Timely insights from TrojanWire reader John Staton, Class of ’66:

For the 1965 USC/UCLA football game, my friend Larry Van Horn, class of 1966 came up with the great idea of making FUCLA buttons to be worn at the game. We passed them out until we ran out. The USC Admin went nuts. They were very blue nose in those days. There was this investigation trying to find out who did this horrible thing. Well, WE DID IT and proud of it I might add.

It was something that sort of happened. “fucla” had become an expression among our group as in “oh fucla”. Larry had a big party at his parents home in Atherton CA, Bay Area, for the Northern game that year. Larry brought out a button he had made with “fucla” on it. Everyone loved it. At the party, someone asked if we could get a bunch of them made up. Larry found a shop that would make a bunch of them and box them cheap. Before the game we stood outside of the Coliseum on the USC side handing them out to people, mainly students until we ran out. The next week the USC Administration was looking for those responsible for this “vulgar” stunt. We were a group of undergrads looking to graduate, so we went quite. I do believe someone “contacted” Larry so we promised to be good. This thing did not die, however. In the years that followed we would see new buttons at the game, it now had a life of its own.