Given the fact that George Edmonston Jr., the editor of E-clips and the Oregon Stater, will soon be retiring, he will close out his involvement with E-clips by sharing a list of the 20 historical events he considers to be the most important in school history. He'll cover one event each week.

#16 The 1933 Ironmen

The score on the scoreboard still echoes in the memories of many Beaver
faithful: Oregon State Agricultural College 0, USC 0. The date: Oct. 21, 1933. The place: Portland's old Multnomah Stadium (now PGE Park), where 21,500 fans watched the scoreless struggle. Although not a victory in the strictest sense, the story of this game best symbolizes (to this writer) the spirit of toughness and school pride Beaver athletes have demonstrated since athletic competition was first introduced to the campus in 1883.

Howard Jones' Southern California Trojans had entered the game as the best college football team in the country, sporting back-to-back national championships and a 25-game winning streak. Their starting lineup gleamed with All-Americans, their offense a veritable "thundering herd" of destruction.

The Iron Man defense made USC fight for every yard. Photo from The Beaver, 1934

First year Beaver coach Lon Stiner, enjoying a 4-0-1 record, carried but 37 players to Portland, compared to over 80 for Jones. Ignoring a saying the nation's coaching fraternity repeated often--to beat USC, you must have "backups for your backups"--Stiner played but 11 men the entire 60 minutes, a fact which gives this special Pac-10 showdown its historic place in the lore of college football. This seemingly innocent tie remains the only time in NCAA history in which a No.1-ranked, defending national champion has been upended by an opponent using no substitutes. Thus, they became forever Oregon State's "Iron Immortals," or "Ironmen." With each singing of the OSU Fight Song, a part of which reads, "watch our team go tearing down the field, those of iron their strength will never yield," Beaver Believers are reminded of that remarkable day so long ago when OSU stood toe-to-toe with the best and refused to go down.

The last survivor of that immortal 11, right guard Bill Tomsheck of Corvallis, was asked in a 2003 interview if any of his teammates, the ones who had watched from the bench, had ever showed any jealousy toward those who played. Said Tomsheck: "No. We were in the dressing room and they came over and helped us undress. I guess they felt we needed a little help. I've never been that tired in my life."

In 1988, Bill and the rest of his 36 teammates were inducted as a unit into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame. Tomsheck passed away in 2004.