October 8, 1932: Washington at Oregon

— Click image to embiggen — This is the oldest home game program I have at this time, from 8 October 1932; the annual Border War with Washington.

Under new coach Prink Callison, elevated from assistant after Doc Spears decided he didn’t like West Coast football, the Webfoots had vanquished Idaho and Santa Clara through superior defensive play. The first of back-to-back appearances by Oregon at Portland’s Multnomah Stadium resulted in a scoreless tie — an unexpected result; Oregon had been heavily favored by the bookmakers, but star back Stan Kostka was injured and did not play.

However, Oregon did at least hold the Huskies scoreless for the fifth consecutive season, a streak that would not end until two years later. And Oregon’s quarterback? Bill Bowerman. Yes, that one.

The Great Depression affected the economy in myriad ways, even on the format and content of this program. Where pre-1930s programs might have contained multiple pages of photo illustrations, ads and stories, this program is downright sparse, with few items of interest and even fewer ads.

The cover itself is a bright and humorous take on a typical gridiron dispute — “time out for measurement.” The artist, “Billy Cam” (given name William Campbell), created several cartoon illustrations on football subjects for various teams in the 1930s including Notre Dame. This particular illustration was also used on the 1931 Cal @ St Mary’s program.  

Program Notes:

• “A Bill of Divorcement”, the feature advertised at the RKO Orpheum, featured Katharine Hepburn’s first starring appearance. Alongside John Barrymore. No pressure, I’m sure.
• Multnomah Hotel, Rooftop Landing Strip, 1924The Multnomah Hotel covered an entire block at 4th and Pine streets, and was for a while the largest hotel in the Northwest. The roof was large enough for a plane to take off and land from. It was recently restored and now serves as an Embassy Suites Hotel. 
• The “University of California Bruins”, as referenced in an ad on page 2, were actually from UCLA.
• Joseph K. Carson Jr’s campaign was successful — he was elected mayor of Portland, and served two terms.

Center spread roster (click to embiggen):