Born in Harvey, Illinois, Bill Tomsheck came to Oregon State College in 1931 to study agricultural science. Attracted by the promise of an athletic scholarship to defray tuition and other costs, Tomsheck joined the football team as a starter in his sophomore year. Staying on the team for his third year at OSC, Tomsheck played left guard as part of a legendary line-up of players known as the "Ironmen." The 1933 "Ironmen" team was 6-2-2, including a victory over eastern power Fordham and a 0-0 tie with defending Pacific Coast champion University of Southern California (USC). The team played the entire USC game without a substitution which ended USC's 26-game winning streak. After graduating in 1935, Tomsheck worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and resided in Portland, Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City before returning to Corvallis in the late 1960s after retirement. In 2003, Tomsheck was the sole surviving member of the 1933 Ironmen team.
Assembled by alumnus Bill Tomsheck, this scrapbook documents Tomsheck's experience as a student at Oregon State College. Primarily pertaining to his participation in the legendary 1933 football team, the scrapbook includes correspondence, game programs and schedules, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, and photographs. The newspaper clippings, cut from the Barometer, Oregonian, and Oregon Journal, focus mostly on the games of the 1933 season as well as profiles on Tomsheck and other members of the team. There are materials in this scrapbook which also document Tomsheck's involvement in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, including photos of the house at OSC.
Bill Tomsheck Scrapbook, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
In addition to images of Tomsheck in Harriet's Photograph Collection (#3422), there is also a file in the Memorabilia Collection. A taped interview with Tomsheck featured in the 1991 history of OSU athletics "A Look Back at the Orange and Black" can be found in the Intercollegiate Athletics Film and Videotape collection (P 31). The Archives also has a manuscript collection for fellow Ironmen teammate Ade Schwammel.