'The Great Pumpkin' was an OSU legend

PORTLAND — His Beavers were called the "Giant Killers" for knocking off USC and O.J. Simpson in 1967.

But the nickname that stuck to revered Oregon State football coach Dee Andros was "The Great Pumpkin," for his ample girth, round face and bright orange jacket. Andros, an Oregon State football icon, died at his Corvallis home yesterday at 79.

He suffered from diabetes and had had several strokes, said Hal Cowan, OSU's sports information director.

Andros endeared himself to a decade of Beavers fans by running onto the field ahead of his team. Later, when he lost weight following open-heart surgery, he joked that a better moniker might be "The Little Squash."

Andros coached the Beavers from 1965 to 1975 and continued as athletic director until he retired in 1985. He had a 51-64-1 coaching record, but he was 9-2 against Oregon.

Andros was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame and the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

A native Oklahoman, Andros was a lineman on Oklahoma teams coached by Hall of Famer Bud Wilkinson. He went on to be an assistant under Wilkinson.

Andros, whose full name was Demosthenes Konstandies Andrecopoulos, won a bronze star for his service with the Marines on Iwo Jima in World War II. He watched the famed flag-raising there.

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks, an assistant at OSU under Andros from 1965 to 1969 and again in 1973, spoke fondly of him from Lexington, Ky.

"He was a very emotional coach who could prepare a team emotionally as well as anyone I've ever been around," Brooks said. "He truly loved his players.

"I understand his memorial is going to be on Halloween. The Great Pumpkin. That's appropriate, I think. The state of Oregon is losing a heck of a guy. He's a legend."