February 14th,
1913
Woody Hayes
Did you know that there used to
be a college bowl game, and this is no joke, called the Salad Bowl. It’s true! Five Salad Bowl games were held from 1948-1952. In 1951, Woody Hayes lead Miami (Ohio) to
a 34-21 victory over Arizona State in the second to last Salad Bowl. That Salad Bowl would be the last he
would coach at Ohio as the big time was calling.
Miami has been called by some as
the Craddle of Coaches, for it has produced such men as Paul Brown, Ara
Parseghian, Weeb Ewebank, Bo Schembechler, and for the 1949 and ’50 season,
Woody Hayes.
There is no doubt he was a
successful coach on the sidelines for The Ohio State University Buckeyes. 5 National Championships spread over 28
seasons at Ohio State. In total,
he won 238 games, lost just 72 and tie another 10. That record includes seasons at Denison and Miami of
Ohio.
Of course, Woody had incidents
that made even his most faithful follower wince. There was the 1971 incident with referee Jarry
Markbreit. An official did not
penalize Hayes’ opponent, Michigan, for what he thought should have been pass
interference. He charged
officials, cursed at them, and proceeded to throw yard markers about the field. When all was said and done, Woody
racked up 30 yards in penalties, was ejected, suspended and fined.
December 29th, 1978
was his last game. Playing in the
Gator Bowl against Clemson, late in the game, the Buckeyes were close to
scoring a go ahead touchdown. Clemson
nose guard Charlie Bauman intercepted a pass and returned it out of bounds at
the OSU bench. Enraged, Hayes
punched Bauman and a bench-clearing brawl ensued. The Buckeyes were penalized 30 yards, Hayes was ejected, and
the incident would lead to his firing.
In a side note, Hayes’ son, Steven,
was the Franklin County Municipal Judge who presided over the case of former
Buckeye running back Maurice Clarett.
He passed away March 12th,
1987, but of all days, for a person with a hot temper, Woody Hayes just had to
be born on Valentine’s Day, 1913.
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