Brett Ludwiczak
Guest
You’re Nuts: Which non-football Ohio State record feels unbreakable?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State AD Gene Smith with OSU Hall of Fame inductee Justin Fry (2019) | Via Ohio State Athletics
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about records, the ones that have been broken, the ones that could be broken, and the ones that will never be broken. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Broken Records” articles here.
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Wayne Gretzky 1,963 assists, and Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in an NBA game are just a few records that feel like they are unbreakable. The closest challenger to DiMaggio’s hitting streak was Pete Rose in 1978 and he still fell 12 games short of tying the record. Even if Wayne Gretzky hadn’t scored a goal in his career, he’d still be the all-time leading point scorer in NHL history because of all his assists. When it comes to Chamberlain’s 100-point game, nobody has come closer than Kobe Bryant in 2006 when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. For anyone to challenge these records, it feels like a superhuman effort is going to be needed.
Today we are going to look at some Ohio State records we feel will never be broken. With some many great athletes who passed through Columbus over the years, there are plenty of marks that have been set that seem like they’ll never be broken. Although it would be fun to imagine a star Buckeye setting sights on these records and doing their best to try and match it, the college game in pretty much all sports has changed so much over the years, which makes it even tougher to reach these marks than those who set these records had it.
It’s safe to say Ohio State basketball isn’t going to see another shot blocker as prolific as Ken Johnson. From 1998 to 2001, Johnson was credited with 444 blocked shots, which is 116 more blocks than the previous record holder Herb Williams, who has over 100 more blocks than third-place Dallas Lauderdale.
In his four seasons as a Buckeye, Johnson totaled at least 100 blocks in three of those seasons. Since 2002, there has only been one Ohio State player with at least 100 blocks in a season, as Greg Oden had 105 blocks during the 2006-07 season.
The fact is basketball isn’t played like it used to be, both on and off the court. The transfer portal and some players leaving for the NBA after just a season or two has assured many old records are going to stand for quite some time because players aren’t on campus nearly as long as they used to be.
Just look at Felix Okpara, who was a shot-blocking machine while at Ohio State. Okpara blocked 83 shots last year and had 44 swats in 2022-23. Even with his 127 career blocks, Okpara was still over 200 blocks shy of second place in school history. To catch Williams, Okpara would have to be just the third different Buckeye to record at least 100 blocks in a season, and he would have to do that twice!
These days basketball is played more on the perimeter and less in the paint, which has cut down on the number of blocked shots. When you look at the leaders in blocked shots in Division I recently, the last time the leader in the country had over 150 blocked shots was during the 2011-12 season when Anthony Davis had 186 rejections.
Those stats alone should tell you that if any Buckeye is going to challenge the block record of Johnson, they’ll have to not only be prolific, they’ll also have to stick around in Columbus for three or four years. While that could become a thing with NIL, it’s hard to imagine a defensive force not jumping to the NBA after a couple years in college.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Ohio State’s 40-year-old offensive line coach somehow played baseball for the Buckeyes in the ‘90s? The answer to that is obviously no, as the football staffer is spelled Justin Frye, and is of course no relation to the OSU baseball legend Justin Fry.
Fry is unquestionably the greatest pitcher to ever toe the rubber in the scarlet and gray. The 6-foot-3 right-hander is the program record-holder in wins (36), innings pitched (419.2), and strikeouts (382). Fry was named the 1997 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, posting a 10-3 record, but was perhaps his best in his final season at Ohio State in 1999. In that senior campaign, Fry was named a First Team All-American and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year with an 11-2 record and 3.70 ERA.
While many of pitcher’s records seem unbreakable, the one I want to look at specifically is his strikeout total. With 382 punch-outs in his career, Fry is nearly 100 ahead of the next-highest player on the list — Steve Arlin with 294 from 1965-66. The only Ohio State pitchers in the last decade to even break the 200-strikeout mark were Seth Lonsway (266) in 2019-21 and Ryan Feltner (204) in 2016-18.
The reason Fry was able to accomplish such a loft strikeout total was his incredible consistency. Fry recorded at least 100 strikeouts in three consecutive seasons, fanning 101 in 1997, 113 in 1998 and 104 in 1999. In addition to that, Fry was someone who regularly pitched deep into games — something not many starting pitchers do in today’s era of baseball. Fry pitched 24 complete games in his Ohio State career, good for third-most in school history.
That combination of skill, longevity and consistency makes this record virtually unbeatable. Even if another star pitcher was to play four collegiate seasons with the Buckeyes, starting pitchers just don't throw as many pitches or go as deep into games as they used to. There’s a reason only two players have even cracked the 200-mark in the last decade, and it seems unthinkable that there will ever be another player to crack 300, let alone hit the 382 mark necessary to unseat Fry.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Ohio State AD Gene Smith with OSU Hall of Fame inductee Justin Fry (2019) | Via Ohio State Athletics
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about records, the ones that have been broken, the ones that could be broken, and the ones that will never be broken. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Broken Records” articles here.
