The 1959 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

(USC) in the

1959 NCAA University Division football season The 1959 NCAA University Division football season saw Syracuse University crowned as the national champion by both final polls, the AP writers poll and the UPI coaches polls. A major rule change widened the goal posts from to . This width re ...

. In their third year under head coach Don Clark, the Trojans compiled an 8–2 record (3–1 against conference opponents), finished in a tie for the

Athletic Association of Western Universities The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 195 to 90. Total attendance for all 10 games was 453,865. Ben Charles led the team in passing with 20 of 46 passes completed for 843 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Jerry Traynham led the team in rushing with 123 carries for 583 yards and two touchdowns. Luther Hayes was the leading receiver with nine catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns. This was the first season for the five-team AAWU, following the dissolution of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

in the spring. It comprised the four teams from state of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. The other four teams from the north (

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

) were

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for several seasons.

Schedule

* Pittsburgh and Ohio State games were played on Friday night, Notre Dame on Thursday (

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

)

Players

Al Bansavage Albert Anthony Bansavage (January 9, 1938 – August 19, 2003) was an American football linebacker who played in the American Football League. High school career Bansavage prepped at Union Hill High School in Union City, New Jersey. College ca ...

, guard, 6'2", 220 pounds, Union City, California * Mike Bundra, tackle, 6'2", 232 pounds, Catasaugua, Pennsylvania * Ben Charles, quarterback * Angelo Coia, halfback, 6'2", 195 pounds, Philadelphia * Jim Conroy, fullback, 6'0", 197 pounds, Baldwin Park, California * Dan Ficca, tackle, 6'1", 230 pounds, Atlas, Pennsylvania * Garry Finneran, tackle, 6'2", 219 pounds, Cathedral * Lynn Gaskill, halfback, 6'0", 175 pounds, Banning, California * Luther Hayes, end, 6'4", 198 pounds, San Diego, California * Clark Holden, fullback, 5'10", 195 pounds, Marshall, California * Bob Levingston, halfback, 6'0", 185 pounds, Los Angeles *

Marv Marinovich Marvin Jack Marinovich (August 6, 1939 — December 3, 2020) was an American college and professional football player who became a strength and conditioning coach. He played college football as a two-way lineman for the USC Trojans and was ...

, tackle, 6'3", 220 pounds, Watsonville, California *

Marlin McKeever Marlin Thomas McKeever (January 1, 1940 – October 27, 2006) was an American football defensive end, Fullback (American football), fullback and Punter (American football), punter at the University of Southern California (USC) and a tight end an ...

, end, 6'1", 215 pounds, Mt. Carmel, California * Mike McKeever, 6'1", 215 pounds, guard, Mt. Carmel, California * Roger Mietz, guard, 5'10", 206 pounds, San Leandro, California *

Ron Mix Ronald Jack Mix (born March 10, 1938) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle. He is a member of the American Football League (AFL) All-Time Team, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 19 ...

, tackle, 6'3", 215, Hawthorne, California * Dave Morgan, center, 6'4", 204 pounds, Natick, Massachusetts * Al Prukop, quarterback, 6'1", 181 pounds, Mt. Carmel (led the team with 405 minutes played) * Jerry Traynham, halfback, 5'10", 180 pounds, Woodland, California * Jack Treier, center, 6'3", 208 pounds, Lancaster, Pennsylvania * George Van Vliet, 6'2", 195 pounds, end, Whittier, California * Glenn Wilder, 6'0", 181 pounds, end, Van Nuys, California * Britt Williams, guard, 6'1", 210 pounds, Walnut Creek, California *

Willie Wood William Vernell Wood Sr. (December 23, 1936February 3, 2020) was an American professional football player and coach. He played as a safety with the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL). Wood was an eight-time Pro Bowler an ...

, quarterback, 5'9", 170 pounds, Washington, D.C.

Coaching staff

* Head coach: Don Clark * Assistant coaches:

Ray George Raymond Edward George (January 7, 1918 – January 12, 1995) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the De ...

Al Davis Allen Davis (July 4, 1929 – October 8, 2011) was an American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in ...

Mel Hein Melvin Jack Hein (August 22, 1909 – January 31, 1992), sometimes known as "Old Indestructible", was an American football player and coach. In the era of one-platoon football, he played as a center (then a position on both offense and defense) ...

Marv Goux Marv may refer to: Initialism *Maneuverable reentry vehicle (MARV), a type of missile warhead *Marburg virus (MARV), a virus of humans and non-human primates *M.A.R.V., otherwise known as the Mammoth Armed Reclamation Vehicle, a fictional tank fro ...

Jim Sears James Herbert "Jimmy" Sears (March 20, 1931January 4, 2002) was a professional American football defensive back/ halfback in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). High school career Sears prepped at Inglewoo ...

, John McKay * Manager: Bob Lambeth

References

{{Pac-12 Conference football champions

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

USC Trojans football seasons Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 Con ...