I have a feeling I’m going to get still another column out of the question I asked a couple of weeks ago, when I sought the readers’ choices for their best SoCal sports moments. This one might jog even more memories.
The first impression from the responses to the original question: There’s not much recency bias. There were 20 different moments offered by 14 respondents, and the three that had multiple votes from the public were from 1974, 1987 and 1964. (On the other hand, that amazing 2025 World Series received two separate mentions, but the respondents might have overlooked the most amazing aspect of that Dodgers’ victory, as did I. I’ll explain below.)
To recap, my original five selections:
• Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 walk-off home run that changed the trajectory of the 1988 World Series in the Dodgers’ favor. (Since one other respondent picked that one, I’ll say that one got two votes, as well.)
• Jerry West’s 63-foot shot that sent Game 3 of the Lakers-Knicks NBA Finals into overtime in 1970.
• Alec Martinez’s Stanley Cup-winning goal to end Game 5 of the 2014 Kings-Rangers series in the second overtime.
• Jack Squirek’s sudden pick-six for the then-L.A. Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII just before halftime against Washington in 1984. It might not have been the greatest moment, and it’s a team that’s no longer in town, but for some reason it sticks in this columnist’s memory 42 years later.
• Sandy Koufax winning Game 7 of the 1965 World Series in Minnesota on two days of rest.
And here are the readers’ picks, so far: :
• USC-Notre Dame football, 1974, when Anthony Davis’ 102-yard kickoff return to begin the second half (one of his four touchdowns) sparked a Trojans’ comeback from a 24-6 deficit to a 55-24 victory, a key win on their way to a national championship. (Three votes).
“I was there and never sat down in the second half after Anthony Davis returned the 2nd half kickoff for a touchdown,” Dale Adams of Long Beach wrote, saying he was there and noting that the Coliseum “was rocking” and quarterback Pat Haden and his favorite receiver, J.K. McKay, “were on fire.”
• Magic Johnson’s “junior, junior skyhook” in the waning moments of Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals in Boston Garden, giving the Lakers a key road victory en route to their fourth championship of the “Showtime” era and their second over the Celtics in three years. (Three votes.)
“Sure, the crowd-silencing shot happened at Boston Garden, but what could be better against the Celtics?” wrote Peter Poole of Temecula.
(And it’s worth noting: The moment, or moments, didn’t have to happen here to be considered. They just needed to involve a team or an athlete from this region.)
• Another USC-Notre Dame moment, this one in 1964. Notre Dame came into the Coliseum 9-0 and ranked No. 1, and John Huarte – a former Mater Dei star – was on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. But USC rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit, and Craig Fertig’s touchdown pass to Rod Sherman, on a fourth-down play from the Notre Dame 15-yard line, gave USC a 20-17 victory. (Two votes.)
And gee, isn’t it too bad those particular memories in that particular rivalry aren’t going to be created any more, at least for a while.
So many other moments, and memories, were mentioned by the readers, and maybe that’s part of the magic of sports in general and this region in particular. Those memories tend to stay with us for a lifetime.
Among them:
Bill Walton’s 44-point effort (on 21-of-22 shooting from the field) in UCLA’s championship game victory over Memphis State in 1973. … The Ducks’ run to the Stanley Cup title in 2007. … Derek Fisher’s basket with 0.4 seconds left to win the Lakers a 2004 Western Conference semifinals game in San Antonio. … Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount sinking a free throw left-handed during an NCAA Tournament game in Long Beach in honor of his late friend, Hank Gathers. … The Rams’ Flipper Anderson catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Jim Everett in overtime of a playoff game against the New York Giants in 1989 – and not only did he “take it to the house,” as John Madden said on the telecast, he ran right up the tunnel toward the locker room without stopping.
But wait, there’s more:
The magic that was Fernandomania at the start of the Dodgers’ 1981 season, a phenomenon that was as culturally important as it was from the standpoint of wins and losses. … The night when Roy Campanella, who never played a game in L.A. after a gruesome automobile accident made him a quadriplegic, was honored at an exhibition game against the New York Yankees at the Coliseum in May of 1959. With the lights turned off, many in the crowd of 93,103 held up lighters and lit matches in tribute. … The 1967 Rams-Packers game at the Coliseum, the next-to-last game of the regular season, when linebacker Tony Guillory blocked Donny Anderson’s punt in the final minute, and Roman Gabriel then found Bernie Casey in the end zone for the winning score. The Rams went on to win their division at 11-1-2 and reach the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. …
More Rams moments, of a more recent vintage: Greg Zuerlein’s game-winning field goal in January of 2019 that put them back in the Super Bowl. (We won’t discuss the non-penalty that probably still has New Orleans Saints fans incensed.) … The Rams’ victory on their home turf in Super Bowl LVI, and the Cooper Kupp touchdown catch that turned out to be the margin of victory. … Or this, again from L.A.’s only other Lombardi Trophy winner: Marcus Allen’s 74-yard, change-of-direction touchdown run in the Raiders’ Super Bowl XVIII victory over Washington.
