Rose Bowl Team Celebrates 60 Years
September 20, 2016 | Football
The Pacific Coast Conference-champion Beavers will reunite on Friday for a campus tour, by bus, and a walking tour of the athletic facilities, followed by a dinner at the CH2MHill Alumni Center. They will lead the traditional Beaver Walk before Saturday afternoon's OSU-Boise State game at Reser Stadium, and tailgate at the Truax Indoor Center. The 12 returning team members and assistant coach Bob Zelinka will be recognized on the field during the first quarter.
Just two years removed from a 1-8 season in the final year of the Kip Taylor coaching regime, head coach Tommy Prothro and his staff (Zelinka, Clay Stapleton, Bob Watson, John Thomas and Dick Twenge) directed the Beavers to a 7-2-1 regular-season record, the PCC championship, and a No. 10 national ranking in his second year at the helm.
Led by standout halfback Joe Francis, the Beavers went 6-0-1 in their final seven regular-season games to earn an outright PCC title and the second Rose Bowl berth in school history.
After opening the season with three straight road games – the Beavers won at Missouri (19-13), but lost at No. 3 USC (21-13) and at No. 20 Iowa (14-13) – they defeated California (21-13), Washington State (21-6), UCLA (21-7), Washington (28-20), Stanford (20-9) and Idaho (14-10) and headed in a Civil War showdown with Oregon with a 7-2 record.
A 14-14 standoff with the Ducks before a crowd of 17,300 at Parker Stadium gave the Beavers a 6-1-1 record in the Pacific Coast Conference, ½-game better than runner-up USC, and sent them off to Pasadena for the first time in school history. Their previous Rose Bowl was shifted to Durham, N.C., in 1942, because of security concerns associated with World War II.
The 1957 Rose Bowl featured a rematch between the Beavers and Iowa, who had prevailed 14-13 back in Iowa City on Oct. 6 in Week 3 of the season. It marked the first time in history that teams that played each other in the regular season would meet again at the Rose Bowl.
Unfortunately, the No. 3-ranked Hawkeyes also captured the rematch, 35-19, before an announced crowd of 100,000. It was the largest-crowd ever for an OSU football game at that point.
Francis, known as the "Flyin' Hawaiian" because of his fearless attitude, rushed for 73 yards and completed 10 of 12 passes for 130 more yards and a touchdown to lead the Beavers. Right halfback Sterling Hammack added four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown and fullback Nub Beamer rushed for 31 yards and a score.
Iowa rushed for 273 yards and gained 107 more through the air for 380 total yards. The Hawkeyes jumped to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, led 21-6 at halftime and 28-12 after three quarters.
Many members of the 1956 squad helped the Beavers repeat as PCC champions in 1957, but the old no-repeat rule prevented them from returning to the Rose Bowl. Oregon, who the Beavers defeated 10-7 at Eugene in the Civil War, went instead and lost to Ohio State.
OSU would not return to the Rose Bowl until 1965 in Prothro's final game as head coach.Â
Honors were numerous for the 1956 Beavers, captained by Dick Corrick and Gerry Laird. Francis was the MVP; defensive tackle Ernie Zwahlen earned the Attitude & Scholarship Award. Tackle John Witte was OSU's first consensus All-American. Witte and halfback Earnel Durden earned All-Coast honors; Francis and tackle Dave Jesmer played in the East-West Shrine Game at Stanford and Francis won the Hayward Award, given to the outstanding athlete in the state by Oregon sports writers and broadcasters.
Francis, Witte and tackle Ted Bates were later elected to the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame and to the State of Oregon Sports Hall of Fame, as was Prothro.
The Beavers are set to host the back end of a two-game homestand this Saturday when they face Boise State at 12:30 p.m. on FS1. Tickets for this week's game are still available at beavertickets.com.
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For information on various ticket options for the remaining schedule, including access to The Terrace, please contact the OSU ticket office at 1-800-GO-BEAVS during weekday business hours or beavertickets.com
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