OL Jim Reichenbach (official thread)

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Jim Reichenbach, area football standout and coach, dies at 76
By Todd Porter
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted May 12, 2009

Jim Reichenbach

MASSILLON Long after Jim Reichenbach finished plowing fields and defenders for Howard ?Hopalong? Cassady, he still plowed the fields. Reichenbach, who farmed 125 acres while he was raising Stark County football players as one of the area?s best coaches, died Monday morning after a six-year battle with Alzheimer?s. He was 76.

Not many freshmen started for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. Reichenbach did. He was prepared to play early at Washington High School under Chuck Mather during one of the greatest periods in Tiger football.

With Reichenbach at one guard and Jim Parker the other, they paved the way for Cassady and helped Hayes earn fans. Hayes struggled a bit in his first three years, until 1954.

Reichenbach was an All-American on Ohio State?s ?54 national championship team.

After his playing days, Reichenbach coached briefly at Baldwin-Wallace College under Lee Tressel. Then he returned to his Stark County roots and coached and taught high school football here for nearly 30 years until 1988. He coached at Glenwood, McKinley, Tuslaw and Dover.

?You grow up, and I don?t think I?ll ever change very much from when I was 16 years old playing for Coach Reichenbach,? said Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive lineman Dan Dierdorf, who played at Glenwood for Reichenbach. ?I was deathly afraid of him. He looked to me ... to be eight feet tall. He was an imposing guy.

?He got me ready to play for Bo Schembechler. (Reichenbach) was such a taskmaster ... but he wasn?t stern. He wasn?t mean. When I played for him, I preferred he didn?t know my name.?

Jim Reichenbach, area football standout and coach, dies at 76 - Canton, OH - CantonRep.com

An excellent player? ... 'a tremendous coach'
By CHRIS EASTERLING
The Independent
Posted May 11, 2009

MASSILLON, OH ? Football always was an important part of Jim Reichenbach?s life.
As a player, he became one of Massillon?s first three-time starters, then went on to become the first freshman offensive lineman to start at Ohio State. He then spent 27 years as a head coach at Glenwood, Tuslaw and Dover high schools.
But football was also a part of Reichenbach?s life away from the playing field, right up until Monday, the day the 76-year-old passed away.
?Even while he was in the hospital, he was talking about fullbacks and halfbacks,? his wife of over 48 years, Ruth, recalled.

Bucking trends

After graduating from Washington High School, Reichenbach arrived on Ohio State?s campus and almost immediately stepped foot into the Buckeyes? starting lineup. During the early 1950s, freshmen were eligible to play for the varsity team due to the Korean War.
So, when starter Thor Ronemus suffered an injury during the preseason, Reichenbach was right there waiting for the chance. And when the Buckeyes opened the season against Southern Methodist at Ohio Stadium ? in Woody Hayes? first game as head coach ? Reichenbach made history as the first freshman offensive lineman to start at the school.
?It was very exciting to say the least,? Reichenbach said in a 1994 interview with The Independent. ?Chuck Mather and the other coaches told me I could play and I did.?
He would be joined that season in the lineup by another former Tiger teammate and classmate, Jerry Krisher. Krisher, who also lettered four years for Ohio State from 1951-54, played at the other guard spot.
There was little pressure from others, Krisher recalls, on the two freshmen from Massillon who rapidly ascended into the starting lineup.
?That kind of feeling wasn?t really evident in those days,? Krisher said. ?Coach said you were starting, and there weren?t any questions asked.?
Reichenbach and Krisher were sandwiched around another former Tiger, Mike Takacs, at center.
?They called it the ?Massillon Wall,?? Krisher recalled.
The Buckeyes won the national championship in 1954, the final year for Reichenbach and Krisher in Columbus. After graduation, Reichenbach went into the Air Force and was elevated to captain before leaving the service and returning to Massillon.
Back to Massillon

‘An excellent player’ ... 'a tremendous coach' - Massillon, OH - The Independent

 

[Buckskin86]

Sunday Special: Reichenbach made his mark as player and coach
By Todd Porter
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted May 16, 2009

Few were better than Jim Reichenbach when he played at Massillon under Chuck Mather, and the Tigers produced some of the best teams in their storied football history. Then Reichenbach went on to win a national title at Ohio State under Woody Hayes in 1954.

By the time John Muhlbach came through Massillon, Reichenbach had graduated from Ohio State and was in the early years of his coaching career. But Muhlbach, himself an offensive lineman, was well aware of Reichenbach.

?His picture hung in the hallway in the athletic wing at the old high school,? Muhlbach said. ?I knew about Jim Reichenbach from about my junior year in high school.?

Their paths would cross again.

Reichenbach was the head coach at Glenwood High School before Muhlbach was the head coach at Oakwood. The two schools later combined to form GlenOak High School.

?He was a far greater player than any accomplishments I ever had,? Muhlbach said. ?He was just one of those guys you looked up to.?

It was nice catching up with Hall of Fame lineman Dan Dierdorf to talk about his high school coach. Reichenbach coached Dierdorf at Glenwood.

Dierdorf feared Reichenbach, a no-nonsense coach who didn?t have time for games or wasting time on the practice field.

Later in life, Dierdorf came to appreciate Reichenbach. The fear left, and he realized that Reichenbach was just a hard-working man and, oddly enough, soft-spoken.

?When I was a kid, I tried to never make eye contact with him,? Dierdorf said. ?He wasn?t mean, but he was stern. He taught us a lesson, and it was the first time I learned that how you practice the game is a direct correlation to how you play it.

?Later on, when I got to know him, he was the type of guy who would look you in the eyes when he asked a question, and he wasn?t just making cocktail talk. It was because he wanted to know something about you.?

More than anything, Reichenbach was an honest man. He never tried to steer Dierdorf to Ohio State or sway his decision to attend rival Michigan.

But it wasn?t a choice Dierdorf had to make. Ohio State never made him an offer.

?How do I thank him? By going to Michigan,? Dierdorf said, laughing. ?He and I were always at peace with that decision because Ohio State didn?t offer me. But I was always glad I never had to sit across from him at a table with a Michigan offer in one hand and an Ohio State offer in the other. Honestly, though, I think he would have looked at me and said, ?Dan, it?s your decision.? And I know he would have convinced me it was my decision, and he wouldn?t have tried to steer me to Ohio State. He was bigger than that.?

Sunday Special: Reichenbach made his mark as player and coach - Canton, OH - CantonRep.com