The greatness of Anthony Munoz is unquestioned, the enormity of his football career impossible to ignore. His performance in the 1980 Rose Bowl for USC against Ohio State is the stuff of legend. Yet, as big an imprint as Munoz has made on the sport of football, one reality coexists with all of that. It doesn’t overshadow what Munoz achieved — far from it — but it is striking nonetheless:
Munoz, at USC, played UCLA and Notre Dame only one time.
That’s right. It seems impossible, but it happened.
Munoz got injured in the 1976, 1978, and 1979 seasons — three of his four years with the Trojans — and missed the UCLA and Notre Dame games each of those years.
The Anthony Munoz story is so much greater as a result of the perseverance which carried him through these times of trial.
It says so much about Munoz that after three knee surgeries, he kept battling back and became the Hall of Fame player who commands such respect and admiration today. It also says a lot about those USC teams in the late 1970s. They were able to absorb injuries to an elite offensive lineman in three different seasons and yet still win conference and national championships plus three Rose Bowls.
Listen to Munoz discuss the pain and the determination which marked his continuous battles with knee injuries at USC. He joined Tim Prangley and Rick Anaya on Trojan Conquest Live on June 4. Trojan Conquest Live airs Sundays at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific, at The Voice of College Football.
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