Many Happy Returns : USC: Anthony Davis is remembered best for his accomplishments against Notre Dame.

Anthony Davis says that a day rarely goes by when someone doesn’t approach him to talk about the games.

Davis, the former USC tailback, is irrevocably linked with Notre Dame and his astounding accomplishments in 1972 and 1974.

“Sometimes people mix up the games,� Davis said. “They say that they remember when I scored six touchdowns against Notre Dame in ’74 and four touchdowns in ’72.�

Davis sets them straight, reversing the order.

All in all, Davis scored 11 touchdowns against Notre Dame from 1972-74 and a two-point conversion. That’s 68 points.

“Why, just the other day a man and his son came up to me and the father said, ‘I’ll never forget the Notre Dame game (1974) when you (USC) were down, 24-6, and came back to win, 55-24.’

“Then he turned to his son, who is about 20 years old, and said, ‘I was carrying you in my arms that day. I almost lost you, I was so excited.’ �

Davis said he has also talked with people who were leaving the Coliseum at halftime and, when they heard a roar, hurriedly tried to get back to their seats.

That crowd roar is still ringing in Davis’ ears. It was incited by his 102-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to start the second half.

And that touchdown precipitated one of the most amazing comebacks in college football history.

The Trojans scored 35 points in the third quarter against the nation’s No. 1 defensive team.

In less than 17 minutes of the second half, USC scored 49 points.

Davis, who had scored on a short swing pass from quarterback Pat Haden just before halftime, got three more touchdowns in the third quarter.

Haden passed for 18 and 35 yards to John McKay, the coach’s son, for two more touchdowns.

The onslaught continued early into the fourth quarter as Shelton Diggs caught a 16-yard scoring pass from Haden and USC safety Charles Phillips returned an interception 58 yards to a touchdown.

When the game was over, Davis said, “We turned into madmen.�

Davis is 38 now. He is involved in real estate and is resuming his athletic career as an outfielder with the San Bernardino team of the Senior Professional Baseball League.

“I hadn’t picked up a bat in 15 years,� said Davis, who was an outfielder on two national championship teams at USC. “I was out of shape.�

But he got back into shape by working out at USC and he says he has lost 28 pounds, down to 208.

In his athletic prime, the 5-foot 9-inch Davis weighed 190. He has long legs for his size and he almost strutted as he ran, celebrating almost every touchdown with a knee dance in the end zone.

The Senior League season starts Friday in Florida, but Davis won’t join the San Bernardino team until Sunday. He will be at the Coliseum Saturday for the USC-Notre Dame game, working as a commentator on ABC-TV’s postgame show.

Davis holds the NCAA record for most touchdowns on kickoff returns, six, and realizes it is in jeopardy. Notre Dame’s Raghib (Rocket) Ismail has five touchdowns on kickoff returns with another season of eligibility.

“It would be fitting for him to do it,� Davis said. “I would rather he would do it than someone else.�

Davis senses that the record belongs in the USC-Notre Dame series. And as he watches the game, there are bound to be memories . . .

In 1972, Davis hadn’t become a starter until the last three games, replacing Rod McNeill, who hadn’t recovered sufficiently from a hip injury. But he introduced himself to Notre Dame dramatically, returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.

He scored five more touchdowns, one of them on a kickoff return of 96 yards, as the Trojans won, 45-23. Then they won the national championship by beating Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, 42-17.

The Times banner headline the after the Notre Dame game said it all in its simplicity: “Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis, Davis!�

Only a sophomore at the time, Davis said he didn’t really appreciate the significance of the rivalry.

“I was just a kid from San Fernando,� he said. “I walked into the locker room and Sam Cunningham, Pat Haden, John McKay and Edesel Garrison were all nervous. ‘We’re playing Notre Dame,’ they said. I said, ‘So what. If we can beat UCLA, we can beat them. Big deal.’ �

Davis soon learned of the legacy.

When USC played Notre Dame at South Bend, Ind., in 1973, the Irish student body taped his pictures on the sidewalks, so they could walk on him. And Davis was hung in effigy, life size.

One sign even pleaded for divine assistance: “Our Father Who Art in Heaven, Don’t Let Anthony Davis Score Seven.�

Davis got a touchdown, but he didn’t return any kickoff beyond his 35-yard line as the Irish penned him in with long, low kicks.

Not only did the Irish win, 23-14, but they snapped a 23-game USC unbeaten streak on their way to the national championship.

So the battle lines were drawn for the rematch on Nov. 30, 1974. USC went into the game with an 8-1-1 record. Notre Dame was 8-1.

The Trojans were seemingly a beaten team at halftime, trailing, 24-6.

Davis described the scene in the dressing room:

“Coach McKay was not a rah-rah guy. He was a strategist, a riverboat gambler. He didn’t show emotion, but he was boiling inside.

“He said, ‘Gentleman, we’re not playing too well. We have to make something happen. In 1964 we were down, 17-0, to Notre Dame and if that team can come back and win, 20-17, so we can we.’

“In the first half, Notre Dame hadn’t kicked the ball to me. But McKay said they were going to kick off to me and I was going to bring it back a long way.

“I looked at Richard Wood and he looked at me and we said, ‘This man has lost his mind,’ � Davis recalled.

“Then, I’m walking out of the locker room and I’m about 50 yards ahead of the Notre Dame team and somebody yelled out, ‘We’re going to kick the ball to Davis and we’re going to kick his (butt).’

“And I thought, ‘How did McKay know this? To this day I think about it.’ �

Despite his four touchdowns against Notre Dame on national television, Davis was still runner-up to Ohio State’s Archie Griffin in the Heisman Trophy balloting. Many voters had returned their ballots before the USC-Notre Dame game because of a tight deadline.

Davis reflects on that lost opportunity for lasting fame and on a disappointing pro career.

He was a second-round draft choice of the New York Jets, but chose to play with the Southern California Sun of the World Football League.

He had an outstanding rookie season, but the league folded. Then he played for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League but quit after one season when the club tried to convert him to a receiver.

Davis then joined McKay, who was by then coaching at Tampa Bay, but Davis was soon traded to Houston, where he broke his leg twice in the same season.

The Rams signed him as a free agent in 1979, but he never played a down. His last venture in pro football was a virtually inactive season with the L.A. Express of the United States Football League after he had been retired for four years.

“I was the first to play in four professional leagues,� Davis said wistfully.

He won’t be remembered for his pro football career, but as Davis makes his way through the crowd at Saturday’s game, it’s almost a certainty that someone will stop him and say, “Aren’t you Anthony Davis, the guy who scored 11 touchdowns against Notre Dame?�

Bet on it.