-
Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
- Thread starter 3yardsandacloud
- Start date
HineyBuck
Old newb
Thanks Oh8ch.
I was in grad school when Coach Bruce was fired. I passed out leaflets on the Oval in protest. My protest generated lots of sympathy, but no active support.
Jennings was a weak man, who compensated for his weakness by bullying. He was in the pocket of the Wolfe family (the Columbus media monopoly) who had wanted Coach Bruce fired for some time. If nothing else, because he had switched his coach's show to a competing local network. Probably also because he lacked the "proper image" (read--he failed to cultivate powerful constituents, preferring instead to simply run a good clean program).
So Jennings and the Wolfes were waiting in the grass for the opportune moment to pounce. I guess the Iowa loss was the final straw that tipped the scales against "ole 9 and 3 Earle."
It took Rick Bay, a Michigan man who I always thought Jennings hired because he figured he would be a compliant and subservient AD, to blow the whistle on their shenanigans.
All of which led to the most memorable Michigan game in my lifetime. Other games have been better played; other games were more important. But no game was more memorable. The head-bands, Spielman going off, Coach Bruce carried off the field. Like Coach Schembechler said, "What a gesture that was. I'll never forget it."
And then Jennings made a bad situation worse by going out and hiring . . . AARRRGGH!! -- you know the rest of that story.
I was in grad school when Coach Bruce was fired. I passed out leaflets on the Oval in protest. My protest generated lots of sympathy, but no active support.
Jennings was a weak man, who compensated for his weakness by bullying. He was in the pocket of the Wolfe family (the Columbus media monopoly) who had wanted Coach Bruce fired for some time. If nothing else, because he had switched his coach's show to a competing local network. Probably also because he lacked the "proper image" (read--he failed to cultivate powerful constituents, preferring instead to simply run a good clean program).
So Jennings and the Wolfes were waiting in the grass for the opportune moment to pounce. I guess the Iowa loss was the final straw that tipped the scales against "ole 9 and 3 Earle."
It took Rick Bay, a Michigan man who I always thought Jennings hired because he figured he would be a compliant and subservient AD, to blow the whistle on their shenanigans.
All of which led to the most memorable Michigan game in my lifetime. Other games have been better played; other games were more important. But no game was more memorable. The head-bands, Spielman going off, Coach Bruce carried off the field. Like Coach Schembechler said, "What a gesture that was. I'll never forget it."
And then Jennings made a bad situation worse by going out and hiring . . . AARRRGGH!! -- you know the rest of that story.
Upvote
0
kippy1040
Hall of Fame
Coach Earle Bruce in 2007
When Earle Bruce became the coach of OSU in 1979, not much was expected and the team ended up undefeated and played for the N/C
in 1980. I understand that he attends alot of Jim Tressels presser and
i sometimes wonder if he and Tressel ever get together to discuss games
on mondays. I always thought of Coach Earle as a very good coach and
for him to have an office as a coach Emeritus is honarable. I just wonder
how much they talk about the games afterwards.
When Earle Bruce became the coach of OSU in 1979, not much was expected and the team ended up undefeated and played for the N/C
in 1980. I understand that he attends alot of Jim Tressels presser and
i sometimes wonder if he and Tressel ever get together to discuss games
on mondays. I always thought of Coach Earle as a very good coach and
for him to have an office as a coach Emeritus is honarable. I just wonder
how much they talk about the games afterwards.
Upvote
0
Blade
Former coach Earle Bruce featured speaker at Ohio State event in Toledo
When coaching at Ohio State, Earle Bruce always considered Toledo as Buckeyes' territory.
( ASSOCIATED PRESS )
By MATT MARKEY
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Earle Bruce last coached the Ohio State football team Nov. 21, 1987 - a 23-20 win over Michigan. But more than two decades later, the 77-year-old Bruce is still recruiting, still charging up the faithful, and still fanning the flames with that old, bitter rival. Bruce, who comes to Toledo on Friday to be the featured speaker at the Meet The Buckeyes fund-raiser at the Great Hall of the Stranahan Theater, made this town one of his first stops when he replaced Woody Hayes as head coach at Ohio State in 1979. Bruce came here to see a pair of standout high school players - Steve Simpson, a lineman from Bedford, and Ray Myers, a fullback from Bowsher. Bruce got them both to play for Ohio State, and considered it his first significant victory over Michigan. "At the time I took over at Ohio State, the rumor was that the people who owned recruiting around Toledo were from Michigan, but that was not the case at all," Bruce said.
Cont...
Upvote
0
mrmozambique
Buckeye in Asia...errr...Africa...er rrr South Ame
I have a nice story about Coach Bruce. I promise this is true.
