December 29, 1978: Woody Hayes Punches Out

December 29, 1978: An era comes to an end for the football program at The Ohio State University. An ignominious end.

Football coaches had been abusing their own players for as long as there had been football. And Wayne Woodrow Hayes was no exception.

"Woody" was born on February 14, 1913, the exact same day as Yankee broadcaster Mel Allen and Teamsters union president Jimmy Hoffa. He came to Ohio State in 1951 after success at 2 smaller schools in Ohio, Denison University and Miami University. At Miami, one of his players was Glenn Edward Schembechler Jr. -- "Bo." Bo later served as Woody's assistant at Ohio State, and then as head coach at Miami.

Hayes led Ohio State to 13 Big Ten Conference Championships: 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977. However, some of these were ties: Only the titles of 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970 and 1975 were won outright. In the seasons of 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968 and 1973, he led Ohio State to win the Rose Bowl. In 1954, 1957, 1961 and 1968, the Buckeyes were declared National Champions.

Notable college or pro head coaches who had played or coached under him included Schembechler, Ara Parseghian, Lou Holtz, Joe Bugel, Bill Mallory, Bill Arnsparger, Dick LeBeau, and the man who succeeded him as Ohio State head coach, Earle Bruce.

His players included Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Jim Parker; All-Pros Jim Otis, Jack Tatum, John Brockington, John Hicks, Randy Gradishar and Tom Cousineau; and Heisman Trophy winners Howard Cassady and Archie Griffin.

In 1969, Schembechler became head coach at Michigan. What followed was "The Ten-Year War" between the master and the apprentice. Always the last game of the regular season, Ohio State and Michigan treated 364 consecutive days as if they were nothing but preparation for "The Game." It reached the point where you couldn't think of Woody without thinking of Bo, and vice versa.

Woody was a tyrant. It was his way, or the highway. His preferred method of offensive football was having his linemen open a hole in the enemy's defensive line, and sending a big fullback storming through that line. It's not clear who first described it as "Three yards and a cloud of dust." Nor is it clear what the man who thought of that line thought when Ohio Stadium switched from natural grass to AstroTurf in 1971.

Woody hated the passing game. He said, "There are three things that can happen when you throw the football, and two of them are bad," meaning an incompletion and an interception. He had nothing against quarterbacks, as long as they properly directed his running game.

If you didn't buy into Woody's system, he treated you like crap. If you did buy into his system, he would go to war for you. He was always willing to help out a former player. He not only coached football at OSU, he taught history there. He told his players the best thing they could do after graduating -- and they damn well would graduate on time -- was not play pro football, but go to law school.

And he was conservative as hell. He was pro-Nixon, pro-war, anti-long hair, anti-rock and roll, and anti-"New Hollywood," well past the point where such stands were no longer held by a majority of Americans.

But he was not racist: He gave black players a fair chance. In 1961, he coached running back Bob Ferguson, who nearly became the 1st black player to win the Heisman Trophy. He finished 2nd, to Ernie Davis of Syracuse, who did become the 1st black player to win it. He also coached running back Archie Griffin, who became the only 2-time Heisman winner, in 1974 and '75.

The only colors that mattered to Woody Hayes were the colors of the uniforms: If you wore Scarlet & Gray, you were his man; if you wore the other colors, he was coming for you.

And Ohio loved him. While most States have at least 2 major universities playing top-level college football, Ohio had OSU and several smaller schools. Cleveland and Cincinnati might have hated each other, but on Woody and his Buckeyes, they were in complete agreement.

That, and they hated Michigan, or, as Woody called them, "That school up north." The abbreviation "tsun" (never capitalized) began appearing around campus. This was before the era of social media, when Ohio State fans would use a red X in place of the letter M: "Going to Ohio StadiuX to watch the Bucks kick Xichigan ass."

But there was a dark side to Woody. There were always whispers of him hitting his players in practice, but most of those stories were kept quiet until after he was gone. In 1959, following a loss to USC, he wanted to hit Al Bine of the Los Angeles Examiner. He missed, and hit someone else instead. In 1965, at a meeting of Big Ten coaches and athletic directors, he got into a shouting match with Iowa's AD, Forest Evashevski, and lunged at him, with the others separating them before a fight could happen.

In 1971, Woody thought a Michigan player had committed pass interference, and that the officials had missed it. He ran onto the field, yelled at the referee, went back to the sideline, and began tearing up the sideline markers. He was assessed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. He picked up the penalty flag, and threw it into the crowd. He was assessed an additional penalty, and thrown out of the game. So instead of being +15 yards, he was -30 and out of the game.

