Musings from Arledge Solo Edition: Rod McNeill on USC's civil rights heroes
In this episode of Musings from Arledge Solo Edition, I interview Rod McNeill, former USC tailback in the John McKay glory days.
We talk about some of the legendary USC figures of the past who had a dramatic impact on civil rights and what lessons we can draw from their examples. We talk about USC fullback C.R. Roberts, who was the first black player to play against Texas in Austin in 1956. We talk about the difficulties of even playing that game and what Roberts did to make such an impression. We talk about Roberts’ character and impact on later generations of black players at USC. We also talk about Sam Cunningham and his legendary performance against Alabama at Legion Field. Rod was best friends with Sam, was a member of that USC team, and gives a first-hand account of what Sam and that game really mean. And we talk about Brice Taylor, USC’s first black All-American all the way back in 1925. Rod talks about the impact Brice had on the USC players that followed and on Rod himself.
