Schafrath: Take steps to reach goal
By Jill Gosche, [email protected]
POSTED: November 20, 2009
PHOTO BY JILL GOSCHE
Dick Schafrath, former Ohio State University and Cleveland Browns football player, speaks during Tiffin University?s ?Good Morning World? breakfast lecture Thursday morning.
A former professional football player's philosophy has been to do things no one else has done.
Dick Schafrath, who played for the Ohio State University Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns, said he knows where he is going and it is reassuring to know God has a plan for him.
"He has a plan for everybody," he said. "He has a plan for you."
Schafrath was the speaker for Tiffin University's "Good Morning World" breakfast lecture at Camden Falls Reception Hall Thursday morning, two days before Saturday's OSU-Michigan football game in Ann Arbor.
Michael Grandillo, TU's vice president for development and public affairs, said Schafrath served four terms in the Ohio Senate, retiring in 2003.
"He met presidents. He wrestled bears," he said.
Schafrath said he grew up on a dairy farm. He compared his family's situation to today's Amish as the house had no lighting or running water. He attended elementary school in a one-room country school with one teacher for all students up to eighth grade.
"That was your education," he said.
Schafrath continued his education at Wooster High School and recalled seeing boys hitting each other in the mud. When he asked his mother about the activity, she said she didn't know what they were doing.
His teacher told him people call it "football."
"Can I get on that football team?" he asked.
Schafrath said he got a physical from the family's veterinarian., went out for the team and loved it. He was a letter-winner in four high school sports and was named All-Ohio in baseball and football.
Woody Hayes, former OSU coach, recruited him to play football even though he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds. He played for OSU when it won a national championship. He was the second NFL draft pick 50 years ago, played for the Browns for 13 years and and was a Pro Bowl pick seven times.
Schafrath, who returned to OSU and completed a degree three years ago, was once offered an honorary degree.
"No way," he said. "I wanted to earn it.".
College Football: There were no frills or thrills, but Schafrath's Buckeyes won
By JON SPENCER ? News Journal ? December 29, 2009
Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes is flanked by lineman Dick Schafrath (71) and quarterback Frank Kremblas, who played key roles in a 10-7 win over Oregon in the 1958 Rose Bowl. (AP)
MANSFIELD -- Although he once canoed non-stop across Lake Erie, former Ohio State football star Dick Schafrath can't relate to footage from California of Jim Tressel's Buckeyes on the water rides at Disneyland.
The 1958 Rose Bowl he played in against Oregon will always be remembered as a "no frills, no thrills" affair. The Buckeyes spent the week leading up to the game holed up at a monastery in an olive grove above Pasadena -- then put on a performance as plain as their Spartan accommodations, eking out a 10-7 victory over the Ducks
No-nonsense coach Woody Hayes took drastic measures to minimize distractions by having the Buckeyes bunk with monks. They didn't exactly pick the players' brains about football.
"No, they didn't want to be close to us sinners," joked the 72-year-old Schafrath, who lives in Mansfield and is coming up on his second wedding anniversary with his wife, Judith. "We had no idea what a monastery was like. Everything was wooden -- the beds, the bowls, the spoons. The monks took care of us, making a lot of our meals."
One routine didn't change. The Buckeyes kept up their tradition of watching a movie together the night before the game. Some of the monks joined them.
"We had to make it a movie that everybody could watch," Schafrath said. "I don't remember exactly what we saw, but I remember it was probably better suited for a 2-year-old."
The Buckeyes and Ducks are reuniting in the Rose Bowl on Friday, a showdown that no doubt has led to many flashbacks for Schafrath.
"I remember it pretty good because three of us got married right before the game," Schafrath said. "I wasn't really that serious about getting married that quick, but Woody said the wives would get to go, so we got married on Thanksgiving.
"My parents never left our farm in Wooster, but Woody made sure all the parents went to the game, so they flew out on a prop plane. I got to see them and my wife for about two hours the seven days we were there."