Unlike those earlier incidents, this was seen on TV, and couldn't be covered up. He was suspended for 1 game, and fined $1,000 -- about $6,700 in today's money.

In 1973, he took the field at the Rose Bowl, but saw an NBC camera get too close. He shoved the camera, and a news photographer was hit in the face with it. This, too, was caught on TV. He was suspended for 3 games, and was fined $2,000. In 1977, they lost to Michigan, with a late fumble clinching it. An ABC camera got too close, and he charged. The cameraman got out of the way. He was thrown out of the game even before the kickoff, fined $2,000, and put on probation by the Big Ten.

In 1978, he finished the regular season 7-3-1, finishing 4th in the Big Ten, the team's worst performance in 12 years. They still made it to a bowl game, the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The opponent was Clemson University.

With 2:30 left in regulation, Clemson led 17-15, but the Buckeyes were driving -- to Woody's ironic surprise, thanks to the passing of a freshman, the best quarterback he ever had, Art Schlichter. (Schlichter's pro career was derailed by injury, and his personal life was devastating by the gambling addiction he already had on the Columbus campus.) The Buckeyes got to the Clemson 24, and it was 3rd & 5.

Woody went against his instincts, and called for a pass. Schlichter threw the ball, but it was intercepted by Clemson noseguard Charlie Bauman. He took the ball toward the sideline -- the Ohio State sideline. Enraged, Woody threw a punch at him. It bounced off Bauman's left shoulder pad, causing no damage. But it was still an egregious, unacceptable act.

ABC commentators Keith Jackson and the aforementioned Ara Parseghian (who had coached under him at Miami before building his own legend at Notre Dame) never saw the punch. They saw the play as it happened, and the punch happened in a jumble. The instant replay that was shown was from an angle that did not clearly show the punch.

But the Clemson players saw it, and they came toward Woody. The Ohio State players stepped up to defend the old man -- he was 65, but looked older -- and a bench-clearing brawl resulted. As in the 1973 incident, Ohio State was assessed 2 15-yard penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. Clemson held its 17-15 lead.

After the game, Woody was approached by his athletic director, Hugh Hindman. Hindman had played for him at Miami, and had been an assistant under him at Ohio State. He told Woody that he was going to recommend to University President Harold Enarson that he be fired, and gave him a chance to resign with whatever dignity he had left. According to Hindman, Woody said, "That would make it too easy for you. You had better go ahead and fire me."

The next day, Hindman fired Woody. His career record was finalized at 238-72-10, 205-61-10 of it at Ohio State, 152-37-7 of that in Big Ten Conference games. He had gone 6-6 in bowl games.

He lived until March 12, 1987, at age 74. He never apologized for the punch. And yet, he is still honored at The Ohio State University. The mailing address of Ohio Stadium is 411 Woody Hayes Drive.

Bobby Knight was a student at Ohio State, and a reserve player on their basketball team that won the 1960 National Championship. He was a great admirer of Woody. That frequently showed in his tenure as head basketball coach at Indiana University: He ran a clean program where his players not only excelled, but graduated on time.

Unfortunately, Knight was a lot like Hayes in another way. He hit his players, kicked them, and was even once caught on video choking one. Despite winning more games than any college basketball coach before him, and winning 11 Big Ten titles and 3 National Championships, he, too, was fired in disgrace. 

Somewhere, there must be a photograph of Knight and Hayes together.

Until I find it, I'll have to settle for this editorial cartoon.

*

December 29, 1978 was a Friday. This was the only bowl game played that day. There were no NFL games, either regular-season or Playoff. Baseball was out of season. But 8 games were played in the NBA that night:

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Kansas City Kings, 137-126 at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. (It's now the Louis Brown Athletic Center.)

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 113-107 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The San Diego Clippers beat the Detroit Pistons, 111-107 at the Silverdome in the Detroit suburb of Pontiac, Michigan.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Denver Nuggets, 123-117 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 106-103 at The Summit in Houston. (This arena still stands. It's now the Lakewood Church Central Campus, the mega "church" of Dr. Joel Osteen.)

