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Football Photograph Collection, 1894-2000

Overview of the Collection

Title
Football Photograph Collection
Dates
1894-2000 (inclusive)
1910-1965 (bulk)
Quantity
0.85 cubic foot, including approximately 800 photographs, (3 boxes, including 1 oversize box)
Collection Number
P 004
Summary
The Football Photograph Collection consists of action shots of Oregon State football players during practices and games as well as portraits and posed photographs of teams and individual athletes. Also depicted are coaches, equipment and training staff, and athletic facilities such as Bell Field and Parker Stadium. Oregon State University began intercollegiate competition in football in 1893.
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

Oregon Agricultural College's first football team was formed in 1893 by Head Coach William H. Bloss, son of College President John McKnight Bloss. Members of the team included a high school junior as well as John Fulton, a faculty member at the College who worked in the chemistry department.

The College's first football game was played against Albany College on November 11, 1893 and ended in a 63-0 sweep. Home games were played at Bell Field from 1913 to 1953, when construction of Parker Stadium was completed. In 1999, the stadium was renamed as Reser Stadium; the stadium was expanded in 2005.

Throughout the history of Oregon State's football team, three Rose Bowl appearances have occurred: 1942 (W), 1957 (L), and 1965 (L). In 1933, Oregon State played defending national champion USC to a scoreless tie with no player substitutions. Eleven men (now known as the Iron Men) played both offense and defense for the full game.

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Content Description

The Football Photograph Collection is made up of approximately 408 photographic prints, 376 negatives, and 13 color slides. These images mainly depict football players during practices and games. The bulk of the photographs were produced from around 1910 to the late 1950s. These images document different aspects of practices such as punting, passing and receiving, and sprinting drills. Some photographs are action shots while others appear to be posed. The majority were taken at Bell Field or Parker Stadium. Action shots at games depict Oregon State athletes facing off against players from Multnomah Athletic Club, Washington State, Idaho, Michigan State, Montana and other schools and organizations. Of special note are several images of games between Oregon State and the University of Oregon, known as the Civil War.

Images in the Football Photograph Collection also depict coaches and trainers, fans and spectators in the stands at Bell Field and Parker Stadium, construction of the aforementioned facilities, and players receiving equipment. The collection includes images of Paul Schissler, Lon Stiner, Kip Taylor, and Tommy Prothro, who were head football coaches from the 1920s to mid-1960s. Of special note is a manuscript titled "My Day with the Team" that describes a day in the life of an Oregon State football player from the perspective of a faculty member. This manuscript includes images of players. Team photographs from a number of years are included in the collection as well as images of the 1942, 1957 and 1965 Rose Bowl games. There are also a few images of other sports, including baseball, track, and basketball.

Many of the photographs were made by Hise Studio in Corvallis; images by W.S. Gardner, Richard Gilkey, and J. Kenneth Munford are also included. Approximately 80 of the images are available online in the Best of the Archives digital collection. Links to individual images are available from the individual images.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Football Photograph Collection (P 004), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Football Photograph Collection has been arranged in one series: I. Football Photographs, 1894-2000. The images are individually numbered and arranged numerically. Some of the individual item numbers have been assigned to different views of the same topic (for example: P004:046; P004:123; and P004:176).

Processing Note

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

The archivist-prepared description of this collection uses the phrase "Civil War" to refer to the long-standing athletic rivalry between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. A history of this athletic rivalry, and use of the phrase "Civil War" to describe it, is available online in The Origins of the "Civil War" Football Game blog post.

In June 2020, Oregon State University President Edward J. Ray announced that the term "Civil War" will no longer be used by either university because it "represents a connection to a war fought to perpetuate slavery."

We acknowledge the racism represented by the use of this phrase and the harm it may cause our users. In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collections, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description.

[Date of acknowledgement: November 2021]

Acquisition Information

The bulk of the photographs were acquired by the University Archives in the 1960s with additional materials received until 2000.

Related Materials

The Orange and Beaver yearbooks, Harriet's Photograph Collection, Intercollegiate Athletics Photograph Collection (P 031), Beaver Yearbook Photographs (P 003), Richard W. Gilkey Photograph Collection (P 252), and W. Lester Powell Photograph Collection (P 192) contain additional football photographs. Information pertaining to Oregon State football such as its history at the University, player rosters, and game statistics can be found in the yearbooks, Memorabilia Collection, Rose Bowl Football Game Scrapbooks, Oregon State College - New York University Football Game Scrapbooks, Sports Media Guides (PUB 054), George Edmonston Jr. Collection, Harvey L. McAlister Collection, and the Chuck Boice Papers.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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Subject Terms

  • College football players--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Football coaches--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Football--Oregon--Corvallis.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Agricultural College--Football.
  • Oregon Agricultural College--Students.
  • Oregon State College--Football.
  • Oregon State College--Students.
  • Oregon State University--Football.
  • Oregon State University--Students.
  • Rose Bowl (Football game)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Film negatives.
  • Photographic prints.
  • Slides.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names

    • Gardner, W. S. (photographer)
    • Gilkey, Richard William, 1930- (photographer)
    • Munford, James Kenneth. (photographer)

    Corporate Names

    • Hise Studio. (photographer)
    • Oregon State College. Athletic Department. (creator)
    • Oregon State University. Athletic Department. (creator)
    • Oregon State University. Intercollegiate Athletics. (creator)

Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen and Megan Guerre.
2013

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

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