QB Don Unverferth (official thread)

[TRIVFUN]

Anybody have a picture of him wearing the 1965 OSU helmet. This was the guy when he left Bucks was the all-time passer and he graduated NO. 1 at Ohio State medical school.

 

[Kabuki]

If you could only pick one to dot the i, who would it be...Unverferth or Darsch?

 

[calibuck]

It would have to be Nancy Darsch, because I believe Dr. Don passed away about ten or so years ago from cancer.....why would one use Nancy Darsch in the same sentence with Dr. Don?

:gobucks3::gobucks4:

 

[BUCKYLE]

It would have to be Nancy Darsch, because I believe Dr. Don passed away about ten or so years ago from cancer.....why would one use Nancy Darsch in the same sentence with Dr. Don?

:gobucks3::gobucks4:

My beard does not speak for me.

 

[TRIVFUN]

It would have to be Nancy Darsch, because I believe Dr. Don passed away about ten or so years ago from cancer.....why would one use Nancy Darsch in the same sentence with Dr. Don?

:gobucks3::gobucks4:

How did you get to that conclusion? I want to know if there was a photo of Don in his playing days because I have seen photos of Ike Kelley and Greg Lashukta but not him.

 

[BuckeyeRyn]

It would have to be Nancy Darsch, because I believe Dr. Don passed away about ten or so years ago from cancer.....why would one use Nancy Darsch in the same sentence with Dr. Don?

:gobucks3::gobucks4:

Pretty sure, if memory serves correctly, it wasn't cancer... I believe he blew an aneurysm while driving to work on 315...

 

[ScriptOhio]

The Unverferth House was established in memory of Unversity Medical Center cardiologist Donald V. Unverferth, M.D. Dr. Unverferth, a world-renowned physician in the areas of cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure, practiced medicine and taught medical students at The Ohio State University for over 15 years.

A true Buckeye, Dr. Unverferth attended The Ohio State University and played football under Coach Woody Hayes. After receiving his medical training at Ohio State, Dr. Unverferth served as a military physician. He returned to Ohio State to complete his internal medical training and specialized in cardiology. As a member of the faculty at University Medical Center, Dr. Unverferth laid the foundation for University Medical Center's heart transplant program.

Dr. Unverferth died in 1988. Unverferth House opened in May of 1989 as a tribute to the life, accomplishments and vision of Donald V. Unverferth, M.D.

Our History - Unverferth House

 

[BB73]

An old SI article talks about how Woody and Don Unverferth tricked Dick Butkus on a bootleg in 1964.

SI.vault

Hayes went about preparing for the Illinois game as carefully as a Prussian general. First he circulated a dirty rumor about Butkus?that he was merely mortal. This was not easy to prove. Last year Butkus nailed Ohio State Halfback Paul Warfield with a tackle that separated him from the football and set up an Illinois touchdown. Then he rattled Unverferth around on blitzes that set up another touchdown. But now Woody was shrewd enough not to test Butkus or the rest of the burly Illinois defense in head-to-head combat. Instead, he decided on a subtler tactic. Its seed could be found in a book on military strategy that Woody tucked into his luggage as he descended on Champaign. Part of its message was the indirect approach to combat delineated by Hanson Baldwin, the military analyst of The New York Times .

The translation from battlefield to ball field became clear in the first few minutes of play when Ohio State intercepted one of Custardo's third-down passes with its volleyball defense. The pass hit the receiver's fingertips, and an Ohio State defender, John Fill, picked it off and ran it back 49 yards to the Illinois 23-yard line. On the first play Illinois was set for a wide halfback sweep or a pass; that's what Ohio State customarily does after a sudden turnover. Woody gave them the illusion of the sweep but not its substance. He set up the whole flow of the play to the right and then sent Unverferth bootlegging inside left end. Butkus and the whole Illinois defense followed the play to the right, searching the various Ohio State backs for the one who had the ball. "Nobody even touched me until
I got to the two-yard line," said Unverferth later. That gave Ohio State its first touchdown and set the tone for the whole game. Thereafter, the counteraction plays and bootlegs had Illinois lunging hopelessly in the wrong direction. Butkus' superb instinct for football was entirely neutralized by this indirect approach. When he wasn't frozen by the action of a counter-play, he was wrestling desperately with fullback fakes into the line. "Hanson Baldwin," said Woody, "would have been proud of us today."

Cont'd ..

 

[LitlBuck]

He was truly a great guy and an excellent cardiologist.