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 118-95 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

* The Golden State Warriors beat the New Orleans Jazz, 118-106 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-92 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

There were no games played in the NHL that night, but 1 game was played in the World Hockey Association: The New England Whalers beat the Birmingham Bulls, 5-0 at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. (Now known as the MassMutual Center, the Whalers played here for 2 years while the Hartford Civic Center was rebuilt following the 1978 collapse of its roof.) 

December 2, 1975: Archie Griffin Is Awarded a 2nd Heisman Trophy

December 2, 1975: Archie Griffin becomes the 1st player ever to be awarded the Heisman Trophy as college football player of the year for a 2nd time.

Archie Mason Griffin was born (as "Archie," not "Archibald") on August 21, 1954, in Columbus, Ohio, the seat of The... Ohio State University. Perhaps he was born to play football there. He started at running back as a freshman in 1972, the 1st year that freshmen were eligible to play in NCAA Division I. He ran for 867 yards.

Head coach Woody Hayes said, "He's a better young man than he is a football player, and he's the best football player I've ever seen." For the 1973 season, to better take advantage of Griffin's skills, Hayes switched from the T formation to the I formation, with Griffin at the back. He rushed for 1,428 yards, and was named a First Team All-American. Ohio State went 10-0-1, winning the Big Ten Conference title and the Rose Bowl.

Griffin finished 5th in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. At the time, this was considered an astounding achievement for a sophomore. His teammate, guard John Hicks, finished 2nd. In any era, this would be considered an astounding achievement for an offensive lineman. Griffin also finished behind John Cappelletti of Penn State (1st), Roosevelt Leaks of Texas (3rd) and Dave Jaynes of Kansas (4th), and just ahead of another Ohio State player, linebacker Randy Gradishar.

In 1974, Griffin ran for 1,620 yards, as Ohio State went 10-1, winning the Big Ten again, before losing the Rose Bowl. He won the Heisman in, appropriately enough, a runaway. He beat out fellow running backs Anthony Davis of USC and Joe Washington of Oklahoma.

In 1975, Griffin made the most of his senior year, rushing for 1,357 yards, making himself the 1st player ever to lead the Big Ten in rushing for 3 straight years. He remained the only one until Jonathan Taylor did it for Wisconsin from 2017 to 2019.

Ohio State won the Big Ten again, going undefeated, until losing the 1976 Rose Bowl in Griffin's last college game. Overall, the Buckeyes went 40-5-1 with him in the starting lineup. Overall, he rushed for 5,589 yards and 26 touchdowns.

No player had ever won the Heisman twice. Four players had won it as juniors before Griffin: Doc Blanchard of Army in 1945, Doak Walker of Southern Methodist in 1948, Vic Janowicz of Ohio State in 1950, and Roger Staubach of Navy in 1963. Each had good senior years. But, in each case, another player simply had a better season. (In Blanchard's case, it was his Army backfield mate, Glenn Davis.)

But in 1975, the Heisman voters saw no problem with giving the Trophy to Griffin again, as he won by about as big a margin as he had the year before. And he beat a better crop of running backs, too: Joe Washington again, Chuck Muncie of California, Ricky Bell of USC, and the one who ended up winning it the next year, Tony Dorsett of Pittsburgh.

Winning 2 Heisman Trophies has never happened again. The closest call so far has come in 2008, when Tim Tebow of Florida came within 151 votes of a 2nd Heisman. And with players leaving after their junior year having become common, it is unlikely that there will ever be another.

In 1992, Ron Powlus, the most sought-after high school quarterback in the country, signed a letter of intent to play at Notre Dame. Beano Cook of ESPN, a shameless Notre Dame fan, predicted that Powlus would win 2 Heismans. He had a decent college career, but went 0-3 in bowl games, and never came close to winning the Trophy. Having sustained 2 notable injuries in that time, he went undrafted, and, despite having signed with 3 different NFL teams, he never played a down in the League.

Griffin? He was taken in the 1st round of the 1976 NFL Draft, by his home-State Cincinnati Bengals, where his teammates included a pair of Ohio State teammates: His brother Ray Griffin and Pete Johnson. But injuries limited him to 2,808 career rushing yards. He did help the Bengals win their 1st AFC Championship in the 1981 season, but he had a fumble (which he recovered himself) in Super Bowl XVI, and the Bengals lost.

