Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Dick Corrick Football Scrapbook and Programs, 1954-1957
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Corrick, Dick.
- Title
- Dick Corrick Football Scrapbook and Programs
- Dates
- 1954-1957 (inclusive)19541957
1956 (bulk)19561956 - Quantity
- 0.25 cubic feet, including 5 photographs, (1 oversize box)
- Collection Number
- MSS Corrick
- Summary
- The Dick Corrick Football Scrapbook and Programs consist of an oversized scrapbook and a set of official game programs that primarily document the Oregon State College Beavers' 1956 football season. Corrick was a co-captain on that team, which won the Pacific Coast Conference championship and participated in the Rose Bowl football game on New Year's Day, 1957.
- Repository
-
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
This collection is open for use.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The 1956 Oregon State College Beavers, fondly referred to at the time as "The Black Bandits of Benton County," surprised many by claiming the 1956 Pacific Coast Conference championship and playing the University of Iowa in the Rose Bowl football game on January 1, 1957. Just two years removed from a 1-8 season that included a 66-0 loss to UCLA, the Beavers, led by second-year head coach Tommy Prothro, compiled a regular season record of 7-2-1 (5-1-1 in conference) in earning a trip to the Rose Bowl for only the second time in school history.
The 1956 team's statistical leaders included top scorers Paul Berry, Joe Francis, Earnel Durden, and Paul Lowe. Tackle John Witte was also awarded consensus All American honors following the season. Notable wins included victories at Missouri, versus UCLA, and at Washington. OSC tied Oregon in the annual Civil War game, lost in conference to USC, and lost out of conference to Iowa on two occasions - once in the pre-season (13-14) and again at the end of the year in the Rose Bowl (19-35). The 1957 match-up marked the first time in Rose Bowl history that two teams played one another for the second time in a given season. The Beavers finished the 1956 campaign ranked number 10 by the Associated Press and number 13 by the United Press International.
Dick Corrick was born in Ottumwa, Iowa in 1934, raised in La Jolla, California, and attended Oregon State College from 1953-1957, majoring in Education. A two-year letterman in football and a team co-captain during his senior season, Corrick was an undersized center and linebacker who was frequently commented upon by journalists as being perhaps the smallest offensive lineman in the country. Though playing at a weight of 161 pounds, Corrick started at center while a senior, helping lead OSC to a conference championship and Rose Bowl berth that year.
Following his graduation from Oregon State, Corrick built a career as a football coach, scout and administrator, coaching at Riverside City College, Iowa State University and Arizona State University before moving into the National Football League with the Green Bay Packers. Originally hired as a scout, Corrick later headed the Packers' personnel department, serving in this capacity from 1978 to 1989. He spent an additional eleven years as a talent evaluator for the Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons organizations before retiring in 2001. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 74.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The oversized scrapbook held in this collection consists of fifty-eight disbound leaves with newspaper clippings and a small number of photographs (5) mounted on either side. The earliest clippings date to 1954-1955 and document the OSC football team's annual Spring intrasquad scrimmage, a 61-0 loss to UCLA, the resignation of head coach Kip Taylor and his staff, and the hiring of Tommy Prothro as Taylor's replacement.
The vast majority of the scrapbook is devoted to the 1956 OSC football season and includes both regional and national coverage of the Beavers' improbable run to the Rose Bowl. Included among the clippings are season previews as well as an assemblage of game previews, game stories, and game analyses. The scrapbook also features stories on the community excitement that surrounded the Beavers' march towards a PCC title; the celebration that ensued once OSC had clinched a Rose Bowl berth; team activities prior to the Rose Bowl game; opinion pieces written in anticipation of the Rose Bowl game; and analyses of the actual game itself, which OSC lost to Iowa by a score of 35-19.
Likewise included in the scrapbook are multiple profile articles probing some of the notable personalities on the 1956 OSC team, most prominent among them being head coach Tommy Prothro. Other individuals highlighted in the newspaper clippings include star players Earnel Durden, Paul Lowe and John Witte, and also Dick Corrick, a co-captain and starter at center who was repeatedly described as being perhaps the smallest offensive lineman in the country that year. Of particular note is a newspaper photograph showing Corrick creating the scrapbook that is described in this finding aid.
The collection also includes a complete set of eleven official game programs that have been spiral bound together. Each program contains the roster and photos of the two teams competing; individual and team statistics; a narrative of the season as it had unfolded to that point; information on the schools being represented by each team; and background on the rules of football.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Dick Corrick Football Scrapbook and Programs (MSS Corrick), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University Libraries.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The Corrick scrapbook was constructed in rough chronological order and this order has been maintained. The official game programs were spiral bound in chronological order.
Acquisition Information
The Dick Corrick Football Scrapbook and Programs were transferred to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center by the OSU Athletic Department in 2015.
Related Materials
Oregon State College's participation in the 1942 Rose Bowl is documented in three scrapbook collections: the Rose Bowl Football Game Scrapbooks (MSS RoseBowl), the Rose Bowl Game Scrapbook (MSS RoseBowlPanagis), and the Doris P. Adamson Scrapbook (MSS Adamson). Materials related to OSC's participation in the 1957 Rose Bowl game are held in the Oregon State University Memorabilia Collection (MSS MC) and the Ted Mesang Collection (MSS Mesang).
The history of football at Oregon State is detailed in a great many SCARC collections, including the Intercollegiate Athletics Records (RG 007); the Football Photograph Collection (P 004); the Sports Media Guides (PUB 054); and the Intercollegiate Athletics Moving Images (FV 031).
Preservation Note
Many of the clippings originally pasted into the Corrick scrapbook have loosened over time and are susceptible to damage. Handling and scanning access may be limited accordingly.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Football coaches--Oregon--Corvallis.
- Football players--Oregon--Corvallis.
- Football--Oregon--Corvallis.
Personal Names
- Prothro, Tommy.
Corporate Names
- Rose Bowl (Football game)
Form or Genre Terms
- Photographic prints.
- Scrapbooks.
Finding Aid Authors: Chris Petersen.
2017
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
