defensive guard (1957 to 1960) via Mount Carmel High
Marlin McKeever, USC football offensive and defensive end / fullback / punter (1957 to 1960); Los Angeles Rams tight end / linebacker (1961 to 1966, 1971 to 1972) via Mount Carmel High

Southern California map pinpoints:
South Los Angeles, the Coliseum, Montebello, Long Beach

So it was during a blizzard on New Year’s Day 1940, in hospitals on the plains in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when Marlin arrived first. Mike followed 10 minutes later.

The thing is, their parents were told by the doctor to only expect a girl. Just one at that.

“They already named her — Mary Ann I believe,” Mike McKeever told Grouch Marx with a chuckle in March of 1961 as he and Marlin, along with their new brides, Judy and Susie, were at NBC TV Studios in Hollywood for a filming of what was then called “The Groucho Show,” an offshoot of the more famous title “You Bet Your Life.”

Groucho took a puff of his cigar, sized up the pair of crew-cut, 6-foot-1 and 225-pounders, and remarked: “Imagine getting all set for a baby girl named Mary Ann and suddenly these two show up.”

They had just finished as USC All-Americans, and when the 1960 season ended, they had a double-ring wedding ceremony at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in L.A., just blocks away from the USC campus. Later that month, they were both drafted by the Los Angeles Rams.

Groucho was fascinated with how their parents actually told the two apart. Marlin said it was by writing their names in Mercurochrome on their stomachs.

“How do you know they weren’t confused?” Groucho asked. “How do you know they didn’t paint the wrong name?”

Mike spoke up: “I’ve thought about that — it’s pretty depressing so I don’t think about it too much.”

“He can’t think too much,” Marlin added. “That’s the problem.”

Suddenly, they were the Smothers Brothers.

At one point, Marlin’s wife, Suzie, told Groucho that she had kept a scrapbook of all the twins’ achievements during their USC days. A stuffed duck looking like Grouch dropped down from the ceiling to fanfare. She had said the secret word — book.

When George Fenneman doled $50 each to the men to split the $100 prize, they handed it over to their wives. They didn’t have to think twice about that.

The background

From a Life magazine 1959 profile on the McKeever twins at USC.

The McKeevers were most definitely the biggest men on campus at Mount Carmel High in South L.A. from 1953 to ’57.

The all-boys Catholic school took over 70th Street between Hoover and Vermont, just 20 years old at the time. The Carmelite Order that would later found Crespi High in Encino made sports an integral part of its curriculum to attract students.

Continue reading “Nos. 68 and 86: Mike and Marlin McKeever” →

No. 34: Fernando Valenzuela

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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. 34:

= Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers
= Shaquille O’Neal, Los Angeles Lakers
= Bo Jackson, Los Angeles Raiders

The not-so-obvious choices for No. 34:

= David Greenwood, Verbum Dei High and UCLA basketball
= Nick Adenhart, Los Angeles Angels
= Paul Pierce, Inglewood High, Los Angeles Clippers
= Paul Cameron, UCLA football

The most interesting story for No. 34:
Fernando Valenzuela, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher (1980 to 1990)
Southern California map pinpoints:
Dodger Stadium, East L.A., Boyle Heights, Los Feliz, La Canada-Flintridge

On November 1, 2024 — the first of the annual two-day celebration of Dia de la Muertos, a Latino-cultural event where family and friends gathering to pay respects to those close to them who have died — Fernando Valenzuela would have turned 64 years old.

But since Valenzuela had quietly passed away just nine days earlier from a bout with liver cancer, it made that special observance, and the powerful nature of that tradition, all more poignant.

Valenzuela’s death two days before the Los Angeles Dodgers started the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees promoted the team to wear No. 34 patches on their shoulder in his honor.

When November 1 rolled around, the Dodgers were celebrating a five-game championship series victory, riding double-deck buses through the city. Many players, and fans, wore the familiar Valenzuela 34 jersey.

Also on that fall day, artist Robert Vargas finished the first of a three-panel project on the side of the Boyle Hotel, facing the First Street on-ramp to Interstate 101 in Boyle Heights. The multifaceted image of Valenzuela seemed to make him come to life again.

Scores of ofrendas popped up up at the base of site, as well as near the freeway and the street. Same at Dodger Stadium and the roads leading into it.

Visiting the mural site almost became going to a religious shrine.