After playing a season with the Jacksonville Bulls of the United States Football League, he retired from playing, and became a successful businessman. He served as President of The Ohio State University Alumni Association, and as an assistant athletic director. He is, essentially, an ambassador for the University, and speaks to the team before every game. Although his pro career was a disappointment, he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

In 1991, he filmed a commercial for the University, one of those ads you see colleges air during their football games. He spoke briefly about his experiences, and two Heisman Trophies were shown. He closed by saying, "I received something no one else in the world has: A degree from The Ohio State University with my name on it." A clever piece of misdirection.

*

December 2, 1975 was a Tuesday -- although, since the early 1980s, the Heisman ceremony has been held on a Saturday night, after the regular season but before the bowls. At any rate, on that date, the baseball season was over, and football was in midweek. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 103-100 at Madison Square Garden.

* The Washington Bullets beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 107-104 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New Orleans Jazz beat the Buffalo Braves, 108-96 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium. The Braves lost by 12 points despite getting 40 points and 16 rebounds from Bob McAdoo.

* The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 90-81 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls, 91-77 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Seattle SuperSonics beat the Kansas City Kings, 101-90 at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City. (It's now named the Hy-Vee Arena.)

* And the Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors, 115-98 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

There were 2 games played in the American Basketball Association. The Spirits of St. Louis beat the Kentucky Colonels, 122-112 at Freedom Hall in Louisville. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Virginia Squires, 119-101 at the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio.

There were 2 games played in the NHL. The New York Islanders beat the St. Louis Blues, 4-1 at the St. Louis Arena.

And there were 4 games played in the World Hockey Association. The Quebec Nordiques beat the Cleveland Crusaders, 9-2 at the Colisee de Quebec. The New England Whalers beat the Houston Aeros, 5-2 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.") The Winnipeg Jets beat the Denver Spurs, 4-3 in overtime at the McNichols Arena in Denver. The Edmonton Oilers beat the Toronto Toros, 7-2 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton. 

November 25, 1950: The Michigan-Ohio State "Snow Bowl"

November 25, 1950: Although they'd been playing each other since 1897, this was the game that set the course for turning the University of Michigan and the Ohio State University into the Midwest's  -- some would even say America's -- greatest college football rivalry.

Despite Ohio State winning a National Championship in 1942, and having another undefeated season in 1944, Michigan had dominated the rivalry. Michigan had won the National Championship in 1947 and 1948.

In 1950, they were set to play each other at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State, defending Big Ten Champions, coached by Wes Fesler, came in 6-2, and ranked Number 8 in the country; while Michigan, coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, came in at 4-3-1. Each head coach was a star player for his school in the 1920s, but neither played in the pros.

The Big Ten title was on the line, so the Buckeyes were going for back-to-back titles. However, until 1975, the Big Ten had 2 dumb rules: That the Rose Bowl was the only bowl game to which any of their teams could accept bids; and that no team could go to it in back-to-back years. In other words, if a team won back-to-back titles, in the 2nd year, the 2nd place team could accept the Rose Bowl bid. The Wolverines had to win in order to accept that bid. In the event of their defeat, they would have fallen behind Wisconsin in the league standings, and Wisconsin would have been offered the bid.

Columbus is 185 miles south of Ann Arbor, and as far south as Philadelphia. And it was the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. It was a little early for them to get hit with a snowstorm. But they got hit with one. It remains the worst weather this rivalry has ever had: A temperature of 10 degrees, wind gusts up to 28 miles per hour, and snow falling at 2 inches per hour. The snow was falling so hard, neither set of goalposts could be seen from midfield. 

There was a meeting before the game. Oosterbaan and Fesler agreed that the game should not be played. Oosterbaan's predecessor as Michigan's head coach, now their athletic director, Herbert "Fritz" Crisler, was willing to forfeit and not reschedule the game. But Ohio State A.D. Dick Larkins would not accept the forfeit: He was willing to postpone only, not cancel.

The fans were not willing to postpone: A crowd of 79,868 filled Ohio Stadium to what was then its capacity. Eyewitness reporters said that some fans built small bonfires to keep warm, and others put boxes over the heads as protection from the cold, with eyeholes cut out. This was before fans began wearing paper bags over their heads to show that they didn't want their faces shown at games played by their bad teams. Local Boy Scouts helped the grounds crew remove the snow from the tarp, and then remove the tarp from the field.

It's worth noting that this rivalry wouldn't really be possible if Michigan hadn't spent the last 100+ years recruiting players from Ohio. There have been brothers on both sides, and even fathers and sons. In this game, Bob Momsen played for Ohio State, and his brother Tony Momsen played for Michigan. Good thing for the Momsen household that this game was being played 2 days after, rather than on, Thanksgiving.

