Established 1974 General manager Curly Morrison League World Football League Folded October 1975 Date founded 1974 | Based in Anaheim, California Owner(s) Larry Hatfield Division Western Head coach Tom Fears Home field Angel Stadium | |
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Location Anaheim, California, United States | ||
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based out of Anaheim, California that played in the World Football League in 1974 and 1975. Their records were 13-7 in 1974 and 7-5 in 1975. Their home stadium was Anaheim Stadium. They were coached by former Rams great and Hall of Famer Tom Fears and owned by trucking magnate Larry Hatfield. The team drew national attention for their (at the time) outlandish magenta and orange uniforms.
Former USC greats Anthony Davis and Pat Haden played for the Sun in 1975 along with former Oakland Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica, also known as the "Mad Bomber."
The Sun won the 1974 Western Division title, but lost their playoff game against The Hawaiians when three of their best players--Kermit Johnson, James McAlister and Booker Brown—sat out the game. The three players were owed back pay, and claimed the missed checks breached their contracts. This episode aside, the Sun were one of the WFL's better-run teams, and at least had the potential to be a viable venture had the WFL been run in a more realistic and financially sensible manner. A year later, they were leading the West when the league folded on October 22, 1975 in midseason.
The 1975 team produced an incident that became famous in Los Angeles-area broadcast history. On a radio broadcast on KABC, Ed "Superfan" Beiler was promoting an upcoming game between the Sun and the San Antonio Wings, which was a road game for the Sun. At the end of his comments, Beiler said, "And of course, the river, what's the name of the river that goes through...the San Antonio River goes right through the heart of downtown Los Angeles." The blooper would be played repeatedly on Jim Healy's radio programs, first on KLAC, then on KMPC (now KSPN).
