U.C.L.A.vs U.S. C. 1937

Hold the Press. Was I on Schindler's List? 

 I just returned  to the Beverly Hills Library. In my finished book, Schindler, A Trojan Legend, I wrote that Amby did not suit up for the 1937 game in South Bend against the Irish. He had a cartledge tear. 
  He was not on the traveling squad due to a  knee injury suffered in the Oregon Game.  He had told me that he needed to leave U.S.C.'s last game of the season due to his knee joint. 

 I had taken the #16 bus from Fifth and Grand in downtown L.A. I had needed to take flash drive pictures of the Trojans from 1936-1939, It was inside the Los Angeles' Downtown library that I jumped out of my shoes and saw an article about the outcome of the Trojan and Bruin game. 
   "George, I needed to get to the tunnel before the final gun sounded. We were way-up on those Bruins but then I heard the roar of the Coliseum crowd. I turned around and saw that dam 'gunslinger Washington had tied the game with a flick of his wrist and the tying touchdown. Well, I picked up my crutches and returned to the bench.  of the Bruins. But then I heard the roar of the crow, I picked up my crutches and returned to our bench."
    News accounts from 1937 Daily News, my favorite as a kid, made Schindler a-look-a-like-to Clark Kent's twin Superman. I will paraphrase the Daily News written version of this tale. 
   Like he told me, his knee had been severely compromised during an earlier game verses the Oregon Ducks. He had scored three touchdowns in that game and was helped off the field. Coach Jones threw him back. That was the end of his cartridge.
    Braven Dyer, in the Los Angeles Times, wrote that "As U.S.C. goes the Trojans go! Dyer's job was to shadow the Trojans every day, whether on the train or Bovard Field. The Trojans were his beat and like  Lee Bastajian there was something about Schindler that made for good copy-it may just have been his piss and vinegar.   Now with the game tied, Clark Kent threw away his crutches and entered the fray with a few minutes remaining. On one good leg, he slammed and bullied his way through those Bruins. He scored the deciding touchdown. Schindler was voted  the player of the U.C.L.A. game the year before in 1936. 
   Lee Bastajian also wrote that "Limping slightly, Amby took over the helm with four minutes remaining. Packing the ball on nearly every play,he carried the Troy team 56 yards in 10 plays to the score...."
   "The great Troy quarterback trotted off the the field and into the player's tunnel amid one of the greatest ovations ever accorded a Trojan player."
       His buddy from San Diego High had taken over the reins while Jones told Schindler to take a hike. When he finally left the game, he got a standing ovation from the crowd for his colossal effort. Could it be he now wore his crutches. The Schindler Story might not be as good as the one about his good friend, Luis Zamperini, but it just may come pretty close. Schindler, like his buddy Luis, was Unbroken.
    So bad his knee, he had it operated on and stayed out of the 1938 season. ( Visited his Torrance home yesterday, the 20th. He still is alive at 97.)

  I will be previewing the book along with a few minutes with DVD footage of the 1936 miracle game against the Irish. You can reach me at chicagoallstar@gmail.com. To my knowledge, we are both alive. I will be checking in on him this weekend.