In the 1st quarter, Michigan's Chuck Ortmann tried to punt, but Bob Momsen blocked his kick, then recovered the punt on the 8-yard line. Three straight Buckeye run plays lost yardage. Running back Vic Janowicz, soon to be awarded the Heisman Trophy, attempted a 38-yard field goal in the horrible weather, and made it. The Buckeyes led, 3-0, and, at the time, it was easy to believe that the score would hold for the rest of the game.

But Janowicz, the beneficiary of the blocked punt, had his own punt blocked deep in his own territory, by Al Wahl. The ball went through the end zone, and Michigan closed to within 3-2 with the safety. That swung the momentum, and, with 20 seconds left in the 1st half, Janowicz attempted to punt again. But his kick was blocked by Tony Momsen, who fell on the ball as it drifted into the end zone. The extra point was good, and it was 9-3 Wolverines.

That would be the final score. Michigan won without ever getting a first down in the slippery conditions; Ohio State got only 3 first downs. The Buckeyes had 4 out of 21 punts blocked, the Wolverines 1 of 24, punting for 1,408 yards between them. The Buckeyes attempted 9 passes, completing none of them.

This was Ohio State's 4th straight loss to Michigan. Fesler saw the writing on the wall, and resigned. Ohio State hired the head coach at nearby Miami University: Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes. As one of his assistants, he brought one of his Miami players: Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler.

Hayes turned Ohio State into one of the top programs in the country, based in part on making beating Michigan -- or, as he called it, "That School Up North" -- a must. Michigan won again in 1951, but, from 1952 to 1968, the Buckeyes went 12-4 against the Wolverines.

After a few years as Hayes' assistant, Schembechler returned to Miami University as their head coach. In 1969, he was hired as head coach at Michigan, and he used Hayes' tactics as well as he did, and made beating Ohio State Michigan Mission Number 1. Ohio State went into the 1969 Michigan game undefeated and defending National Champions, with a 22-game winning streak, but Michigan won, in a game nationally televised by ABC, starting what became known as "The Ten-Year War" between Woody and Bo, and making the rivalry one that takes on national attention every November.

Through the 2021 season, Michigan lead the rivalry, 59-51-6.

*

November 25, 1950 was a Saturday. Among the other college games played this day were the following:

* Not yet a big rivalry, but it would become one: Number 1 Oklahoma beat Number 16 Nebraska, 49-35 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Oklahoma were awarded the National Championship, in an era when it was awarded before the bowl games. But they lost the Sugar Bowl to Kentucky.

* Number 2 Army were off. So were their arch-rivals, Navy. The following week, Nayv upset Army at Municipal Stadium (later John F. Kennedy Stadium) in Philadelphia.

* Rivalry: Number 3 Kentucky were upset by Number 9 Tennessee, 7-0 at Shields-Watkins Field (now Neyland Stadium) in Knoxville, Tennessee. Kentucky beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, which, given that Army didn't go to bowl games in those days, should have made Kentucky the National Champions. It would have been the 1st as a head coach for Paul "Bear" Bryant, later to win them at the University of Alabama. Tennessee went on to beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl.

* Rivalry: Number 4 University of California were held to a tie by Stanford, 7-7 at the old California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. Cal went on to lose the Rose Bowl to Michigan.

* Rivalry: Number 6 Illinois were upset by Northwestern, 14-7 at Dyche Stadium (now Ryan Field) in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

* Number 7 Princeton beat Dartmouth, 13-7 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

* Number 13 University of Pennsylvania were upset by Cornell, 13-6 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.

* Number 15 Southern Methodist University (SMU) were upset by Baylor, 3-0 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

* Number 17 Alabama beat Florida, 41-13 at Florida Field in Gainesville.

* Rivalry: Number 18 Washington beat Washington State, 52-21 at Memorial Stadium (later Joe Albi Stadium) in Spokane, Washington.

* Number 20 Loyola University were upset by Santa Clara, 28-26 at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles. Now named Loyola Marymount, the school no longer plays football. This was the only game they lost that season.

* The night before, Number 14 University of Miami beat Iowa, 14-6 at Burdine Stadium (the stadium later known as the Orange Bowl) in Miami. Despite playing it on their home field, Miami ended up losing the Orange Bowl to Clemson.

* Rivalry: Fordham beat New York University, 13-0 at the Polo Grounds.

