Several years after Sam “Bam” Cunningham helped an integrated USC football team whup an all-white Alabama team in 1970, Cunningham traveled to Montgomery, Ala., for a golf tournament.
The locals wanted to talk about the game.
“I remember when you scored 250 yards and scored four touchdowns!” they said.
Cunningham was confused.
“Was that the same game I played in?” Cunningham said.
In the 46 years between that matchup and a rematch on Saturday in Arlington, Texas, the 1970 game has only grown in the retelling. It has now assumed almost mythic status.