Southern_California_Sun
Southern California Sun
Defunct American football team
The Southern California Sun were an American football team based in 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.
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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.[1] 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.