Adolphe Schwammel was born on October 14, 1908, in
Los Angeles, and attended
Fremont High School in
Oakland, California. He attended
Oregon State University where he played for the
school's football team. Schwammel was a starter on the
1933 Oregon State Beavers football team that played the undefeated two-time national champion
USC Trojans to a 0–0 tie using just eleven "Iron Men" for the entire duration of the game. He was named a
1933 College Football All-America Team tackle. Schwammel was one of the key players in the now illegal "
Pyramid Play", where the Beavers lifted 6-foot-seven-inch Clyde Devine atop the shoulders of 6-foot-two-inch Schwammel and 6-foot-two-inch teammate Harry Shields to block a placekick. The play was first successfully used in a game against the
University of Oregon. A picture of the play published in the
Saturday Evening Post brought the team and the play national attention, leading to the pyramid technique being banned by the
NCAA's rules committee shortly thereafter. The 1933 OSC team finished with a 6–2–2 record that included a win on the road over
Fordham University, during this game, he was injured in his shoulder. Schwammel was named as the first-team
All-American and All-
Pacific Coast Conference tackle as a senior in the 1933 season. He was also chosen to play in the 1934
East-West Shrine Game. ==Professional career==