Alonzo L. "Lon" Stiner (June 20, 1903 – March 8, 1985) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

player and coach. He was the head coach at Oregon State College—now

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

—from 1933 to 1948, compiling a record of 74–49–17. Stiner led the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

to the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

(PCC) title in 1941 and the three

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

victories.

Early life

Lon Stiner was born June 20, 1903, at

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Neb ...

. He attended

Lombard College Lombard College was a Universalist college located in Galesburg, Illinois. History Lombard College was founded in 1853 by the Universalist Church as the Illinois Liberal Institute. In 1855, however, a major fire damaged much of the college, p ...

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal cit ...

in 1922 and 1923, transferring in 1924 to the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

."Lonnie Stiner Popular Choice: Local Line Coach Heads College Gridiron Program for Coming Season,"
''Corvallis Gazette-Times,'' May 1, 1933, pp. 1
8
After sitting out a year, Stiner played tackle for the Cornhuskers in 1925 and 1926. During the 1925 season he was part of the Nebraska team that shut out the highly rated University of Illinois team featuring star running back

Red Grange Harold Edward "Red" Grange (June 13, 1903 – January 28, 1991), nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost" and "the Wheaton Iceman", was an American professional American football, football Halfback (American football), halfback who played for the Chicag ...

. He was selected as captain of the 1926 Nebraska team as a senior and garnered

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors.

Coaching career

In the fall of 1927, Stiner accepted a post at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, the University of Colorado Denver, and the U ...

as an assistant coach of football and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

.J.W. Forrester Jr., "Lon Stiner: Head of the House of Orange," ''The Pigskin Review,'' vol. 19, no. 2 (Oct. 5, 1940), p. 5. He accepted a similar position at

Oregon State College Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

in the fall of 1928, coaching the linemen of the freshman team,"Sports,
''The Alumnus,'' vol. 8, no. 1 (July 1928)
p. 16. as well as serving as head coach of track. Alonzo Stiner

Budgetary problems associated with the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

forced the departure of head coach Paul Schissler in January 1933, opening the door for the promotion of Stiner, which was actively sought by returning players on the team. Stiner was quickly recognized as heir-apparent and was placed in charge of the Beavers' spring 1933 football practices. Stiner was officially approved as head football coach of the Beavers by the Oregon state board of higher education on April 29, 1933. During his tenure as head football coach of Oregon State, Stiner compiled a 74–49–17 record, setting school records for wins, and winning percentage (.589). His best season came in

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

, when his team went 9–1–1 and won the

Pineapple Bowl The Pineapple Bowl was a college football bowl game played during the late 1930's, 1940s and early 1950s in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Honolulu Stadium. The game featured the then- Hawaii Rainbows and an invited team from the mainland. History The Pin ...

over

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, 39–6.

"Iron Men" Game

Stiner coached in one of the greatest upset ties in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

history. On October 21, 1933, eleven Beaver "Iron Men" fought

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

to a scoreless tie in what many consider to be the greatest game in Oregon State football history. The Trojans, defending two-time national champions, brought an eighty-man squad to

Multnomah Stadium Multnomah may refer to: *The Multnomah people, a Chinookan people who lived in the area of modern Portland, Oregon, United States **''Multnomah'', the middle Chinookan dialect of the Multnomah people ;Places, vessels, and institutions whose name ...

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

and saw a 25-game win streak splattered by the Beavers. The Beavers did not make a substitution, playing only eleven men, each of whom played both ways for the entire sixty minutes.

1942 Rose Bowl

Stiner was also the head coach of another famous game in Beaver football history. His

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

team played in the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

. This game produced two important firsts. It was OSU's first-ever trip to the famous New Year's Day classic, and it remains the only Rose Bowl ever played outside of

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. The reason for the move out of Pasadena was due to the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

in December 1941. The game was played at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Wallace Wade Stadium Wallace Wade Stadium, in full Brooks Field at Wallace Wade Stadium, is a 35,018-seat outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States, located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Primarily used for American football, it i ...

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, with the undefeated Blue Devils picked as 3–1 favorites. Oregon State pulled off the upset and won, 20–16. Stiner, at 38, was the youngest head coach in Rose Bowl history.

The Pyramid Play

Stiner also played a key role in another famous first in football history. The pyramid play, used in blocking kicks, originated as a prank at practice. Amazingly enough, the play was successful in blocking a kick. Stiner, upon noticing the success of the play, decided to attempt it in a game. The play consisted of hoisting the center, Clyde Devine, onto the shoulders of tackles Harry Fields and Ade Schwammel. At this height in the air, Devine could reach out and knock down any ball headed for the goal posts. The first official use of the play was successfully executed against the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

in Portland. The Pyramid was banned by the NCAA rules committee within a year. Despite going 5–4–3 and taking his team to the 1949

after the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

season, Stiner resigned in March, and was succeeded by Kip Taylor in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. Stiner was 3–0 in bowl appearances.

After football

Stiner then worked as a labor relations representative for

Edward Hines Lumber Company Hines Supply (originally the Edward Hines Lumber Company), based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, in the United States, is a company which manufactures lumber, plywood and other wood products. It also sells related services such as consultations and ...

Westfir, Oregon Westfir is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. The population was 253 at the 2010 census. It is located about southeast of Eugene and about west of Oakridge in the Willamette National Forest. History The name Westfir was first used ...

. When he retired in 1968, he and his wife Caroline moved to Woodburn; Caroline died in 1972.

Death and legacy

Stiner moved to a assisted living facility in

Richland, Washington Richland () is a city in Benton County, Washington, United States. It is located in southeastern Washington at the confluence of the Yakima River, Yakima and the Columbia River, Columbia Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was ...

, around 1976, where he spent the last eight years of his life, to be near his daughter, Betty Ingram. Stiner suffered ill health for the last year of his life. Stiner was survived by a son, Alonzo P. "Lon" Stiner, an attorney in Portland, and six grandchildren. Memorial services were held at Riverview Abbey Chapel in Portland.Mention of Lon Stiner's death
/ref> Stiner coached 140 games for Oregon State, the second greatest number of games by any individual. Only Mike Riley (1997–1998; 2003–2014) has coached more games — 173. Stiner is an inductee of the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stiner, Lon 1903 births 1985 deaths American football tackles Hastings Senior High School (Nebraska) alumni Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Oregon State Beavers football coaches Oregon State Beavers track and field coaches University of Colorado faculty Sportspeople from Hastings, Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska