EARLY YEARS
Born in Clifton, Ohio, Hayes played center on his Newcomerstown, Ohio high school football team and tackle at Denison University. He majored in English and history during his undergraduate days and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.
After graduating from Denison in 1935, Hayes went on to serve as an assistant at two Ohio high schools: Mingo Junction from 1935-1936 and New Philadelphia in 1937. When NPHS head coach John Brickels left to accept another position, Hayes was elevated to the New Philadelphia head coaching slot, where he put together a 17-2-1 mark in his first two seasons before enduring a 1-9 campaign in 1940.
Hayes enlisted in the United States Navy in July, 1941, eventually rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during World War II. He commanded the PC 1251 in the Palau Islands invasion and the destroyer-escort Rinehart in both the Atlantic and Pacific operations.
In 1942, he married Anne Gross, with the couple having one son, Steven, who went on to a prestigious career of his own as both a lawyer and judge.
Upon returning in 1946, Hayes accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater, Denison, where he struggled during his first year, winning only the season finale. However, that victory would spark a 19-game winning streak, a surge that would propel him into the head coaching position at Miami University (Ohio). This institution was long considered the "Cradle of Coaches," in recognition of its knack for developing outstanding coaches such as Paul Brown, Weeb Ewbank, Sid Gillman, and Bo Schembechler. In his two years with the Redskins, Hayes would become part of this select group by leading the 1950 squad to an appearance in the Salad Bowl, where they defeated Arizona State University. That success led him to accept the Ohio State head coaching position on February 18, 1951.
OHIO STATE YEARS
As head coach with the Buckeyes, Hayes would lead his teams to a 205-68-10 record, winning four national championships, 13 Big Ten Conference titles and four of the team's eight Rose Bowl appearances. Woody considered the "greatest victory" of his career the 42-21 win over USC during the 1974 Rose Bowl. Twice winning National Coach of the Year honors, Hayes was "the subject of more varied and colorful anecdotal material than any other coach past or present, including fabled Knute Rockne," according to biographer Jerry Brondfield.
Hayes' basic coaching philosophy was that "nobody could win football games unless they regarded the game positively and would agree to pay the price that success demands of a team." His conservative style of football (especially on offense) was often described as "three yards and a cloud of dust"; in other words, a "crunching, frontal assault of muscle against muscle, bone upon bone, will against will."
Despite this seeming willingness to avoid change, Hayes became one of the first major college head coaches to recruit African-American players and hire African-American assistant coaches. One of those players, Archie Griffin, was one of four Heisman Trophy winners to have played under Hayes and remains the only two-time winner in seven decades worth of selections. In addition, Hayes saw 58 players earn All-America accolades under his tutelage, while many notable football coaches, such as Lou Holtz, Bill Arnsparger, Bill Mallory, Bo Schembechler and Woody's successor, Earle Bruce, served as his assistants.
Hayes would often use illustrations from historical events to strongly make a point in his coaching and teaching. When Hayes was first hired to be the head coach at OSU, he was also made a "full professor of physical education," having earned an M.A. degree in educational administration from Ohio State in 1948. The classes that he taught on campus were usually full, and he was called "Professor Hayes" by students.
During his time at Ohio State, Hayes' relationships with faculty members was particularly good. Even those members of the faculty who believed that the role of intercollegiate athletics was growing out of control, respected Hayes personally for his commitment to academics, the standards of integrity with which he ran his program and the genuine enthusiasm he brought to his hobby as an amateur historian. Hayes often ate lunch or dinner at the university's faculty club, interacting with professors and administrators. In this sense, Hayes represented a dying breed of big-time college coach who was a fully integrated member of his institution's faculty.
As a coach and an educator, Hayes was one of the first to heavily use the motion picture as a teaching and learning tool. He was also memorable as a professor that could be seen walking across campus, taking the time to visit with students. When talking to young people, Hayes treated all of them equally and with respect, without regard to race or economic class. His enthusiasm for coaching and winning was such that many across the nation consider the following maxim to be true: "What Vince Lombardi was to professional football, Woody Hayes was to college football."
CONTROVERSIES
Hayes' volatile temper was often on display during key football games, an emotional flaw that often overshadowed his coaching ability, with one acquaintance saying of Hayes, "Woody's idea of sublimating is to hit someone." In 1956, Hayes attacked a television cameraman following a defeat to the University of Iowa, which was followed three years later by an incident in which Hayes took a swing at Los Angeles Examiner sportswriter Al Bine, but missed and instead struck the brother of Pasadena Independent sports editor Bob Shafer. The scuffle had followed a 17-0 shutout loss to the University of Southern California.
