Willard grad added to OSU's legacy of linebackers
By Jon Spencer
News Journal
WILLARD -- The greatest game ever played by an Ohio State linebacker? Perhaps a tough question for most Buckeye fans to answer, given that OSU has produced nine first-team All-Americans at the position, ranging from Ike Kelley in 1964 to A.J. Hawk the last two years.
For Joe Whisler, there's no debate. He's never seen a linebacker match the performance given by Willard native Robert Thornton in a 20-19 win over Wisconsin and star running back Alan "The Horse" Ameche in 1953.
"(Thornton) really did a tremendous job," Whisler said Thursday. "He stopped Ameche cold. It wasn't a very good day for Alan." Thornton, a center and linebacker on the 1954 Ohio State national championship team, was killed Wednesday in a two-vehicle accident in Crawford County. He was 74.
Still a practicing attorney in his hometown, Thornton died at the scene of the accident on Ohio 98 and Baker Road. According to deputies, Thornton was northbound in his 1995 Buick LeSabre on Baker Road, failed to yield at the stop sign and was struck in the side by an eastbound 2001 Dodge Ram, driven by Donald Gordon, 65, of Bucyrus. Gordon and his passenger, Harry Myers, 70, of Bucyrus, were injured and transported to MedCentral/Shelby hospital by Plymouth EMS.
News of Thornton's death stunned Whisler, a fellow Willard native and former Buckeye. Whisler, a fullback and linebacker, was Ohio State's MVP in 1948.
They spoke just a couple of months ago at a funeral home in Willard after the death of Thornton's older brother, Kenneth, founder of the law firm Robert joined after receiving his law degree from OSU.
Thornton's grandson, Nick Strance, a star quarterback at Willard now playing for Ashland University, once told the News Journal that Thornton was "like a second father to me."
"When I was little, he always used to tell me stories about winning the national championship," Strance said in a 2002 News Journal story. "He used to be the quarterback in the backyard. I would run routes and he would throw to me and he always used to work with me on punt, pass and kick."
After Thornton's memorable game against Wisconsin in 1953, OSU linebackers coach Ernie Godfrey gave Thornton a china horse for making the most tackles on "The Horse."
Ameche would win the Heisman Trophy the following season, but Thornton and the Buckeyes claimed a greater prize -- the national title. They also beat the Badgers again, 31-14, in a springboard victory over the nation's top-ranked team.
Thornton was going to sit out the 1954 season to concentrate on law school. But coach Woody Hayes asked him to think about it over the spring and then make his decision.
Thornton eventually changed his mind. Good thing he did because starting center Ken Vargo got hurt early in the season and Thornton replaced him.
Playing alongside two-time All-American Jim Parker and with 1955 Heisman Trophy winner Howard "Hopalong" Cassady, Thornton and the Buckeyes finished 10-0, gave Hayes his first Big Ten title and beat USC 20-7 in the Rose Bowl for the national championship.
"I made the right choice," Thornton told the News Journal a couple years ago.
When the Buckeyes went to the Rose Bowl to clinch their national crown, Thornton's wife, Joanne, had to stay behind because she was pregnant with their first child. As a result, they named their daughter Bucky.
Thornton is survived by his wife; his five children, Bucky, Cathy, Alec, Andrew and Aaron, and several grandchildren.
Secor Funeral Home in Willard will have calling hours from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday. The funeral mass is set for 11 a.m. Tuesday in St. Francis Xavier Church in Willard.
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Originally published June 2, 2006