* Rivalry: Yale beat Harvard, 14-6 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Rivalry: George Washington University beat Georgetown, 7-6 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.

* Rivalry: Duke beat North Carolina, 7-0 at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill.

* Rivalry: Penn State beat Pittsburgh, 21-20 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.

* Rivalry: Purdue beat Indiana, 13-0 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Wisconsin beat Minnesota, 14-0 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

* Rivalry: Colorado beat Colorado A&M (now Colorado State), 31-6 at Colorado Field in Fort Collins.

* Rivalry: Oregon State beat Oregon, 14-2 at Multnomah Stadium (now Providence Park) in Portland.

* Rivalry: UCLA beat USC, 39-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Rutgers had finished its season the week before, losing to Penn State, and finishing 4-4.

Baseball season was over. There were 4 games played in the NBA:

* The Syracuse Nationals beat the Washington Capitols, 77-67 at the Uline Arena in Washington (now the Washington Coliseum).

* The Rochester Royals beat the Boston Celtics, 90-82 at the Edgerton Park Arena in Rocheter, New York.

* The Indianapolis Olympians beat the Baltimore Bullets, 92-81 at the Butler Fieldhouse (now the Hinkle Fieldhouse) in Indianapolis.

* And the Tri-Cities Blackhawks beat the Fort Wayne Pistons, 85-71 at the Wheaton Field House in Moline, Illinois.

The NHL's entire "Original Six" were in action. The New York Rangers and the Boston Bruins played to a tie, 3-3 at the Boston Garden. The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 4-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.

And in English soccer, Arsenal beat West London team Fulham, 5-1 at Highbury in North London. 

November 22, 1969: The Michigan Wolverines Return to Glory

November 22, 1969: The most famous game in the history of the Midwest's greatest college football rivalry is played in front of 103,588 fans at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

Glenn Edward Schembechler Jr. had played for Wayne Woodrow Hayes at Miami University of Ohio, and coached under him at Ohio State, before becoming Miami's head coach, and was now in his 1st year at Michigan. "Bo" had the Wolverines ranked Number 12 in the nation. But "Woody" had won the previous year's National Championship at Ohio State, his Buckeyes had won 22 straight games, and were still ranked Number 1.

Michigan had long been the leading football power in the Big Ten, but the 1950s saw the rise of Woody's Buckeyes, and of Duffy Daugherty's Michigan State University, and the Wolverines fell back. From 1950 to 1968, Big 10 football titles had been won (some of these races ending in ties) by Illinois in 1951, 1953 and 1963; Wisconsin in 1952, 1959 and 1962; Purdue in 1952 and 1967; Michigan State in 1953, 1965 and 1966; Iowa in 1958 and 1960; Minnesota in 1960, 1962 and 1967; Indiana in 1967 (a 3-way tie with Purdue and Minnesota); Ohio State in 1954, 1955, 1957, 1961 and 1968; and Michigan only in 1964. Only Northwestern had failed to win a title.

Chalmers "Bump" Elliott, a former Michigan star, coached them to that 1964 Conference Championship. Over the next 4 years, Michigan went 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 and 8-2. Elliott was fired, and Schembechler was hired away from Miami. Just as Woody had made beating Michigan -- or, refusing to say the name, calling it "That school up north," or TSUN for short -- Bo made beating Ohio State, and Woody, the Wolverines' priority.

The Wolverines came in at 7-2, having lost a non-conference game to then-Number 9 Missouri at home, and away to Michigan State. That was their only Big 10 loss, so this game would be for the title. And the Buckeyes were looking to win another National Championship, with fellow undefeateds Texas, Arkansas and Penn State keeping an eye on them. Which they could do, because it was televised nationally on ABC.

Ohio State had quarterback Rex Kern, running backs Jim Otis and John Brockington, and nose tackle Jim Stillwagon, and safety Jack Tatum. Michigan had offensive tackle Dan Dierdorf, guard Reggie McKenzie, receiver Glenn Doughty and tight end Jim Mandich. In other words, both teams were loaded.

But while Michigan had a great offensive line, it was their defense that told the story. Ohio State scored the 1st touchdown, but missed the extra point. Michigan scored a touchdown, and made their extra point, and the 1st quarter ended with Michigan up, 7-6. Ohio State scored another touchdown, but Michigan stopped him on the two-point conversion attempt. But Michigan came right back, scored another touchdown, then another, and then a field goal. At the half, it was Michigan 24, Ohio State 12.