The experience ignited vivid memories of 1981, when fans of all backgrounds swarmed on Dodger Stadium to witness the then-20-year-old from Mexico who only spoke Spanish do things never seen before on a Major League Baseball diamond. Words, in any language, couldn’t describe it.

Especially, as this was happening on the site that once was a dilapidating housing complex for low-income Latino families who unceremoniously were evicted in the late ’50s when the City of L.A. gave the property to the Dodgers to build upon.

At the Vargas mural site, the drone of cars passing by on the freeway provided a constant soundtrack. It was broken up each day Vargas did the mural by a mariachi band, which came from nearby Mariachi Plaza, performed each day at 4 p.m. to give the artistic process a blessing.

“It’s about unity and representation and bringing different cultures together, which Fernando is still doing as we speak,” Vargas told reporters who called him off the scaffolding for interviews.

Boyle Heights born-and-raised, Vargas had, a few months earlier, depicted his vision of newest Dodger star Shohei Ohtani on the side of the Miyako Hotel in Little Tokyo. It was just a mile West of this Valenzuela site, across the bridge that spanned the Los Angeles River. The murals could now serve as cultural touchstones of the city.

As the mural inspired by “Fermandomania” was named “Fernandomania Forever, finished up by early November. To Vargas, and most others who ever saw him play, it reflects an inate feeling that Valenzuela will live forever in the minds of those who still talk about his feats in excited, as well as reverent, tones.

Continue reading “No. 34: Fernando Valenzuela” →

No. 36: Roy Gleason

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This post is part of a media project called 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 consider the list of athletes attached to it. Who wore it best? Or, what’s the most compelling story linked to it? Any person, place or thing is in play with Southern California connections. Star power, transformational achievement, longevity, notoriety and quirkiness all factor in. Whatever leads to a lively discussion and interpretation.

The most obvious choices for No. 36:

Bo Belinsky: Los Angeles Angels
Don Newcombe: Los Angeles Dodgers
Jered Weaver: Long Beach State, Los Angeles Angels, via Simi Valley High
Jeff Weaver: Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angels Angels, via Simi Valley High

The not-so-obvious choices for No. 36:

Frank Robinson: Los Angeles Dodgers
Jerome Bettis: Los Angeles Rams
Fernando Valenzuela: California Angels
Greg Maddux: Los Angeles Dodgers

The most interesting story for No. 36:
Roy Gleason: Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder (1963) via Garden Grove High
Southern California map pinpoints:
Garden Grove, Los Angeles (Dodger Stadium)

Reference books on the subject:
“Lost in the Sun: Roy Gleason’s Odyssey from the Outfield to the Battlefield,” by Roy Gleason as told to Wally Wasniak and Mark Langill, 2005

Roy Gleason looks at a replacement of the 1963 World Champion ring he was given by the Los Angeles Dodgers during a ceremony at Dodger Stadium, with manager Jim Tracy, before a game on Sept. 20, 2003. Gleason’s career was cut short by the Vietnam War, where Gleason received a Purple Heart and other decorations but never returned to baseball. The original ring was lost in Vietnam. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Roy Gleason made into eight games with the Los Angeles Dodgers during a September, 1963 callup, but the first seven were just for pinch-running duties. His one at bat, an eighth-inning stand-up double against Philadelphia against left-hander Dennis Bennett at Dodger Stadium, is documented in a box score. The 20-year-old hit a low inside fastball down the left field line.

That was it for the 6-foot-4, switch hitting Garden Grove High product who signed a $55,000 bonus baby contract in 1961. He had turned down a contract with the Boston Red Sox even after Ted Williams personally recruited him. But the Dodgers were concerned he was too much into the L.A. nightlife and wasn’t dedicated enough at that point.

The team was preparing for another trip to the World Series, eventually sweeping the New York Yankees in four straight. Gleason would be given a ’63 World Series ring for his contribution.

But he’d never play in the big league again. Especially after a trip to Vietnam.

He may have been a Dodger. But he wasn’t a draft dodger, even if it made no sense to him why the Army would come looking for him in 1967.

Continue reading “No. 36: Roy Gleason” →

No. 71: John Ferraro

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This post is part of a media project called 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 consider the list of athletes attached to it. Who wore it best? Or, what’s the most compelling story linked to it? Any person, place or thing is in play with Southern California connections. Star power, transformational achievement, longevity, notoriety and quirkiness all factor in. Whatever leads to a lively discussion and interpretation.