And, of course, all of those Dodgers moments that were submitted:
• Koufax’s perfect game in 1965, which one respondent suggested should have ranked ahead of that Game 7 on two days of rest a month or so later. … Freddie Freeman’s grand slam to end Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the Yankees, so reminiscent of the Gibson homer in ’88 that Joe Davis couldn’t resist referencing it in his call on the Fox broadcast. … And Miguel Rojas coming up with an even bigger thunderbolt in the ninth inning to tie Game 7 on Nov. 1. Davis’ call of this one was even better when he blurted out: “No way!”
“I’m amazed that since the 2025 World Series was played, whenever the topic of greatest home runs hit or greatest sports moments, Miguel Rojas’s Game 7 home run receives so little mention,” reader Bruce Hammond offered. “I mean that game and World Series was over. The Blue Jays would be entering spring training as defending champions, not the Dodgers.”
So true. Without Rojas’ homer there’s no Will Smith game-winning homer in the 11th, nor is there Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s iron man act in the bottom of the 11th to secure the title.
And maybe the latter is what all of us missed in this informal survey. Koufax with an arthritic elbow pitching a complete game on two days’ rest in ’65 was an amazing feat. But Yamamoto had a 1.67 ERA over 32⅓ innings of postseason stress from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, including a pair of complete game victories.
Then, after six innings and 96 pitches in the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory, Yamamoto contributed 34 more pitches over 2⅔ innings in relief the very next night to win Game 7 and earn Series MVP honors.
The Japanese translation of “Bulldog,” by the way, is “Burudoggu.” Which reminds me: None of us mentioned Orel Hershiser’s shutout streak, nor Don Drysdale’s for that matter. In other words, there are a lot more memorable SoCal sports moments to list.
jalexander@scng.com
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The first impression from the responses to the original question: There’s not much recency bias. There were 20 different moments offered by 14 respondents, and the three that had multiple votes from the public were from 1974, 1987 and 1964. (On the other hand, that amazing 2025 World Series received two separate mentions, but the respondents might have overlooked the most amazing aspect of that Dodgers’ victory, as did I. I’ll explain below.)
To recap, my original five selections:
• Kirk Gibson’s Game 1 walk-off home run that changed the trajectory of the 1988 World Series in the Dodgers’ favor. (Since one other respondent picked that one, I’ll say that one got two votes, as well.)
• Jerry West’s 63-foot shot that sent Game 3 of the Lakers-Knicks NBA Finals into overtime in 1970.
• Alec Martinez’s Stanley Cup-winning goal to end Game 5 of the 2014 Kings-Rangers series in the second overtime.
• Jack Squirek’s sudden pick-six for the then-L.A. Raiders in Super Bowl XVIII just before halftime against Washington in 1984. It might not have been the greatest moment, and it’s a team that’s no longer in town, but for some reason it sticks in this columnist’s memory 42 years later.
• Sandy Koufax winning Game 7 of the 1965 World Series in Minnesota on two days of rest.
And here are the readers’ picks, so far: :
• USC-Notre Dame football, 1974, when Anthony Davis’ 102-yard kickoff return to begin the second half (one of his four touchdowns) sparked a Trojans’ comeback from a 24-6 deficit to a 55-24 victory, a key win on their way to a national championship. (Three votes).
“I was there and never sat down in the second half after Anthony Davis returned the 2nd half kickoff for a touchdown,” Dale Adams of Long Beach wrote, saying he was there and noting that the Coliseum “was rocking” and quarterback Pat Haden and his favorite receiver, J.K. McKay, “were on fire.”
• Magic Johnson’s “junior, junior skyhook” in the waning moments of Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals in Boston Garden, giving the Lakers a key road victory en route to their fourth championship of the “Showtime” era and their second over the Celtics in three years. (Three votes.)
“Sure, the crowd-silencing shot happened at Boston Garden, but what could be better against the Celtics?” wrote Peter Poole of Temecula.
(And it’s worth noting: The moment, or moments, didn’t have to happen here to be considered. They just needed to involve a team or an athlete from this region.)