Bo remembered his defensive coordinator, Jim Young, telling his players that Ohio State would not score in the 2nd half. He bounded the blackboard with the formations written on it with each word: "They! Will! Not! Score! Again!" Young went on to become the head coach at Arizona, Purdue and Army.

He was right: Neither team scored again. Michigan missed a field goal, then ended the next 2 Ohio State drives with interceptions. Woody hated the passing game, saying, "Three things can happen when you throw the football, and two of them are bad," meaning an incompletion and an interception. The Ohio State defense got better in the 4th quarter, but their offense didn't, and it remained 24-12. Michigan forced 6 interceptions and a fumble, and had ended Ohio State's streak, and become the Big Ten Champions.

As the fans rushed onto the field, and the Wolverines carried Bo off their shoulders, ABC announcer Bill Flemming said, "There it is! What has to be the upset of the century!" He had forgotten about Army losing to Carlisle in 1912, Notre Dame in 1913, and Army in 1947; and Centre College beating Harvard in 1921.

Michigan's upset of Ohio State was the 1st of 10 games between Woody and Bo, from Bo's arrival in Ann Arbor in 1969 until Woody had to be fired in 1978, were known as The Ten-Year War, with Bo "winning," 5-4-1. Michigan won in 1969, '71, '76, '77 and '78. Ohio State won in 1970, '72, '74 and '75. The '73 game was a tie.

Bo (left) and Woody

Woody and Bo remained friends until Woody's death in 1987. Bo lived on until 2006, dying the day before that year's game, which became one of college football's periodic "Games of the Century."

*

November 22, 1969 was a Saturday. These other noteworthy games were played that day:

* Number 2 Texas were idle. The next week, they beat arch-rival Texas A&M. Number 3 Arkansas were idle. The next week, they beat Texas Tech, setting up the "Game of the Century" showdown. Texas won it, winning the Southwest Conference title, and its automatic berth in the Cotton Bowl. Arkansas fell to Number 3,

* Rivalry: Number 4 Penn State beat the University of Pittsburgh, 27-7 at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh. A win the next week over North Carolina State gave Penn State, an independent with no conference title available to them, an undefeated regular season, and an invitation to the Orange Bowl.

* Rivalry: Number 5 University of Southern California (USC) beat Number 6 University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), 14-12 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. USC thus won the Pacific-Eight Conference title. They went on to beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

* Rivalry: Number 7 Missouri beat Kansas, 69-921 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas. This gave "Mizzou" the Big Eight Conference title, and an automatic berth in the Orange Bowl. Penn State beat them, to complete an undefeated season, and make a claim for the National Championship.

* Number 8 Notre Dame beat Air Force, 13-6 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. For the 1st time since their "Four Horsemen" season of 1924, 45 years, the Fighting Irish accepted a bowl berth, taking on Number 1 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Texas won, and were awarded the National Championship. Penn State fans have whined about being bypassed for that title ever since.

* Rivalry: Number 9 Tennessee beat Kentucky, 31-26 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The next week, Tennessee beat Vanderbilt, and won the Southeastern Conference title. They had only lost 1 SEC game, to the University of Mississippi, who had lost 2 of them. By rights, the Sugar Bowl should have invited Tennessee, as both SEC Champions and the higher-ranked team. Instead, they invited Arkansas and "Ole Miss," as neighbors with an established inter-conference rivalry.

Ole Miss won the Sugar Bowl, and so, in the span of 64 minutes of football, Arkansas went from a good shot at the National Championship to a 2-loss team with nothing to show for it.

* Rivalry: Number 10 Louisiana State University beat Tulane, 27-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Stuck behind Tennessee and Ole Miss in the SEC, LSU were not invited to any bowl game.

* Rivalry: Number 14 Stanford beat the University of California, 29-28 at the old Stanford Stadium in the San Francisco suburb of Palo Alto, California.

* Rivalry: Number 16 Nebraska beat Oklahoma, 44-14 at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma.

* Rivalry: Number 17 Purdue beat Indiana, 44-21 at Seventeenth Street Stadium (now Memorial Stadium) in Bloomington, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Boston College beat the University of Massachusetts, 35-30 at Alumni Stadium just outside Boston in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

* Rivalry: Yale beat Harvard, 7-0 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut. It did not make up for the previous year's famous 29-29 tie.

