OSU
Sports History Minute - September 29, 2000
Part
2 of 10: After the Cheering Stopped.
This Saturday, here on campus, OSU and USC will
meet for the 64th time in football, in a series
that dates back to 1914.
In all these years, Oregon State has won seven times.
Yes, seven times. There have been four ties and
one of these, played Oct. 21, 1933, at Portland's
historic Multnomah Stadium, remains among the most
memorable games ever played in Oregon.
Using but 11 players the full 60 minutes, Oregon
State College (as OSU was known then) held two-time
defending national champion and No. 1-ranked USC
to a scoreless tie, thus ending the nation's longest
winning streak at 25.
It is believed this is the only time in NCAA history
that a defending national champion and No. 1-ranked
school was toppled from the ranks by a team using
only 11 men the entire game.
The young men who played that day are known to us
now, most affectionately, as the "Iron Men," although
the name first used to describe what they did on
that hazy October day 67 years ago was "Iron Immortals,"
penned by sports writer L.H. Gregory in his Oregonian
sports column the day after the game.
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Top
of page: The 1933 Iron Men of Oregon State.
Above: Pierre Bowman, Hal Joslin, Red Franklin
and Hal Pangle.
Left: Look closely at the players' faces
and body language in this shot of an unidentified
OSC player stopping USC's Homer Griffith.
Below: The Iron Man defense made USC fight
for every yard.
All photos from The Beaver, 1934.
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Of the 11, only one remains, Bill Tomsheck of Corvallis
(see special reunion notice in this edition of E-Clips).
So, what became of the other 10 "Iron Immortals?"
Here's a summary, listed in the order in which they
died:
1. Back...Norman Clifford
"Red" Franklin: A franchise player who
did it all for Lon Stiner's "Iron Immortals." Had
a career year in '33. First-team All America. Majored
in education. Was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
In Dec., 1937, became co-owner of a service station
in Corvallis, later moving to Lacomb, Oregon. Died
May, 1947.
2. Tackle...Harry Montague
Field: From Hawaii. Majored in business
administration. Became head football coach at Punahou
Academy in Honolulu. In 1963 was elected to the Hawaii
state senate. Died on May 23, 1964.
3. Back...Harold James
Pangle: Education major. Professional football
player, Chicago Cardinals, 1935-37. Spent most of
his career in the military, rising to the rank of
Lt. Col. Was Assistant Chief of Staff of the Japan
Logistical Command in the early 1950s. Dies of a heart
attack in Costa Mesa, Calif., Dec. 31, 1967.
4. Guard...Vernon Elsworth
Wedin: Majored in education and became
a teacher. Was a member of Alpha Tau Omega social
fraternity. Taught at Newberg High in Newberg, Ore.,
until 1939, moving to Chehalis, Wash., in 1940 to
teach and coach. He remained there until his death
Feb. 28, 1971.
5. Tackle...Adolf J.
"Tar" Schwammel: Franchise player. First-team
All-American. Education major and member of Phi Delta
Theta. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Played for the Green Bay Packers in 1936, then moved
to Porterville, Calif., to enter the clothing business.
In 1940, took a job with the Coca Cola company in
San Francisco. Then moved to Hillsboro after the war
as co-owner of H.A. Dryer Co., a company selling Quonset
buildings. Lived in Honolulu for last 31 years of
his life, retiring as a Tupperware distributor. Died
Nov. 18, 1979 in Honolulu.
6. End...Charles Woodrow
"Woody" Joslin: Majored in education. His
house was Sigma Nu. Originally from Spokane, Wash.,
were he returned after graduation. Occupation unknown.
Moved to Corvallis and then becomes owner of a beverage
distribution (Nehi) company in Coos Bay. Died May
14, 1983, in North Bend, Ore.
7. Back...Harold W.
Joslin: Majored in education. In 1940 was
an employee of the Columbia Steel Company in Redding,
Calif. No other career information available through
historic records of the Alumni Association. Died three
days after his brother Woody on May 17, 1983, in Marin
County, Calif.
8. End...Vic Curtin:
Another education major. Became one of the best-known
detectives with the Portland Police Department for
29 years. Stationed mostly with the East Precinct.
Retired as security supervisor for Northwest Textbook
Repository in Portland. Died 12/17/87.
9. Tackle...Clyde Devine:
At six feet, six inches tall, Devine was the "centerpiece"
of Lon Stiner's Pyramid Play, used twice during the
1933 season to block extra points and field goals
and later outlawed by the NCAA, making Oregon State's
Ironmen the only team in college football history
to attempt the play in a real game situation. He became
a professional swimming and diving coach for most
of his life, both at Stanford University (where he
was diving coach) and in private business. He was
a high school coach and teacher for 40 years and gave
private swimming and diving lessons in Reno during
his retirement. For three years he was on the coaching
staff at Nevada-Reno. He died of cancer on June 22,
1990.
10. Back...James Pierre
Bowman: A native of Hawaii, he worked as
Industrial Relations Director for the Kohala Sugar
Company. Born in Hilo, Hawaii on June 19, 1909, and
attended the Kamehameha Schools and the Punahou School
before enrolling at OSC. He died on Feb. 6, 1995 at
Kapaau, Hawaii. He was 85.
11. Guard...William
"Bill" Tomsheck: The last surviving Ironman.
Lives in Corvallis. Worked the majority of his career
for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in various
locations throughout the West. A native of Illinois.
Speaks fluent German. Still has a handshake that will
put you to your knees and make your eyes water.
--George
Edmonston, Jr.
For more information on the 1933 contest, read the
story Iron
Immortals: 1933 Beavers withstood test of time,
which appeared earlier this week in the Corvallis
Gazette-Times.
(The Gazette-Times account was also written by George
Edmonston, Jr.) |