Another loss to Iowa in the 1960's resulted in Hayes cutting his face with the large ring on his left hand. Hayes' rage with that team stemmed from his feud with the Hawkeyes' head coach and athletic director, Forest Evashevski, which in a May 1965 meeting of Big Ten Conference athletic directors and coaches saw Hayes nearly come to blows with this rival.
In two instances at arch-rival Michigan, his fury also got the best of him: in 1971, he tore up sideline markers following what he thought was a missed defensive pass interference call against Michigan and six years later, a late fumble caused him to charge an ABC television cameraman who had recorded his frustration. The latter incident resulted in Hayes being put on probation by the Big Ten Conference.
In between those incidents, Hayes' deportment during two separate Rose Bowl appearances also created headlines. Just prior to the 1973 contest, Hayes pushed a camera into the face of a news photographer, screaming, "That'll take care of you, you son of a bitch." Three years later, after UCLA had stunned the Buckeyes and cost them a national championship, Hayes refused to let anyone speak to the media following the game.
This "anger management" problem eventually resulted in a heart attack in June 1974, and four years later, brought an end to Hayes' career. On December 29, 1978 in the team's Gator Bowl contest against the Clemson Tigers, middle guard Charlie Bauman's interception in the closing seconds of the game caused Hayes to strike him as he got up. Just hours after returning to Columbus, Hayes was informed of his dismissal.
The irony in the situation was that Hayes had seen his reputation damaged just as his idol, Gen. George S. Patton had in 1944 when he allegedly struck a soldier. After the incident, Hayes reflected on his career by saying, "Nobody despises to lose more than I do. That's got me into trouble over the years, but it also made a man of mediocre ability into a pretty good coach." Nonetheless, Coach Hayes was viewed as a "tragic figure."
LEGACY
Hayes' lifetime record of 238-72-10 places him sixth in all-time NCAA Division I-A coaching victories. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.
It would be incorrect to remember Woody Hayes only for his occasional explosive temper in matters related to football, since his total personality was much more complex. Hayes combined a warm family nature with a quick wit and a sense of humor, and many remember his broad grin that could "win over any crowd." Hayes also had a tender side, often taking his football players to visit young patients at the Columbus Children's Hospital.
Hayes truly loved Ohio State, serving as a great friend and teacher to many of its graduates and former students. He delivered an emotional Commencement Address at the institution in early 1986 in which he noted that it was not shameful to have been fired, citing Gen. Douglas MacArthur and former President Richard M. Nixon as examples. More importantly, he passionately told the graduates about "paying forward" and "working hard" to become successful in life.
At Hayes' funeral on March 17, 1987, Nixon delivered the eulogy before a crowd of 1,400, acknowledging the friendship that had begun during his second term as Vice President. Having met Hayes at a reception following a Buckeye win over Iowa, Nixon recalled, "I wanted to talk about football and Woody wanted to talk about foreign policy. And you know Woody. We talked about foreign policy." The following day, more than 15,000 people took part in a memorial service at Ohio Stadium, the scene of many of Hayes' greatest triumphs.
Hayes commitment to academics at Ohio State was evidenced by his request that donations from his family, friends and supporters be made to the academic side of the university. Following his death and in keeping with his wishes, the Wayne Woodrow Hayes Chair in National Security Studies was established at Ohio State's Mershon Center for International Security Studies. Professor John Mueller currently holds the chair.
After his death, the following story was commonly heard on the streets of Columbus: "Whenever you hear rolling thunder in the heavens, look up and smile--for it must be Woody Hayes coaching God's football team!"
NOTABLE QUOTES
"You can never really pay back. You can only pay forward."
"A guy from Ohio can make it in life if he works hard enough."
"You win with people."
"Paralyze resistance with persistence."
"There are three things that can happen when you throw a pass, and two of them are bad." This quote is often incorrectly attributed to Mr. Hayes but is actually a quote made by General Robert Neyland of the University of Tennessee which is "When you throw the ball, three things can happen -- and two of them are bad"
"I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face."
"Discipline is 95 percent anticipation."
"Without winners, there wouldn't even be any goddamned civilization."
"Football represents and embodies everything that's great about this country, because the United States of America is built on winners, not losers or people who didn't bother to play."
"One thing you cannot afford ever to do is to feel sorry for yourself."
"There was no one who had better people than I did, or better football players. And, we outworked the other teams."
"The only way we'd get beaten was if we got a little fatheaded, if we didn't train right, if we had dissension on the squad."
"So many times I've found people smarter than I was.... But you know what they couldn't do? They couldn't outwork me. They couldn't outwork me!"
"You can outwork anybody. Try it, you will find out that you can do it."
"Anything easy ain't worth a damn!"
