Saturday — October 25, 2025 — marks the one-year anniversary of one of the most iconic plays in MLB history. In Game 1 of the 2024 World Series, Freddie Freeman hit the first ever walk-off grand slam in the Fall Classic to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 6-3 win over the New York Yankees. The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series four games to one, giving the franchise its first championship in a full season since 1988. Did you know that USC football actually has a connection to this legendary hit?
With the Dodgers back in the World Series once again—this time taking on the Toronto Blue Jays—let’s take a look back at the Trojans’ part in one of the most iconic moments in MLB history.
The background
On Friday, October 25, 2024, the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the World Series. First pitch was set for 5 p.m. Pacific Time, with the game televised by Fox.
Following World Series action, Fox was set to air a college football game between USC and Rutgers at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a little over five miles away. The game was schedule to kick off at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.
Extra innings
In Fox’s ideal world, Game 1 of the World Series would have wrapped up just a few minutes before the football game kicked off. However, that is not how things played out, as the Dodgers and Yankees went to extra innings tied at 2. Hence, the start of the football game was bumped to FS1 while the Dodgers and Yankees battled it out in the 10th.
The moment
Of course, we all know how the game ended, with Freeman hitting his heroic walk-off grand slam to win the game for the Dodgers. Fortunately for those trying to watch both games (myself included—more on that later), the moment occurred during a commercial break at the Coliseum, allowing everyone to focus their full attention on Freeman’s heroics.
In the modern age of technology, it did not take very long for news of what happened at Dodger Stadium to reach USC fans at the Coliseum. Hence, in an otherwise forgettable football game, the most memorable moment came during a stoppage of play, with fans reacting to news of the grand slam.
USC football Spanish language broadcaster Harry Ruiz, a massive Dodgers fan and podcast host, shared on social media his reaction from the broadcast both.
The aftermath
The actual football game itself was fairly unceremonious. Miller Moss threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns in what turned out to be his final home game as the USC starting quarterback, and Woody Marks added three touchdowns on the ground. With the victory, the Trojans improved to 4-4 on the 2024 season.
A personal story
For those who do not know, my other job outside of Trojans Wire is with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation. Hence, I was lucky to have the opportunity to work Game 1 of the World Series.
With the baseball game in extra innings, I was standing on the club level of Dodger Stadium for the finish. In addition, I had the start of USC-Rutgers pulled up on my phone and was attempting to watch both games at the same time.
Following Freeman’s grand slam, I spent a good 15-20 minutes in pure shock. After that, however, I hopped on my electric scooter and made it to the Coliseum shortly before halftime. Hence, I am one of a very small handful of people who can say that they attended both games that night.
Postscript
USC does have another Friday night Big Ten game coming up, but it is on November 7. The World Series will be over by then. Also, if the World Series does extend to next Friday, October 31, Game 6 will be in Toronto anyway, so there was never a chance Dodger Stadium and the Coliseum would host games in stacked time slots, as was the case in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football’s link to Freddie Freeman’s World Series walk-off grand slam, one year later
Reporting by Adam Bradford, Trojans Wire / Trojans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
