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Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (5x National Champion, OSU HOF, CFB HOF, R.I.P.)

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Remember my father took me to Rotary lunch once, with Anne Hayes as keynote speaker. Question from the audience was "do you ever think of divorcing Woody?", and Anne (quite calmly) answered, "Murder, yes. Divorce, no". He was a great coach, as well as a great human, with his legacy spoiled by the incident with a Clemson player, Charley Baughman, I believe.
 
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THANK YOU, VETERANS. I goofed on Monday. I goofed hard. I failed to remember that Monday was Veterans Day!

While I didn’t acknowledge Veterans Day in the Skull Session, I spent some time on Monday reading about Buckeyes who served in the military. One of them was the late great Woody Hayes. Before Monday, I knew Hayes loved the military, but I didn’t know he served during World War II. At least, I don’t think I did. Regardless, discovering more about the coach’s tenure in the Navy inspired me, so I decided to share what I learned here.

In the summer of 1941, Hayes enlisted in the Navy. He requested active duty and became a Lieutenant Commander during World War II. Hayes commanded PC 1251 in the invasion of Palau and the USS Rinehart in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hayes was crossing through the Panama Canal when his alma mater, Denison University, hired him as its head football coach.

“People talked about how devoted Woody is to football. He was just as dedicated to the Navy,” Hayes’ wife, Anne, said. “Why, we had been married only five days when he asked for sea duty. He didn’t get it at once, but he did request it. Stevie (their son) was nearly nine months old before Woody saw him for the first time.”

Today & Everyday.

We celebrate and honor Americas Veterans for their commitment, service and sacrifice.
#VeteransDay pic.twitter.com/ueJIROQ4DR
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 11, 2024
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When Hayes’ five years of service ended, the military never left him. Throughout his coaching career, he lectured players on military history and used war analogies to explain football to them. Hayes even designed a running play for Pete Johnson called “Patton,” named after United States Gen. George Patton.

In addition to coaching football, Hayes was an associate professor at Ohio State. As such, he spent a lot of time at the Faculty Club discussing the American Revolution, Civil War and both World Wars with the school’s other professors and academics. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon were among Hayes' favorite people to quote in those conversations.

Believe it or not, Hayes and Nixon were close. The former president eulogized Hayes at his funeral in Columbus. Nixon told a story about their first meeting, one in which Nixon wanted to talk football and Hayes wanted to talk foreign policy.

“You know Woody,” Nixon said. “We talked foreign policy.”

He continued: “For 30 years thereafter, I was privileged to know the real Woody Hayes. I knew the man behind the myth. Instead of a know-nothing Neanderthal, I found a renaissance man with a consuming interest in history and a profound understanding of the forces that moved the world.”

The legendary Wayne Woodrow Hayes. May we all strive to be like him, men and women, with a consuming interest in history, a profound understanding of the forces that moved the world – and a love for the Buckeyes… that, too.

www.elevenwarriors.com

Skull Session: Ohio Stadium Needs New Turf, Ohio State Will End Its Regular Season With Six Straight Noon Games and Several Buckeyes Bring Home Accolades After the Purdue Game

Ohio State needs new turf or a grass surface as soon as possible, and the Buckeyes will end their regular season with six straight noon games.
www.elevenwarriors.com www.elevenwarriors.com
 
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Woody Hayes’ old phone number still works — and if you call it, you’ll hear his team speech before a Michigan game​

Although Woody Hayes passed away many years ago, there's a way you can still hear him.

When it comes to the Michigan rivalry, it's hard not to think about one of Ohio State's most iconic coaches — Woody Hayes.

Although he passed away many years ago, there's a way you can still hear him.

By dialing 614-488-1910, you can hear Hayes give what sounds like a pregame speech to his football team before a Michigan game.

"This ball game will boil down to three things. Three things. Number one, the team that hits the hardest and the longest, the team that starts the fastest, and the team that's too damn smart to make mistakes. They're too smart to make mistakes and that team will win without any question. If you take it to 'em, if you don't make mistakes and you keep taking it to 'em. Hell, there's no question who will win. There's no question who will win. Now let's go out and do it."

So who's behind this? Ryan Vesler, the owner of Columbus-based clothing store, Homage, said he found the number in 2010.
Vesler said that he recalled reading a biography about Hayes and how the football coach fundamentally believed that, as a member of the community, he should have his phone number in the white pages.

So, Vesler wanted to know what that number was.

"I went to the library downtown, got a microfilm, found the white pages from that era, found the number," Vesler said.

Vesler called the number, but it was out of service.

"Then I called AT&T and like, got ratted around for like an hour. Finally talked to someone who helped me get the number. So that's how the whole thing happened," Vesler said.

Vesler plans on keeping the number for as long as he can.

"I want to make it really clear that like this is all celebratory and just to capture Woody's place in the rivalry and what this game means to people," Vesler said.

Vesler's not sure how many calls the number gets, but it's just a fun way for him to put some joy into the rivalry.

Ohio State and Michigan will play in the 120th edition of "The Game" on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
 
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