ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to honor all American men and women who gave their lives in service to the United States. Today, we recognize three Ohio State football players who made that ultimate sacrifice for the land of the free: Don Scott, Fred Norton and Rick Hausman.
Don Scott, All-American quarterback
Don Scott was Ohio State’s first two-time All-American quarterback, a true multi-sport standout whose legacy still echoes through Columbus.
Scott arrived at Ohio State after a decorated career at Canton McKinley. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound athlete, he was a do-it-all star at the prep level, playing quarterback, fullback, offensive and defensive line, kicker, and punter across four seasons. In Columbus, he starred at tailback and quarterback, earning two All-American honors while helping lead the Buckeyes to the 1939 Big Ten title. That season, he also helped the basketball team reach the Final Four before Ohio State fell to Oregon, 46–33, in the national championship game.
Selected No. 9 overall in the 1941 NFL draft, Scott instead answered the call to serve in World War II. He entered the Civilian Pilot Training Program, a government initiative designed to prepare pilots for military service, before commissioning into the Army Air Forces. Scott completed 10 bombing missions during the war.
On Oct. 1, 1943, at just 23 years old, Scott was killed when his B-25 bomber crashed during training exercises in England. One month later, Ohio State’s Board of Trustees honored his memory by naming the university’s airport Don Scott Field. In 2023, Ohio State marked the 80th anniversary of that tribute.
BECUASE OF THE BRAVE, PART 2. A Marblehead, Ohio, native, Fred Norton arrived in Columbus as a 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete affectionately nicknamed “The Smiling Irishman.”
Fred Norton
A gifted four-sport competitor, he became Ohio State’s first four-sport letterman thanks to his success in baseball, basketball, football and track.
Norton captained both the baseball and basketball teams, but his greatest impact came on the football field, where he served as Chic Harley’s lead blocker and helped guide the Buckeyes to the 1916 Big Ten title. He also showcased his versatility as a scorer, tallying five touchdowns in Ohio State’s 128–0 win over Oberlin and adding six more in a 46–7 victory over Indiana that same season.
After his collegiate career, Norton joined the Reserve Corps and later trained in Ohio State’s school of aeronautics before being sent to France in January 1918.
As a member of the 27th “Eagle” Pursuit Squadron, he was shot down in a dogfight after taking two anti-aircraft rounds to the chest. Norton managed to land his Nieuport 28 behind Allied lines but later died from his wounds and complications from pneumonia. He was 23 years old.
BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE, PART 3. On May 9, 2024, Ohio State awarded Rick Hausman a pair of honorary Gold Pants.
Like Don Scott and Fred Norton, Hausman gave his life in service to the United States. A walk-on under Woody Hayes, he answered the call to deploy to Vietnam in 1968, leaving an Ohio State team that would go on to defeat Michigan and capture a national championship. Just two months after arriving overseas, Hausman was killed in action, later receiving a posthumous Silver Star for his bravery.
More than five decades later, the Gold Pants Club announced it would welcome Hausman as an honorary member.
Rick Hausman
"On behalf of the Gold Pants Club, we know Rick and the sacrifice he made for our great country. It's something that we're all very proud of," former Ohio State All-American Jim Lachey said at the ceremony, per ABC6's Stacia Naquin. "This is a long overdue pair of Gold Pants.”
Lachey and other members of the Gold Pants Club presented the honorary award to Rick's sisters, Bobbie Collins and Ann Lisk. Collins and Lisk told Naquin that they were thankful their brother's life can and will be remembered by past, present and future Buckeyes.
“He was a very loving brother,” Lisk said. "He was tough on the football field, but he was extremely loving off the field."
The ceremony at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center marked the latest in a series of tributes honoring Hausman in May 2024. A week earlier, he was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame. His family also helped establish the Rick Hausman Silver Bullet Award for Leadership, which will be presented annually to the top Ohio State ROTC cadet.
In the fall of 2024, Hausman was also posthumously awarded a 1968 championship ring from Ohio State.
PAUSE FOR REFLECTION. Sometime Monday, as you reflect on the freedoms made possible by those who gave their lives in service to the United States, take a moment to remember them all — including Ohio and Ohio State’s Don Scott, Fred Norton and Rick Hausman. Three Buckeyes among many who made the ultimate sacrifice. We owe them our gratitude and appreciation. Because of them, we are free.