• Another USC-Notre Dame moment, this one in 1964. Notre Dame came into the Coliseum 9-0 and ranked No. 1, and John Huarte – a former Mater Dei star – was on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. But USC rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit, and Craig Fertig’s touchdown pass to Rod Sherman, on a fourth-down play from the Notre Dame 15-yard line, gave USC a 20-17 victory. (Two votes.)
And gee, isn’t it too bad those particular memories in that particular rivalry aren’t going to be created any more, at least for a while.
So many other moments, and memories, were mentioned by the readers, and maybe that’s part of the magic of sports in general and this region in particular. Those memories tend to stay with us for a lifetime.
Among them:
Bill Walton’s 44-point effort (on 21-of-22 shooting from the field) in UCLA’s championship game victory over Memphis State in 1973. … The Ducks’ run to the Stanley Cup title in 2007. … Derek Fisher’s basket with 0.4 seconds left to win the Lakers a 2004 Western Conference semifinals game in San Antonio. … Bo Kimble of Loyola Marymount sinking a free throw left-handed during an NCAA Tournament game in Long Beach in honor of his late friend, Hank Gathers. … The Rams’ Flipper Anderson catching the game-winning touchdown pass from Jim Everett in overtime of a playoff game against the New York Giants in 1989 – and not only did he “take it to the house,” as John Madden said on the telecast, he ran right up the tunnel toward the locker room without stopping.
But wait, there’s more:
The magic that was Fernandomania at the start of the Dodgers’ 1981 season, a phenomenon that was as culturally important as it was from the standpoint of wins and losses. … The night when Roy Campanella, who never played a game in L.A. after a gruesome automobile accident made him a quadriplegic, was honored at an exhibition game against the New York Yankees at the Coliseum in May of 1959. With the lights turned off, many in the crowd of 93,103 held up lighters and lit matches in tribute. … The 1967 Rams-Packers game at the Coliseum, the next-to-last game of the regular season, when linebacker Tony Guillory blocked Donny Anderson’s punt in the final minute, and Roman Gabriel then found Bernie Casey in the end zone for the winning score. The Rams went on to win their division at 11-1-2 and reach the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. …
More Rams moments, of a more recent vintage: Greg Zuerlein’s game-winning field goal in January of 2019 that put them back in the Super Bowl. (We won’t discuss the non-penalty that probably still has New Orleans Saints fans incensed.) … The Rams’ victory on their home turf in Super Bowl LVI, and the Cooper Kupp touchdown catch that turned out to be the margin of victory. … Or this, again from L.A.’s only other Lombardi Trophy winner: Marcus Allen’s 74-yard, change-of-direction touchdown run in the Raiders’ Super Bowl XVIII victory over Washington.
And, of course, all of those Dodgers moments that were submitted:
• Koufax’s perfect game in 1965, which one respondent suggested should have ranked ahead of that Game 7 on two days of rest a month or so later. … Freddie Freeman’s grand slam to end Game 1 of the 2024 World Series against the Yankees, so reminiscent of the Gibson homer in ’88 that Joe Davis couldn’t resist referencing it in his call on the Fox broadcast. … And Miguel Rojas coming up with an even bigger thunderbolt in the ninth inning to tie Game 7 on Nov. 1. Davis’ call of this one was even better when he blurted out: “No way!”
“I’m amazed that since the 2025 World Series was played, whenever the topic of greatest home runs hit or greatest sports moments, Miguel Rojas’s Game 7 home run receives so little mention,” reader Bruce Hammond offered. “I mean that game and World Series was over. The Blue Jays would be entering spring training as defending champions, not the Dodgers.”
So true. Without Rojas’ homer there’s no Will Smith game-winning homer in the 11th, nor is there Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s iron man act in the bottom of the 11th to secure the title.
And maybe the latter is what all of us missed in this informal survey. Koufax with an arthritic elbow pitching a complete game on two days’ rest in ’65 was an amazing feat. But Yamamoto had a 1.67 ERA over 32⅓ innings of postseason stress from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1, including a pair of complete game victories.
Then, after six innings and 96 pitches in the Dodgers’ Game 6 victory, Yamamoto contributed 34 more pitches over 2⅔ innings in relief the very next night to win Game 7 and earn Series MVP honors.
The Japanese translation of “Bulldog,” by the way, is “Burudoggu.” Which reminds me: None of us mentioned Orel Hershiser’s shutout streak, nor Don Drysdale’s for that matter. In other words, there are a lot more memorable SoCal sports moments to list.
jalexander@scng.com
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