Southern California Sun

Southern California Sun
Established 1974
Folded October 1975
Based in Anaheim, California
Home field Anaheim Stadium
Head coach Tom Fears
General manager Curly Morrison
Owner(s) Larry Hatfield
League World Football League
Division Western
Colours Magenta and orange          
Uniform

The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They were coached by former Rams great and Hall of Famer Tom Fears and owned by trucking magnate Larry Hatfield. The team drew national attention for their (at the time) outlandish magenta and orange uniforms.

Former USC greats Anthony Davis and Pat Haden played for the Sun in 1975 along with former Oakland Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica, also known as the "Mad Bomber."

The Sun won the 1974 Western Division title, but lost their playoff game against The Hawaiians when three of their best players--Kermit Johnson, James McAlister and Booker Brown—sat out the game. The three players were owed back pay, and claimed the missed checks breached their contracts.[1] This episode aside, the Sun were one of the WFL's better-run teams, and at least had the potential to be a viable venture had the WFL been run in a more realistic and financially sensible manner. A year later, they were leading the West when the league folded on October 22, 1975 in midseason.

The 1975 team produced an incident that became famous in Los Angeles-area broadcast history. On a radio broadcast on KABC, Ed "Superfan" Beiler was promoting an upcoming game between the Sun and the San Antonio Wings, which was a road game for the Sun. At the end of his comments, Beiler said, "And of course, the river, what's the name of the river that goes through...the San Antonio River goes right through the heart of downtown Los Angeles." The blooper would be played repeatedly on Jim Healy's radio programs, first on KLAC, then on KMPC (now KSPN).

Schedule and results

Key: Win Loss Bye

1974 regular season [2]

Week Day Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 Wednesday July 10, 1974 at Birmingham Americans L 7–11 53,231
2 Wednesday July 17, 1974 Hawaiians W 38–31 32,018
3 Wednesday July 24, 1974 at Jacksonville Sharks W 21–19 46,780
4 Thursday August 1, 1974 at Memphis Southmen L 15–25 25,175
5 Wednesday August 7, 1974 New York Stars L 8–11 28,174
6 Thursday August 15, 1974 at Houston Texans W 18–7 31,227
7 Wednesday August 21, 1974 at Philadelphia Bell W 31–28 14,600
8 Wednesday August 28, 1974 Portland Storm W 45–15 27,814
9 Monday September 2, 1974 Chicago Fire L 22–32 27,133
10 Friday September 6, 1974 at Detroit Wheels W 10–7 6,351
11 Wednesday September 11, 1974 at Chicago Fire W 31–28 24,837
12 Wednesday September 18, 1974 Detroit Wheels W 29–24 12,169
13 Wednesday September 25, 1974 Jacksonville Sharks W 57–7 22,017
14 Wednesday October 2, 1974 at Portland Storm W 26–22 N/A
15 Thursday October 10, 1974 Shreveport Steamer W 25–23 24,223
16 Thursday October 17, 1974 Birmingham Americans W 29–25 25,247
17 Wednesday October 23, 1974 Philadelphia Bell L 7–45 N/A
18 Wednesday October 30, 1974 at Charlotte Hornets W 34–25 19,436
19 Wednesday November 6, 1974 at Hawaiians L 8–29 13,780
20 Thursday November 14, 1974 Florida Blazers L 24–27 28,213

Playoffs

Game Day Date Opponent Result Attendance
Quarter-finals Wednesday November 20, 1974 Hawaiians L 14–32 11,430

1975 regular season [3]

Week Day Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 Monday August 3, 1975 Portland Thunder W 21–15 14,362
2 Sunday August 9, 1975 at San Antonio Wings L 22–54 21,000
3 Sunday August 16, 1975 at Hawaiians W 37–19 15,862
4 Sunday August 23, 1975 at Birmingham Vulcans W 35–25 32,000
5 Saturday August 29, 1975 Philadelphia Bell W 58–39 17,811
6 Saturday September 6, 1975 at San Antonio Wings L 8–30 10,470
7 Sunday September 14, 1975 Charlotte Hornets L 22–30 13,405
8 Saturday September 20, 1975 at Shreveport Steamer L 29–38 18,777
9 Saturday September 27, 1975 at Charlotte Hornets W 24–17 17,000
10 Sunday October 5, 1975 at Memphis Southmen L 33–37 18,129
11 Sunday October 12, 1975 Shreveport Steamer W 39–30 10,505
12 Sunday October 19, 1975 at Hawaiians W 26–7 15,905

See also

References

  1. ↑ Marshall, Joe. World Bowl in crisis. Sports Illustrated, 1974-12-16.
  2. ↑ "1974 World Football League Game Results". Retrieved 2015-11-11.
  3. ↑ "1975 World Football League Results". Retrieved 2015-11-11.


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