Finer-Reed Family of Bruins

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To say that Tony Reed ’85 is from a family of Bruin fans is like saying, to keep the analogy in the family, that John Wooden’s teams won a lot of basketball games.

“The way we have always looked at it,” Reed said, “is there's family, then there's UCLA, then just beneath that is an utter hatred to the core for anything USC, and then there's everything else below that!”

When asked if he was joking about this level of disdain for the school across town, Reed said, “Uh, not really!” with a smile.  OK, so maybe he’s exaggerating, but this four-generation-deep, multiple-relationship-wide family of UCLA alums is very serious about its love of UCLA, with, as best Reed can determine, at least 15 graduates to its credit, dating back to Reed’s grandfather, Jack Finer ’29, who earned a B.A. in economics as a member of the first graduating class at the Westwood campus.  Finer, according to Reed, “was involved in every group, every organization” at UCLA and the 1929 yearbook nearly bears this out, listing as his UCLA activities: Kap and Bells; University Dramatic Society; Commerce Club; Menorah; Men's Glee Club; Dramatic Board Representative; Hippolytus; The Masqueraders; Minute Man; Hall Manager; Bruin Luncheon Club; Blue 'n Gold Luncheon Club; International Luncheon Club; Orchestra; Chair Manager; Choral Club; Greek Drama; and Shakespearean Play.

“It's a legacy that we're immensely proud of,” Reed said. “It's very meaningful to us.  UCLA is truly the greatest passion of our lives and more.

“We're huge sports fans, but it extends beyond that,” Reed said. “I always felt the education that I got at UCLA was very well rounded. You got exposed to a lot of different ideas and different ways of thinking, and that kind of mindset just stays with you throughout your life. Your parents teach you to appreciate things in life, and the types of things to strive for and be open towards, but when you're at a place like UCLA which really emphasizes all that, it just really drives it home.”

For decades, the family has been known among the Bruin faithful for its unwavering support of UCLA athletics, which was passed down to Tony by his father, Alan Reed Jr. ’58 (B.A., theater arts) and his mother, Jackie (Finer) Reed ’58 (B.A., economics), and to the latest generation in the person of Tony’s son, Michael ’16 (B.A., communications), who was exposed to the life of a Bruin sports fan at an early age.

“Our son was born in November of ’93,” Tony Reed said. “In January of ‘94, when he was all of six weeks old, we took him to his first game, which was a sold-out game at Pauley against - at the time - the #1 team, Arizona. And we beat them. It was maybe as loud as Pauley has ever been.

“And wow, his ears may still be damaged,” Reed joked.

Not to be outdone, Michael’s sister, Kristie, shattered the family record for earliest attendance at a major UCLA sports event.

“Our daughter was born in September of ’96, and she attended her first football game at two and a half weeks,” Reed said. “My wife [Angela, not an alum, but a passionate UCLA sports fan and former longtime UCLA staffer] is nursing her, and we have these ladies behind us saying, ‘Should you really be bringing a child that young?’ It's like, yes, she's just fine. Don't worry.”

Tony attended many games with his parents and grandfather, including football games across town in the pre-Rose Bowl days.

“I definitely remember going to the Coliseum as a child and we would always hold our noses as we would walk by the ’SC campus. It was one of the little silly things that we were taught.”

When he became a student, Tony, his best friend, George Geldin ’85 (B.A, English) and other friends would camp out for days to get the best seats for games at Pauley.  At some point it became a given – and, in the eyes of his fellow students, nearly an entitlement – that the best seats would go to these dedicated superfans.

“We spent countless nights sleeping out outside of Pauley Pavilion – you would do that so that you would have a priority of getting in the stadium. You were first in line. You'd run in the stadium and get the seat - front row of half court. But by our senior year, whether we were the first in line, or the 10^th, or 20^th, no one would take our seats because they knew that we had earned it.”

Early in his student days, in 1982, a historic football game provided an indelible memory.

“USC was on probation that year – not shocking – but we were playing for a Rose Bowl berth,” Reed remembered.  “The big game was the final game of the season for ‘SC, since they were bowl ineligible, but in addition to our Rose Bowl hopes, it was also our first season playing at the Rose Bowl, so it was the first USC game in that series at that great stadium.”

“And it came down to the final drive. We were up by a touchdown. As time ran out, ’SC scored a touchdown to cut it to one. There was no overtime back then and [Trojan coach John] Robinson decided to go for a two-point conversion.  And as Scott Tinsley took the snap, Karl Morgan broke through the line and drove him to the ground for a sack that shook Pasadena.  Just absolute bedlam. And, to this day, it's one of the best memories ever.”

Tony Reed’s non-sports interaction with UCLA actually started well before his student days: as a kindergartener he was evaluated by a UCLA psychologist to determine if he should skip first grade and go directly to second.

“About a month ago, I came across the report that this psychologist wrote to the principal at my elementary school, Carpenter Avenue Elementary School, with an evaluation of what he found.  And it was just such a cool thing to see my name associated with a UCLA psychologist at such a young age.”

It was determined that the bright youngster should indeed receive that promotion. Later, at UCLA, Reed would himself major in psychology.

In addition to his direct ancestors and son, others in Reed’s family who attended UCLA include an aunt, Judith (Finer) Cohen ’67 (B.A., art); an uncle, David Finer ’61 (B.S., business administration); an uncle, Edward Cohen ’65, M.D. (B.A., English); a cousin, Jennifer Cohen, M.D. ’98; and an uncle’s first cousins, Jack Schwartzman ’56 (B.S., business administration), J.D. ’59, and Leonard Schwartzman ’58 (B.A., zoology), M.D. ’62; as well as Beatrice (Post) Turner (a grandmother’s sister) and Irma Cohen (an uncle’s sister).

One of those UCLA family members, whom Tony would not name, also attended USC for a time.  He excused it with a laugh and said, “Hey, it’s OK, we all make mistakes at some point.”