jcollingsworth
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MAKING THE LIST: ALL IN ‘THREE YARDS & A CLOUD OF DUST’
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Football season is upon us. The enthusiasm echoing in Ohio Stadium, through the campus itself, throughout Columbus, and in Buckeye Nation period, is absolutely enchanting. So based on the realism of this enjoyable fact it is only fitting that a football player is centered in Making The List.
Perhaps the most difficult thing to do though is to find a football player in the Buckeyes luxurious history that deserves to leap-frog their teacher – the one man that represents EVERYTHING that is football at The Ohio State University.
Of course – I am speaking about Wayne Woodrow Hayes.
Born on Feb., 14, 1913 in Clifton, Ohio this baby would grow into the most iconic figure in the history of The Ohio State University. Even those among the masses of illiterates that may “know-nothing” of College sports know that Woody Hayes is the historic face of The Ohio State University Football Program.
It’s just like everyone knows George Washington is the face on the dollar bill.
Woody would graduate from Denison University with a B.A. in English & History in 1935 and in 1948 from The Ohio State University with a M.A. in Educational Administration. He would eventually become a professor at OSU where his classes were always full. He would also teach his freshmen football players mandatory English and vocabulary classes to help them progress in their college education. One student who recalls Professor Hayes in a positive note was not a football player, but a basketball player – his name – Bobby Knight.
Hayes enlisted in the United States Navy in July 1941 and would remain until 1946 during WWII. He would climb to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and commanded PC 1251 in the Palau Islands invasion and the destroyer-escort USS Rinehart in both the Atlantic and Pacific operations.
Surprised? Hardly – I am sure!
Now let’s get to what we all know of this iconic man …
Woody coached at The Ohio State University from 1951 – 78. He would end with a 205-68-10 record for The Buckeyes – though collectively with wins from previous coaching stops at Denison and Miami-OH the final tally would be 238 wins.
Coach Hayes won 5 National Titles – 3 of which were consensus (1954, 57 & 68). He is the ONLY OSU Coach to win multiple National Championships. (Though – in truth we are rooting for that fact to be rewritten to include Coach Meyers.)
Under the Woody Hayes Coaching tree there would be 19 that ranged from former assistants and former players that landed Head Coaching jobs. Some of these names included: Earle Bruce, Lou Holtz, Ara Parseghian, Dick LeBeau, Gary Moeller, and of course, Bo Schembechler.
There would be 3 – Heisman Trophy’s handed out to two players that played for Coach Hayes; Howard Cassidy in 1955 & the only two-time trophy winner in history, Archie Griffin in 1974 & 1975.
So much can be said about Coach Hayes. The statistics are that – statistics – deserving and nice but there was so much more to this man: Honesty – Kindness – Motivation – Teacher – Respectful. He is perhaps the complete definition of a true-scarlet & gray individual ever to call The Ohio State University Home.
The controversies surrounding Coach Hayes I feel only distract the greatness that he exuded. Even the memory of the 1978 Gator Bowl, ultimately his end as the Head Coach of The Ohio State University Football Program, is a side-show for those who seek fault in a complex man that they have simply decided to dislike either for various reasons, or completely. They clearly have elected to prevent any comprehension of the characteristics that embodied Coach Hayes – specifically since they are indeed the same we witness in any heroes that we thrust to the limelight: Honesty (which he possessed); Kindness (which he continually displayed); Motivation (which he did not own, but those who were motivated by him believed that he did); Teacher (No one can challenge this!); and finally – Respect (Some may question this – but in doing so they have chosen to ignore all of the “other” mentioned traits – All of which require respect).
Coach Woody Hayes is EVERYTHING when it comes to The Ohio State University Football Program & its History. He is entitled to be in the conversation concerning any Great Buckeye, just as Jesse Owens & Jack Nicklaus are. Making The List is a right that he has unquestionably earned. And though he was not an athlete at The Ohio State University he was in fact a Teacher of athletes and it would be a glowing error on my part if I did NOT place him in the mix of the top tier of the list.
