Pyramid Play

The Pyramid Play is a defensive play in American football, where a defensive player is hoisted up by two other players in an effort to block a place kick attempt by the opposing team. The play was created and implemented by the 1933 Oregon State Agricultural College (now known as Oregon State University) football team.^[1]

Origin

The play originated as a playful prank during an OSAC practice session. While the offense was practicing a place kick, the pranksters decided to give it a shot. Their prank was actually successful at blocking the kick. This success did not go without notice. OSAC's head coach, Lon Stiner, decided that maybe his boys had discovered something and decided to add the play to the team's repertoire.^[1]

Implementation

The Pyramid Play was first used unsuccessfully in a game on October 28, 1933, against Washington State College (now Washington State University) without much fanfare.^[2]^[3] The play was used again on November 11, 1933, against the University of Oregon during the annual Civil War game at Multnomah Stadium, now Providence Park. The Beavers had a 6'5" (1.97 m) center named Clyde Devine and two 6'2" (1.88 m) tackles named Harry Fields and Ade Schwammel. The two tackles hoisted Devine upon their shoulders.^[1] With the combination of their height and Devine's long arm span, they succeeded in blocking one of Oregon's two kicks.^[3]^[4] The play is "probably the most notorious on-field shenanigan" in the history of the Civil War game.^[5]

Oregon State also successfully used the play again to help defeat the Fordham Rams 9-6 on November 18, 1933 at the Polo Grounds.

Publicity

Oregon Journal staff photographer Ralph Vincent managed to capture the use of the play in the 1933 Civil War with his Graflex camera. Instantly, Vincent, his photo, and the OAC Beavers were thrust into national attention. The photo quickly appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and other eastern newspapers. Discussion of the play heated up quickly with sportswriters arguing whether the play was good or not for the game of football. Some simply labeled the play a 'sports trick'.^[4]

During World War II, it was reported that Nazi Germany distributed copies of the image around Europe as an example of the “brutality of American sports.”^[4]

After effects

The NCAA decided to ban the use of the play^[5] upon the conclusion of the 1933 season. That ruling is still in effect.

References

1 2 3 "Football Play - The Pyramid, 1933". osulibrary.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
↑ George P. Edmonston, Jr. "Up Close and Personal: Civil War Oddities". Gazette-Times. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
1 2 "Oregon State Plays Fordham in Gotham". The Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-04-25.
1 2 3 "70 years ago: “The Pyramid Play”". alumni.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
1 2 Anne M. Peterson (November 22, 2006). "Anything can happen in the Civil War: History shows that when the Ducks and Beavers meet, things are unpredictable". Mail Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-02.

External links

Ralph Vincent's photograph of the play - from the OSU archives

Oregon State Beavers football

Venues	Bell Field (1909–1952) Reser Stadium (1953–present) Multnomah Stadium (alternate)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Oregon: Civil War (Platypus Trophy)

Culture & lore	History Benny Beaver "Hail to Old OSU" Marching band Pyramid Play "The Toilet Bowl" 1985 Washington game

People	Head coaches Notable players NFL draftees

Seasons	1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

American football strategy

Systems

Offensive strategy

Scheme	A-11 Air Coryell Air option Air raid Buck-lateral Hurry-up Marty Ball New England Patriots Option Pro-style Run and shoot Smashmouth Spread Triple option West Coast

Routes	Corner Curl Down and out Drag Flat Fly Hitch Hot Out Post Seam Slant Wheel

Trick plays	Play-action pass Draw Double pass End-around Reverse Flea flicker Fumblerooski Hidden ball trick Hook and lateral Statue of Liberty Halfback option Hard count Pyramid Swinging gate Tackle-eligible

Defensive strategy

Offensive formations

Defensive formations

Other

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 15, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.