The most obvious choices for No. 71:

Brad Budde: USC football
Tony Boselli: USC football
Kris Farris: UCLA football
Joe Scibelli: Los Angeles Rams

The not-so-obvious choices for No. 71:
John Ferraro: USC football
Randy Meadows: Downey High football

The most interesting story for No. 71:
John Ferraro: USC football offensive lineman (1943-1944, 1946-1947)
Southern California map pinpoints:
Cudahy, L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles City Hall

For two bits, college football fans who got their hands on the 1946 Street & Smith’s Football Pictorial Yearbook got their money’s worth alone from John Ferraro’s fierce million-dollar glare.

A small caption off his right shoulder that reads “FERRARO U.S.C.” gives the only hint of who we see. Inside, the table of contents lists his full name appears along with the photographer who made special use of a new film material called Kodachrome.

As a USC All-American tackle in ’43 and ’44, coming back to play after military duty during World War II in 1945, Ferraro was among some of the game’s greats at the time in history. Army’s Glenn Davis, “Mr. Outside” out of Bonita High in La Verne, just finished second in the Heisman Trophy in ’44 and ’45. Teammate Doc Blanchard, “Mr. Inside,” won the Heisman in ’45.

Yet for this cover, the publishers picked Ferraro.

“If any tackle in this land of ours has ever played better ball, he must be Superman and Hercules rolled into one,” Braven Dyer bravely once wrote for Los Angeles Times in 1944 after Ferraro pushed the Trojans to a 28-21 victory at the Coliseum over the San Diego Naval Training Station Bluejackets. “When Big John goes to work, he’s dynamite.”

Hyperbole aside, the quip holds true today. Any Los Angeles civic leader tenacious enough to accomplish something for the good of the town, they can measure themselves up against John Ferraro, a Rose Bowl legend and U.S. Navy vet rolled into one, who starting a heritage of USC standout linemen who sported the No. 71 and became a legendary political figure that helped shape the dreams of the city.

Continue reading “No. 71: John Ferraro” →

No. 52: Keith Wilkes / Jamaal Wilkes

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This post is part of a media project called 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 consider the list of athletes attached to it. Who wore it best? Or, what’s the most compelling story linked to it? Any person, place or thing is in play with Southern California connections. Star power, transformational achievement, longevity, notoriety and quirkiness all factor in. Whatever leads to a lively discussion and interpretation.

The most obvious choices for No. 52:

Keith Wilkes: UCLA basketball
Jamaal Wilkes: Los Angeles Lakers/Clippers
Marv Goux: USC football
Jack Del Rio: USC football
Khalil Mack: Los Angeles Chargers

The not-so-obvious choices for No. 52:

Happy Hairston: Los Angeles Lakers
Burr Baldwin: Los Angeles Dons
Eddie Piatkowski: Los Anglees Clippers

The most interesting story for No. 52:
Keith Wilkes: UCLA basketball forward (1971-72 to 1973-74)
Jamaal Wilkes: Los Angeles Lakers forward (1977-78 to 1984-85); Los Angeles Clippers forward (1985-86)
Southern California map pinpoints:
Santa Barbara; Westwood (UCLA); Inglewood (Forum)

Reference books on the subject:
“Jamaal Wilkes: Memoirs of the Original Smooth as Silk,” with Edward Reynolds Davis Jr., 2015

Jerry West, James Worthy, Jamaal Wilkes, Elgin Baylor, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar pose during the jersey retirement ceremony of Jamaal Wilkes at Staples Center on December 28, 2012 (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Before he was Jamaal, he was Keith. And before that, Jackie.

Before he was smooth as “Silk,” he was a little corny as  “Cornbread.”

Two weeks before Keith Wilkes’ UCLA No. 52 was retired at Pauley Pavilion in January 2013, Jamaal Wilkes’ Lakers’ No. 52 was put up on the wall at Crypto.com Arena in December of 2012. It’s understandable that the No. 52 he wore for the Clippers in the waning days before his retirement from the NBA wasn’t put in the rafters.

Eighteen years before he was inducted into Springfield’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012, he was already assigned a spot in Westwood’s UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.

For the most part, it was his poetic ability to master a deadly side-winding shot that looked as if he was flyfishing, and resulted in Lakers broadcaster Chick Hearn referring to it as another “20-foot layup.”

Continue reading “No. 52: Keith Wilkes / Jamaal Wilkes” →