By Bill O’Neill
(Downey High, Class
of 1952)
Through the years, Downey’s high schools have produced
many star athletes and some memorable teams. But the great, shining moment in the city’s sports history
took place on Dec. 14, 1956, when undefeated football teams representing Downey
and Anaheim met in a CIF championship game in the Los Angeles Coliseum that is
still talked about, 52 years later.
The buildup to that game drew national attention and was like
nothing Southern California has seen, before or since. It was front page news, drawing more
notice and stirring more attention and debate than the area’s college or
professional teams. Each team
featured a running back (Randy Meadows, of Downey; and Mickey Flynn, of
Anaheim) with staggering statistics and personal charisma to match. Meadows averaged 15 yards each time he
touched the ball during the regular season and the playoffs, while Flynn, a
quirky runner who could change directions in the blink of an eye, was virtually
unstoppable.
The game itself took place on a cool, eerie night, with
fog so thick spectators couldn’t see across the field. The official paid attendance was
41,383; but with all of the printed tickets sold and thousands of people still
lined up at the turnstiles fifteen minutes after the game was due to start,
officials threw open the gates and welcomed them in. Unofficially, the crowd probably totaled upward of 60,000; and thousands more might have shown up,
had the night been less foggy.
The two star running backs lived up to their press
clippings: Flynn scored on a
62-yard run in the first quarter, and Meadows answered with a 68-yard dash two
minutes later. The teams battled
on even terms, up and down the Coliseum turf, with the game ending, quite
fittingly, in a 13-13 tie.
Fifty-three years later, the game is still remembered by
many as “The Greatest High School Football Game Ever Played”—and, to followers
of Viking athletics over the years, as Downey’s Great, Shining Moment.
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