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Track and Field Photograph Collection, 1900 - circa 1960

Overview of the Collection

Title
Track and Field Photograph Collection
Dates
1900 - circa 1960 (inclusive)
1920-1945 (bulk)
Quantity
0.15 cubic foot, including 158 photographs, (1 box)
Collection Number
P 010
Summary
The Track and Field Photograph Collection depicts track and field and cross country athletes from Oregon State University and other schools participating in athletic events such as long jump (formerly known as the broad jump), high jump, pole vault, discus and shot put, hurdles, and other races and events. The majority of the images depict meets during the 1920s. The track and field program began at Oregon Agricultural College in 1896.
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

Collection is open for research.

Languages
English
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Historical Note

The track and field program began at Oregon Agricultural College in 1896 and claimed its first state title in 1903. Starting in 1913, track meets and practices were held at Bell Field which was also home to Beaver football. The field was named in honor of John Richmond Newton Bell, a local Presbyterian minister active in the school’s athletics boosters. Bell Field was demolished in 1973.

In 1921, the OAC track team made its first appearance at the NCAA championship where they placed 20th; the first individual NCAA champion was OSC pole vaulter Lyle Dickey in 1952. The track and field programs experienced a sort of golden age from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s when Bernie Wagner coached the men’s team. During these years Dick Fosbury, inventor of the Fosbury Flop, won gold in the high jump at the 1968 Olympics held in Mexico City. In 1975, women’s track and field became a varsity sport, producing athletes such as Jodie Huntley, a champion high jumper, long jumper, and two-time bronze medalist in the 1984 Olympics.

Coach Wagner departed from OSU in 1975 and then, due at least in part to financial difficulty, all track and field and cross country programs were dropped at the end of the 1987-88 academic year. After an almost twenty-year hiatus, women’s cross country and track distance events started again in 2004. In 2012, the Whyte Track and Field Center was opened with the intent of bringing back the men’s and women’s track and field teams.

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Content Description

The Track and Field Photograph Collection consists of images depicting Oregon State University track and field athletes and events. These include hurdles and high hurdles, high jump, pole vault, discus and shot put, and other races and events. The collection also contains images of training exercises as well as photos of the track team (1900, circa 1920, and 1943) and cross country team (circa 1920). The collection also includes several images of high school athletes as well as athletes from the Universities of Oregon and Washington participating in meets held at Bell Field.

The collection consists primarily of photographic prints; most are photographic postcards or snapshots. Several professionally-made photographs are part of the collection. The collection includes 32 4x5 film negatives and 1 5x7 film negative. Many of the negatives are publicity or promotional shots of individual track athletes. Several of the photographs were made by Hise Studio. One image was made by Sydney Trask.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Track and Field Photograph Collection (P 010), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Track and Field Photograph Collection consists of one series: I. Track and Field Photographs, 1900 - circa 1960. All of the images have been assigned item numbers.

Acquisition Information

The photographs were acquired by the Archives in the 1960s.

Related Materials

Additional photographs of track and field teams and events are available in Harriet's collection as well as the Jerry D. Belcher Collection of Oregon Agricultural College Track Photographs (P 128), Dale Story Scrapbook, and Berny Wagner Scrapbooks. Cross country photographs can be found within the Intercollegiate Athletics Photograph Collection (P 031). The Memorabilia Collection contains extensive documentation on track and field and cross country as well as high jumper Dick Fosbury. More information about track and field and cross country is also available in the Sports Media Guides (PUB 054).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Cross-country running--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Hurdling (Track and field)--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Student activities--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Track and field athletes--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
  • Oregon Agricultural College--Track and field.
  • Oregon State College--Students.
  • Oregon State College--Track and field.
  • Oregon State University--Students.
  • Oregon State University--Track and field.

Form or Genre Terms

  • Film negatives.
  • Photographic prints.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Trask, Sydney. (photographer)

    Corporate Names

    • Hise Studio. (photographer)

Finding aid prepared by Megan Guerre.
2013

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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