May 12, 2011

William C. "Mickey" Anderson, who was a member of USC national championship football and track teams and was on a Trojan world record-setting sprint relay team, died on April 26 in Orange County. He was 93.

He was a 4-year (1937-38, 40-41) letterwinning quarterback and fullback on the Trojan football team. He was on the 1938 national championship squad that upset previously unbeaten and unscored-upon Duke in the 1939 Rose Bowl. He scored touchdowns against Stanford, Ohio State and Notre Dame in 1938.

He also was a sprinter on 3 USC track teams (1938-40) that won NCAA titles each year. In 1938 at the West Coast Relays in Fresno, Calif., he ran the second leg on a USC 440-yard relay quartet that set a world record (40.5). He captained the 1940 Trojans. He placed fourth in the 100-yard dash at the 1939 and 1940 NCAA meet (he was sixth in 1938) and he was third in the 220-yard dash in the 1940 NCAA meet. USC went 13-0 in dual meets during his time. While at USC, he trained for the 1940 Olympics, which were cancelled because of World War II.

He came to USC from then-Muir Tech in Pasadena, Calif., where he was the California state 100-yard dash champion in 1936.

After USC, he was in the Army for 4 years before becoming a coach and teacher. As a football coach, he was the junior varsity head coach at Pasadena City College in 1947, the head coach at Pasadena High in 1948, an assistant coach at Pasadena CC from 1949 to 1953 and then was the head coach at Pasadena CC from 1954 through 1956 before returning to the assistant ranks there for several decades. He also was an assistant at Cal State Los Angeles in the early 1970s. While coaching football, he also coached track at Pasadena CC and Pasadena High before retiring in 1980. He taught at PCC for 35 years.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Sue, sons Mike, Chris, Rich and Peter, 4 grandchildren and a great grandchild.

Services are pending.