Early History of the USC Trojans Football Program

Few college football programs can boast as many legendary players, coaches, and games as the University of Southern Cal. Its tradition and history run back quite a ways.

The University of Southern California football program began in 1888, just eight years after the small Methodist institution opened its doors in Los Angeles. What is now one of college football’s most decorated dynasties started as a scrappy, student-organized club operating without a budget, formal uniforms, or a dedicated stadium.

The 1888 Founding and First Game

In the autumn of 1888, USC quarterback Arthur Carroll took the initiative to assemble the university’s first football squad. Resources were so scarce that Carroll personally sewed canvas pants for his teammates—foreshadowing his eventual career as a tailor in Riverside, California. Because few colleges in Southern California fielded teams at the time, USC scheduled local athletic clubs.

USC played its inaugural game on November 14, 1888, on campus against the Alliance Athletic Club. Under the scoring rules of the era—where touchdowns counted for four points and conversions for two—USC shut out Alliance, 16–0. Two months later, on January 19, 1889, USC defeated Alliance again, 4–0, on a vacant lot in downtown Los Angeles, finishing its debut season undefeated. Later that fall, the squad faced its first collegiate opponent, thrashing St. Vincent’s College (now Loyola Marymount University) 40–0. Financial strain and student apathy temporarily halted the program in 1890, though it returned permanently in 1891.

Origin of the “Trojans” Nickname

For more than two decades, USC athletic teams were informally known as the Methodists or Wesleyans, reflecting the school’s religious affiliation—monikers that university officials disliked. The “Trojans” nickname was born on February 24, 1912, courtesy of Los Angeles Times sports editor Owen R. Bird.

At the time, USC was enduring severe financial constraints and athletic growing pains, having temporarily dropped American football between 1911 and 1913 to play rugby alongside Stanford and California. Previewing a track meet against Occidental College, Bird dubbed the underdog USC athletes “Trojans”. He later explained that, because the athletes, coaches, and managers labored under tremendous handicaps against larger, better-equipped rivals, the name captured their spirit of fighting on against overwhelming odds. Athletic Director Warren Bovard promptly approved the moniker, making it official.

Early Coaches and Pioneers

USC’s earliest squads relied on playing coaches and unpaid volunteers:

• Henry H. Goddard and Frank H. Suffel (1888): Served as playing coaches for the inaugural 2–0 team. Goddard later became a renowned psychologist.
• Lewis R. Freeman (1897): Became the first non-playing head coach, guiding USC to a 5–1 record.
• Dean Cromwell (1909–1910, 1916–1918): Best known as USC’s legendary track and field coach (“Maker of Champions”), Cromwell also coached football during two stints, compiling a 21–8–6 record and helping transition the program back from rugby to football.
• Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson (1919–1924): Put USC on the national map, posting a 45–7 record, leading the school into the Pacific Coast Conference in 1922, and winning USC’s first Rose Bowl (14–3 over Penn State) in 1923.
• Howard Jones (1925–1940): Known as “The Headman,” Jones turned USC into a national powerhouse, capturing four national championships and five Rose Bowl victories with his dominant single-wing offense.

Early Stars

As USC moved into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in 1923 and began competing nationally, its first wave of iconic players emerged:

• Brice Taylor: A one-handed offensive guard who became USC’s first consensus All-American in 1925, anchoring the line under both Henderson and Jones.
• Morley Drury: Dubbed “The Noblest Trojan of Them All,” Drury was an All-American quarterback/halfback who became USC’s first 1,000-yard rusher in 1927 (1,163 yards).
• Mort Kaer: A versatile All-American back in 1926 who starred alongside Drury.
• Marion Morrison: A starting offensive tackle in 1925 and 1926 whose career was cut short by a bodysurfing injury—leading him to Hollywood, where he became world-famous as John Wayne.

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