USC’s Bane of Notre Dame, A.D., 1972-74

The mere mention of Anthony Davis’ name brings back treasured memories for most Southern California sports fans.

For Notre Dame fans, it’s more like nightmares.

Davis, who starred at San Fernando High in football, baseball and wrestling, turned the annual Notre Dame-USC game into his personal showcase during a prolific college career. In three games against the Fighting Irish, he scored 11 touchdowns and 68 points, the most by any Notre Dame opponent. His performances in the 1972 and 1974 games solidified his place among the legends of college football.

Davis, or “A.D.” as he was often called, was a sophomore in 1972 when he returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown against Notre Dame. Davis scored six touchdowns in the game, including another on a kickoff return of 96 yards, and USC pounded its rival, 45-23, to remain undefeated.

The Times’ banner headline the following day said it all: “Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis!” USC finished the season with a 12-0 record and the national championship.

In 1974, Davis again almost single-handedly destroyed Notre Dame, scoring four touchdowns and leading USC to one of the greatest comebacks in college history.

Notre Dame had a 24-0 lead when Davis scored with 10 seconds left in the first half. Davis opened the second half with a 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, sparking the Trojans, who scored 49 unanswered points for a stunning 55-24 victory.

“We turned into madmen,” Davis said afterward.

Davis, who set numerous football records at San Fernando High and USC, was also a talented baseball player, a member of two national championship teams at USC. Davis was drafted three times as a baseball player, twice by the Baltimore Orioles and once by the Minnesota Twins.

“There is a great void in my life because I didn’t pursue a baseball career,” Davis told The Times in 1990.

Davis went on to a disappointing and injury-plagued pro football career that included stints in the defunct World Football and United States Football leagues, as well as in the Canadian Football League and the NFL.

After football, Davis pursued an acting career and played in the Senior Professional Baseball League. A father of three, he is now involved in real estate, but the memory of his football heroics are never too far away.

“People come up to me wherever I am--Chicago, New York, wherever--and point and say, ‘Notre Dame.’ They don’t even say my name sometimes,” Davis said, “just, ‘Notre Dame.’ ”