Dee Andros (October 17, 1924 – October 22, 2003) guided Oregon State to one of its greatest football seasons, and inspired a vivid image with the nickname, “The Great Pumpkin.”
Andros grew up in Oklahoma City and served in the Marine Corps during World War II, eventually earning a Bronze Star for service on Iwo Jima. Following the war, Andros played football at Oklahoma as a guard and was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1950 NFL Draft. His true calling would be coaching.
Andros started as an assistant at Oklahoma in 1951 and moved through assistant positions at Kansas, Texas Tech, Nebraska, California and Illinois before being hired as head coach at Idaho in 1962. In three seasons at Idaho, Andros compiled an 11-16-1 record, but the Vandals were 5-4 in his second season – their first winning record in 25 years – and they narrowly lost to OSU in ‘64 when the Beavers were headed to the Rose Bowl.
The results were impressive enough for Oregon State to hire him as head coach following Tommy Prothro’s departure for UCLA. In eleven seasons at OSU, Andros’ record was 51-64-1.
The most memorable season was 1967 when the Beavers beat No. 2 Purdue, tied No. 2 UCLA and beat No. 1 USC to earn the nickname “Giant Killers.” Only a loss to Washington kept the team from the Rose Bowl. Andros led Oregon State to at least five wins in his first seven seasons, then a lack of support from the University made his final four seasons more difficult. After 1975, he stepped down and became athletic director.
Andros endeared himself to the Beavers community by running onto the field ahead of his players, while wearing a bright orange jacket. During and after his tenure as athletic director (1976-85), Andros was a tireless fundraiser for the school’s athletic scholarship fund and was a fixture at events promoting the Civil War rivalry. He became known for his saying that the game with the Ducks was “For the right to live in Oregon”.