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Photos Courtesy of Los Angeles Times Books Tommy Trojan and Joe Bruin.

75 years of combat

Crosstown rivalry

by anne buRKE
ucla today Staff

If you attended UCLA, work at UCLA or know and/or love someone who has any feelings whatsoever for UCLA, there’s one thing that you must know above all else. And with Dec. 4 coming up, now’s a good time to remind ourselves of what that one thing is: You must scorn USC and all things Trojan.

The crosstown rivalry between Joe Bruin and Tommy Trojan is one of the most intense in college sports. But how did it get started and what’s it all about?

UCLA's Gennifer Arranaga and USC's Ebony Hoffman.

For a little edification on the subject, we’ll refer you to a new book that spells it out. “UCLA vs. USC: 75 Years of the Best Rivalry in Sports” (Los Angeles Times Books, 2004), written by Times reporter Lonnie White, features the photographs on this page and chronicles this most heated of collegiate pairings from its start in the 1920s to the new millennium.

The book includes forwards from Coach John Wooden and UCLA sports stars Rafer Johnson and Bill Walton. “The Trojans,” Walton writes, “represented the devil. Whenever UCLA defeated USC, that meant everything was right in the universe.”

So, with just 11 days to go before UCLA and USC meet again on the Rose Bowl gridiron, keep in mind the immortal words of legendary Bruin football coach Red Sanders: “Beating ’SC is not a matter of life and death. It’s more important than that.”

Competition beyond the gridiron:

Heisman Trophy winner Charles White appears to drag a Bruin as he scampers for a touchdown.

The big game’s coming up on Dec. 4, and no matter what’s on the line — national championship hopes, prestigious bowl games or plain old bragging rights — the fierce intensity of the UCLA-USC rivalry climaxes during football season. But that doesn’t mean the rivalry is limited to football. Competition rages in all sports, and the Lexus Gauntlet, an online college sports site, keeps tabs on all the head-to-head matches between the Bruins and Trojans.

USC's Angela Williams edges out UCLA's Shakedia Jones in 2001.

So far this year, UCLA is ahead, 20 points to 15. Then there is the annual flag football game between the staffs of the Daily Bruin and Daily Trojan (the Blood Bowl), and the Big Game Blood Drive, which pits Bruins against Trojans in a worthy contest to see who can collect the most blood. One long-standing tradition, a flag football game between the UCLA and USC marching bands, got particularly nasty a few years ago when $35,000 worth of band equipment was stolen from UCLA’s trucks on the USC campus. Most of the equipment was later recovered, and the Trojan band paid for replacements. “We don’t host the Band Bowl anymore,” said Jennifer Judkins, UCLA’s assistant director of bands. “Too many problems.” Check out “Beat ’SC” week activities at: www.UCLAlumni.net/BeatSC.

— Wendy Soderburg