Football | October 10, 2018

Former USC quarterback Dean Schneider, the Trojans' 1951 co-captain who as a fourth string sophomore led Troy to a victory over UCLA in 1949, died on Oct. 5 in Montecito, Calif.  He was 89.
 
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Oct. 16 at All Saints-by-the-Sea Church, 83 Eucalyptus Ln., Santa Barbara, Calif. 93108.  In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Casa Dorinda (300 Hot Springs Rd., Santa Barbara 93108) or to Hospice of Santa Barbara (2050 Alameda Padre Serra #100, Santa Barbara 93103).
 
With quarterbacks Jim Powers, Wilbur Robertson and Frank Gifford all out with injuries, USC head coach Jeff Cravath called upon the left-handed Schneider—who had never taken a snap in a game and had almost quit the team earlier in the year—to start the 1949 UCLA game.  Schneider threw 2 touchdown passes as USC won 21-7, scoring twice in the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie. 
 
Schneider co-captained the 1951 Trojans, who won their first 7 games of the season under new coach Jess Hill, including ending top-ranked California's 38-game regular season undefeated streak.
 
Schneider, who came to USC from Dorsey High in Los Angeles after turning down a music scholarship to Princeton, lettered for the Trojans for 3 years (1949-50-51).  As a 1951 senior, he led USC in both passing (throwing for 606 yards) and receiving (13 catches with a TD).  He played mainly on defense as a 1950 junior, getting 2 interceptions.  He also played baseball at USC in 1952.
 
He was drafted in the 22^nd round of the 1952 NFL Draft by the New York Yanks, but instead joined the Air Force.  Afterwards, he was a part-time actor in movies, helped run his family's surgical supply business and then became a stockbroker.
 
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Joan, and his 3 daughters, Kim Evans, Vicki Hough (Lachlan) and Mindy El-Saden (Dhiya), as well as 13 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.