Oral Histories of the 1959 Oregon State College Wrestling Court, 1983-2013

In 1959 coach Dale Thomas and his Oregon State College wrestling team devised the idea of creating a wrestling court to promote the upcoming Pacific Coast Intercollegiate Wrestling Tournament, to be held in Corvallis. Wrestler Ken Noteboom selected twenty-nine female students for potential inclusion in the court. Noteboom and other members of the team interviewed all twenty-nine women, chose seven, and gave them titles based on wrestling objectives - titles which might also be construed to have sexually suggestive meanings. Carol Lindbloom was "Miss Time Advantage," Susan E. Hall "Miss Takedown," Mary Ann Backen "Miss Predicament," Carol Scott "Miss Fall," Suzanne Chapman "Miss Near Fall," Sharon Ransom "Miss Reversal," and Janet Aune "Miss Escape."

At the time, it was not unusual to use women to publicize college athletics and draw crowds for events. Controversy arose however, when the women were asked to pose for photos in bathing suits, wearing sashes bearing their titles, during a time when women at OSC were bound by a strict dress code requiring them to wear long skirts and high-necked tops. In response to the photographs, Oregon State College President August Strand placed a public ban on promotional "cheesecake" photographs for athletics. ("Cheesecake" was a common term used to describe pictures of women wearing little clothing, though still enough as to remain publicly acceptable for advertisement purposes.)

President Strand's ban caught the attention of the national media, and an article referencing the controversy appeared in the March 30, 1959 issue of Life Magazine, which featured the controversial swimsuit photo of the wrestling court as well as another image of the court wearing dress code compliant clothing and walking with President Strand on the OSC campus. The March 30, 1959 issue of Sports Illustrated also reported on the wrestling court, and its successful promotion of the Oregon State wrestling team, in an article titled "Really Nothing Like A Dame." These and other articles prompted numerous men in the United States and beyond to send letters to members of the court, requesting photos, expressing their support of the wrestling court and, in some cases, proposing marriage.

In her paper, Backen concludes that the 1959 wrestling court was not just about "coed cheesecake" and drawing crowds to wrestling events. Rather, the court represented one of numerous opportunities for female students to demonstrate their marriageability in a time when becoming the idealized post-war wife was a goal for many women. Backen argues that the wrestling court was comprised of women who were each trying to reach their own personal goals and, based on their own accounts, they largely succeeded.

Capsule biographies of individuals interviewed by Brittany Backen for her project are as follows:

Janet (Aune) Essig, "Miss Escape," was raised in Milwaukee, Oregon and Oak Grove, Oregon. She graduated from Oregon State in 1961 with an Education degree. While at Oregon State she pledged with Alpha Chi Omega sorority and was Miss November in the 1959 Sigma Delta Chi calendar.

Mary Ann (Backen) Hogan, "Miss Predicament," grew up in Roseburg, Oregon. At Oregon State she pledged with Pi Beta Phi sorority and majored in Education. Mary Ann, along with her sister Linda, was Miss June in the 1960 Sigma Delta Chi calendar.

Carol (Lindbloom) Hamlin, "Miss Time Advantage," was born and raised in Roseburg, Oregon. While attending Oregon State College she majored in Liberal Arts and pledged with Pi Beta Phi sorority. She also served on the Prom and Homecoming Courts, and was a Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.

Sharon (Ransom) Reid, "Miss Reversal," was born and raised in Albany, Oregon. At Oregon State she pledged with Alpha Chi Omega sorority and majored in Business Education. She graduated in 1962.

Kenneth W. Noteboom grew up in Salem, Oregon. At Oregon State he was a member of the wrestling team and was the 1959 senior class president. He graduated in the same year with a degree in Agricultural Education.

Charles (Chuck) R. Wenstrom attended Oregon State after returning from service in Korea. He was the manager of the football team, a member of Sigma Delta Chi fraternity and the Veteran's Club, and editor of the Daily Barometer. He studied physical education, journalism and social studies.

Members of the wrestling court not interviewed:

Susan (Hall) Tyler, "Miss Takedown," was born in Santa Monica, California in 1938. While attending Oregon State she majored in science, graduating in 1960. She also held the title of Miss OSC in 1959.

Carol (Scott) Lehmann, "Miss Fall" and queen of the wrestling court, was born in Albany, California in 1937. At Oregon State she majored in Home Economics, graduating in 1959.

Suzanne (Chapman) Davis, "Miss Near Fall," was born in Mason City, Washington in 1939. At Oregon State she studied in the School of Business and Technology, graduating in 1961. She was Miss May 1960 in the Sigma Delta Chi calendar, and held the title of Rose of Pi Kappa Phi in 1959.

The materials described in this collection have been arranged into two series - one consists of the collection's interviews and transcripts and a second the additional primary source materials gathered by Brittany Backen in support of her research project. An alphabetical view of the oral history interviewees whose recordings and transcripts are held in this collection is as follows:

(Aune) Essig, Janet (October 31, 2013) (Backen) Hogan, Mary Ann (November 2, 2013) (Lindbloom) Hamlin, Carol (November 9, 2013) Noteboom, Kenneth (November 11, 2013) (Ransom) Reid, Sharon (November 4, 2013) Wenstrom, Charles R. (November 11, 2013)