The legend says Indiana coach Lee Corso was so excited to be ahead of the Buckeyes, 7-6, that had his players pose for a picture in front of the scoreboard.
theozone.net
Did Lee Corso Stop A Game To Take A Scoreboard Picture?
But in the first minute of the second quarter, according to a 1977 Sports Illustrated article by John Underwood, something bizarre happened.
That’s one version of the story. However, there are some immediate red flags.
For instance, Indiana led the Buckeyes 10-7 at halftime of the 1965 game, just 11 years earlier. Not even close to the 25 years Corso claimed.
A bigger issue is that Indiana University’s official archives have not been able to locate the supposed photo.
The photo at the top of this article is from the IU Archives file on the 1976 OSU/IU game, but they don’t have the scoreboard photo.
According to their records, “there is no mention or photo of such an event in the following Monday’s (Nov. 1, 1976)
Indiana Daily Student.”
They also cite an anonymous player from that team who says it didn’t happen.
Ohio State’s archives don’t include photos from the game because it was on the road.
Additionally, neither
The Indianapolis Star, nor
The Columbus Dispatch, nor
The Lantern recap of that game mention the scoreboard picture.
The official play-by-play of the game didn’t track timeouts, so it’s impossible to know if Corso called a timeout after the score (top of page 6).
It’s the kind of amusing and self-deprecating story Corso has been known for telling over the years. It might have just been a joke he told Underwood that then became “fact” over the years.
You can find video of the 1978 OSU/IU game online, but not the 1976 matchup.
Without that, and without a photo or game recap from that day that mentioned what obviously would have been a memorable event, this is just a great story for now.
Just sayin': Is it an "urban legend" or did it actually happened?