The post MAKING THE LIST: ALL IN ‘THREE YARDS & A CLOUD OF DUST’ appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Football season is upon us. The enthusiasm echoing in Ohio Stadium, through the campus itself, throughout Columbus, and in Buckeye Nation period, is absolutely enchanting. So based on the realism of this enjoyable fact it is only fitting that a football player is centered in Making The List.
Perhaps the most difficult thing to do though is to find a football player in the Buckeyes luxurious history that deserves to leap-frog their teacher – the one man that represents EVERYTHING that is football at The Ohio State University.
Of course – I am speaking about Wayne Woodrow Hayes.
Born on Feb., 14, 1913 in Clifton, Ohio this baby would grow into the most iconic figure in the history of The Ohio State University. Even those among the masses of illiterates that may “know-nothing” of College sports know that Woody Hayes is the historic face of The Ohio State University Football Program.
It’s just like everyone knows George Washington is the face on the dollar bill.
Woody would graduate from Denison University with a B.A. in English & History in 1935 and in 1948 from The Ohio State University with a M.A. in Educational Administration. He would eventually become a professor at OSU where his classes were always full. He would also teach his freshmen football players mandatory English and vocabulary classes to help them progress in their college education. One student who recalls Professor Hayes in a positive note was not a football player, but a basketball player – his name – Bobby Knight.
Hayes enlisted in the United States Navy in July 1941 and would remain until 1946 during WWII. He would climb to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and commanded PC 1251 in the Palau Islands invasion and the destroyer-escort USS Rinehart in both the Atlantic and Pacific operations.
Surprised? Hardly – I am sure!
Now let’s get to what we all know of this iconic man …
Woody coached at The Ohio State University from 1951 – 78. He would end with a 205-68-10 record for The Buckeyes – though collectively with wins from previous coaching stops at Denison and Miami-OH the final tally would be 238 wins.
Coach Hayes won 5 National Titles – 3 of which were consensus (1954, 57 & 68). He is the ONLY OSU Coach to win multiple National Championships. (Though – in truth we are rooting for that fact to be rewritten to include Coach Meyers.)
Under the Woody Hayes Coaching tree there would be 19 that ranged from former assistants and former players that landed Head Coaching jobs. Some of these names included: Earle Bruce, Lou Holtz, Ara Parseghian, Dick LeBeau, Gary Moeller, and of course, Bo Schembechler.
There would be 3 – Heisman Trophy’s handed out to two players that played for Coach Hayes; Howard Cassidy in 1955 & the only two-time trophy winner in history, Archie Griffin in 1974 & 1975.
So much can be said about Coach Hayes. The statistics are that – statistics – deserving and nice but there was so much more to this man: Honesty – Kindness – Motivation – Teacher – Respectful. He is perhaps the complete definition of a true-scarlet & gray individual ever to call The Ohio State University Home.
The controversies surrounding Coach Hayes I feel only distract the greatness that he exuded. Even the memory of the 1978 Gator Bowl, ultimately his end as the Head Coach of The Ohio State University Football Program, is a side-show for those who seek fault in a complex man that they have simply decided to dislike either for various reasons, or completely. They clearly have elected to prevent any comprehension of the characteristics that embodied Coach Hayes – specifically since they are indeed the same we witness in any heroes that we thrust to the limelight: Honesty (which he possessed); Kindness (which he continually displayed); Motivation (which he did not own, but those who were motivated by him believed that he did); Teacher (No one can challenge this!); and finally – Respect (Some may question this – but in doing so they have chosen to ignore all of the “other” mentioned traits – All of which require respect).
Coach Woody Hayes is EVERYTHING when it comes to The Ohio State University Football Program & its History. He is entitled to be in the conversation concerning any Great Buckeye, just as Jesse Owens & Jack Nicklaus are. Making The List is a right that he has unquestionably earned. And though he was not an athlete at The Ohio State University he was in fact a Teacher of athletes and it would be a glowing error on my part if I did NOT place him in the mix of the top tier of the list.
The post MAKING THE LIST: ALL IN ‘THREE YARDS & A CLOUD OF DUST’ appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...