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”