When I was in 2nd grade in Troy, Ohio at Heywood Elementary, my teacher asked us to go interview someone special for a class project. It must have been about 1980. My mother, an OSU fanatic, suggested we send a letter to Coach Bruce to see if he'd be interested in an interview from a 2nd grader. I distinctly remember our not knowing the address so we put as much information on the letter as possible (Coach Earle Bruce, Coach of tOSU, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium, blah blah blah). Somehow the letter arrived to Coach Bruce and he agreed to let me interview him.
My mom packed up the car and we drove to Cbus for the big day. Between us, I think this whole deal was just as exciting to my mom as it was to me, but that's another discussion. He received me into his office and allowed me to record it on my old Panasonic tape recorder. I don't remember the content of the interview and somewhere somehow I lost the tape. But, I still have the autograph he gave me. It's alive and well.
Thanks, Coach Bruce. I'm grateful for such a spectacular experience.
GO BUCKS!
When I was in 2nd grade in Troy, Ohio at Heywood Elementary, my teacher asked us to go interview someone special for a class project. It must have been about 1980. My mother, an OSU fanatic, suggested we send a letter to Coach Bruce to see if he'd be interested in an interview from a 2nd grader. I distinctly remember our not knowing the address so we put as much information on the letter as possible (Coach Earle Bruce, Coach of tOSU, Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Stadium, blah blah blah). Somehow the letter arrived to Coach Bruce and he agreed to let me interview him.
My mom packed up the car and we drove to Cbus for the big day. Between us, I think this whole deal was just as exciting to my mom as it was to me, but that's another discussion. He received me into his office and allowed me to record it on my old Panasonic tape recorder. I don't remember the content of the interview and somewhere somehow I lost the tape. But, I still have the autograph he gave me. It's alive and well.
Thanks, Coach Bruce. I'm grateful for such a spectacular experience.
GO BUCKS!
Upvote
0
Buckskin86
Moderator
Ohio State football: Earle Bruce on USC and Ohio State
by Doug Lesmerises
Wednesday September 10, 2008
I had more quotes on Jim Tressel and Pete Carroll than I could squeeze into my story today. In particular, former Buckeye coach Earle Bruce was entertaining, as usual.
AP file
Earle Bruce in 1986 as head coach of Ohio State.
To me, he appreciated the fact that two coaches he hired as assistants more than 20 years ago could have so much success with different styles. He said he knew Carroll would be a great hire for USC. But he also pointed out at least one time when he thought Carroll's attitude didn't work out so well - when the Trojans lost to Stanford last season as 41-point favorites.
"When they lost to Stanford last year, I said I knew what Pete was doing, he'd been playing (silly games, I'll check if I can post the real word on a family blog) all week with the football players and not coaching because he was having so much fun with them," Bruce said. "He was thinking we're going to beat these guys just because we're Southern California. Now, that's not putting him down, but he is that way."
Ohio State football: Earle Bruce on USC and Ohio State - Buckeye Blog - Cleveland.com
Upvote
0
Buckskin86
Moderator
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7u0H_VIIW4]YouTube - 610 WTVN Earle Bruce Rants Week 1 2009[/ame]
Upvote
0
osucollegebuck
Nathan Williams #43
Gotta love Earl Bruce!!! I can't wait to hear his take this year on WTVN 
. I love when he says comments like "Ya gotta hit in the mouth BUDDY" haha
. I love when he says comments like "Ya gotta hit in the mouth BUDDY" haha
Upvote
0
Buckskin86
Moderator
Earle Bruce remembers when the USC game was for the Roses: Bill Livingston
by Bill Livingston, Plain Dealer Columnist
Friday September 11, 2009
Plain Dealer file photo
Earle Bruce remembers when the USC game was played for the Roses on Jan. 1. He is pictured in 2004, preparing the Columbus Destroyers in the Arena Football League.
COLUMBUS -- Rocking back and forth, pugnacious as ever, Earle Bruce had his blood up and his eyes on the prize.
Near the 78-year-old former Ohio State coach sat current Buckeyes players, talking to reporters. They are kids who know that Southern California-Ohio State is a pivot on which one team or the other's season will turn, but who have no idea how big it used to be.
It used to be for the Roses. It used to be adventures in Paradise.
It always seemed to be summer in January in Pasadena, even though the calendar said the days were short and the weather cold in the Midwest. Fans would watch in Ohio and wonder if the sun would ever set on the Trojan empire.
Bruce always wanted to win a Rose Bowl and beat Southern Cal in doing so. He got two chances. He came close. But he never did.
Tonight's game won't be played out there where the land runs out and The Latest arrives early. It will be played in the Horseshoe, in the roaring night, and the rockets in the verse from the national anthem won't be the only red glare in a scarlet madhouse. "I always loved being an underdog," Bruce said. "If I was an underdog at home, I was licking my chops."
Earle Bruce remembers when the USC game was for the Roses: Bill Livingston - cleveland.com
Upvote
0