Mal Florence (1995) - USC Athletics Hall of Fame

Mal Florence

Induction:
1995

From 1951 until his death in 2003, Mal Florence covered sports in Southern California—including every major sports team, particularly USC football, basketball and track, and every major sporting event, including the Olympic Games--for the Los Angeles Times. But he actually watched his first USC game in 1934. He then enrolled at USC during World War II, where he wrote for the Daily Trojan and even played halfback sparingly for the Trojans in 1946. In 1980, Florence wrote a book about USC's football history, "The Trojan Heritage." His stories were published in the anthology, "Best Sports Stories of the Year." He received several awards for his coverage from the Los Angeles Press Club. He also authored the popular "Morning Briefing" column for the Times' sports section. He died at age 77 on May 16, 2003.