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Wayne Gretzky 1,963 assists, and Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 points in an NBA game are just a few records that feel like they are unbreakable. The closest challenger to DiMaggio’s hitting streak was Pete Rose in 1978 and he still fell 12 games short of tying the record. Even if Wayne Gretzky hadn’t scored a goal in his career, he’d still be the all-time leading point scorer in NHL history because of all his assists. When it comes to Chamberlain’s 100-point game, nobody has come closer than Kobe Bryant in 2006 when he scored 81 points against the Toronto Raptors. For anyone to challenge these records, it feels like a superhuman effort is going to be needed.
Today we are going to look at some Ohio State records we feel will never be broken. With some many great athletes who passed through Columbus over the years, there are plenty of marks that have been set that seem like they’ll never be broken. Although it would be fun to imagine a star Buckeye setting sights on these records and doing their best to try and match it, the college game in pretty much all sports has changed so much over the years, which makes it even tougher to reach these marks than those who set these records had it.
Today’s question: Which Ohio State record feels unbreakable?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Ken Johnson’s 444 career blocks
It’s safe to say Ohio State basketball isn’t going to see another shot blocker as prolific as Ken Johnson. From 1998 to 2001, Johnson was credited with 444 blocked shots, which is 116 more blocks than the previous record holder Herb Williams, who has over 100 more blocks than third-place Dallas Lauderdale.
In his four seasons as a Buckeye, Johnson totaled at least 100 blocks in three of those seasons. Since 2002, there has only been one Ohio State player with at least 100 blocks in a season, as Greg Oden had 105 blocks during the 2006-07 season.
The fact is basketball isn’t played like it used to be, both on and off the court. The transfer portal and some players leaving for the NBA after just a season or two has assured many old records are going to stand for quite some time because players aren’t on campus nearly as long as they used to be.
Just look at Felix Okpara, who was a shot-blocking machine while at Ohio State. Okpara blocked 83 shots last year and had 44 swats in 2022-23. Even with his 127 career blocks, Okpara was still over 200 blocks shy of second place in school history. To catch Williams, Okpara would have to be just the third different Buckeye to record at least 100 blocks in a season, and he would have to do that twice!
These days basketball is played more on the perimeter and less in the paint, which has cut down on the number of blocked shots. When you look at the leaders in blocked shots in Division I recently, the last time the leader in the country had over 150 blocked shots was during the 2011-12 season when Anthony Davis had 186 rejections.
Those stats alone should tell you that if any Buckeye is going to challenge the block record of Johnson, they’ll have to not only be prolific, they’ll also have to stick around in Columbus for three or four years. While that could become a thing with NIL, it’s hard to imagine a defensive force not jumping to the NBA after a couple years in college.
Gene’s Answer: Justin Fry’s 382 career strikeouts
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Ohio State’s 40-year-old offensive line coach somehow played baseball for the Buckeyes in the ‘90s? The answer to that is obviously no, as the football staffer is spelled Justin Frye, and is of course no relation to the OSU baseball legend Justin Fry.
Fry is unquestionably the greatest pitcher to ever toe the rubber in the scarlet and gray. The 6-foot-3 right-hander is the program record-holder in wins (36), innings pitched (419.2), and strikeouts (382). Fry was named the 1997 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, posting a 10-3 record, but was perhaps his best in his final season at Ohio State in 1999. In that senior campaign, Fry was named a First Team All-American and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year with an 11-2 record and 3.70 ERA.
While many of pitcher’s records seem unbreakable, the one I want to look at specifically is his strikeout total. With 382 punch-outs in his career, Fry is nearly 100 ahead of the next-highest player on the list — Steve Arlin with 294 from 1965-66. The only Ohio State pitchers in the last decade to even break the 200-strikeout mark were Seth Lonsway (266) in 2019-21 and Ryan Feltner (204) in 2016-18.
The reason Fry was able to accomplish such a loft strikeout total was his incredible consistency. Fry recorded at least 100 strikeouts in three consecutive seasons, fanning 101 in 1997, 113 in 1998 and 104 in 1999. In addition to that, Fry was someone who regularly pitched deep into games — something not many starting pitchers do in today’s era of baseball. Fry pitched 24 complete games in his Ohio State career, good for third-most in school history.
That combination of skill, longevity and consistency makes this record virtually unbeatable. Even if another star pitcher was to play four collegiate seasons with the Buckeyes, starting pitchers just don't throw as many pitches or go as deep into games as they used to. There’s a reason only two players have even cracked the 200-mark in the last decade, and it seems unthinkable that there will ever be another player to crack 300, let alone hit the 382 mark necessary to unseat Fry.
Continue reading...