* Rivalry: Maryland beat Virginia, 17-14 at Byrd Stadium (now SECU Stadium) in the Washington suburb of College Park, Maryland.

* Rivalry: The University of Richmond beat the College of William & Mary, 28-17 at Cary Field in Williamsburg, Virginia.

* Rivalry: Duke beat North Carolina, 17-13 at Duke Stadium (now Wallace Wade Stadium) in Durham, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: South Carolina beat Clemson, 27-13 at Carolina Stadium (now Williams-Brice Stadium) in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Rivalry: Miami University beat the University of Cincinnati, 36-20 at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.

* Rivalry: Minnesota beat Wisconsin, 35-10 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.

* Rivalry: New Mexico beat New Mexico State, 24-21 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

* Rivalry: Oregon State beat Oregon, 10-7 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon.

* Rivalry: Washington beat Washington State, 30-21 at the old Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* And in New Jersey, Rutgers beat Colgate, 48-12 at Rutgers Stadium in Piscataway; while Princeton beat Dartmouth, 35-7 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton. Earlier in the season, these 2 Jersey teams, who had played in the 1st college football game 100 years earlier, played at Rutgers, and Rutgers won, 29-0. Both teams finished the Centennial season at 6-3.

The other major rivalries were played the next week. On Thursday, November 27, Thanksgiving Day, Texas beat Texas A&M, Virginia Tech beat Virginia Military Institute (VMI -- Virginia were not yet Tech's biggest rival), and Ole Miss beat Mississippi State.

On the Saturday, November 29, Army beat Navy, Georgia Tech beat Georgia, Florida beat the University of Miami, Tennessee beat Vanderbilt, Auburn beat Alabama, Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State, and Arizona State beat Arizona.

Pro football was played the next day. Baseball was out of season. There were 5 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Phoenix Suns, 128-114 at Madison Square Garden. Willis Reed scored 37 points.

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Atlanta Hawks, 132-116 at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum (now the McCamish Pavilion) in Atlanta.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 125-106 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The San Diego Rockets beat the Boston Celtics, 125-116 at the San Diego Sports Arena (now the Pechanga Arena). Elvin Hayes scored 41 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the team that was supposed to be their arch-rivals, the San Francisco Warriors, 106-98 at the Cow Palace outside San Francisco in Daly City, California. Jerry West scored 40 points.

There was 1 game in the American Basketball Association: The Los Angeles Stars beat the Carolina Cougars, 120-117 in overtime at the J.S. Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina.

And there were 5 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the St. Louis Blues, 5-0 at the St. Louis Arena.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Oakland Seals, 4-2 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-0 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat their arch-rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Los Angeles Kings, 4-1 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota.

* And the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks were not scheduled.

November 18, 2006: Ohio State vs. Michigan, "The Game of the Century"

November 18, 2006: Ohio State University hosts its arch-rival, the University of Michigan, in what Midwestern college football fans call "The Game." This time, it was labeled "The Game of the Century" -- even though the previous season's National Championship Game, a Texas win over the University of Southern California (USC), had already been called that.

Michigan had dominated the rivalry in recent years, going 10-2-1 from 1988 to 2000. But when Jim Tressel was hired away from NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS, Football Championship Subdivision) power Youngstown State, also in Ohio, to run the Ohio State program, he vowed to beat Michigan. He did, winning 4 of his 1st 5 games against the school that Woody Hayes, the most successful of all Buckeye coaches, derisively called "That School Up North."

He took his Buckeyes into his 6th game against the Wolverines with an 11-0 record. They had been ranked Number 1 from the start of the season and all the way through it to this point. They didn't come by that record cheaply, either: They had already beaten a team ranked Number 2 that season, beating Texas in Austin. They beat Number 24 Penn State at home, and Number 13 Iowa away.

Quarterback Troy Smith was the favorite for the Heisman Trophy, and did go on to win it. He and his top receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., were considered big NFL prospects. James Laurinaitis would receive the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the best defensive player in the country.

Michigan, coached by Lloyd Carr, were also 11-0. They began the season ranked Number 14, and had only beaten 1 ranked team, but it was Number 2 Notre Dame, in South Bend. They slowly climbed in the rankings, including beating their other main rival, Michigan State, and then beating Penn State away. By the time they came back from beating Indiana away on November 11, they were the Number 2 team in the country. Their own quarterback, Chad Henne, and top receiver, Mario Manningham, were highly regarded.

There had been many games in which both Ohio State and Michigan were highly ranked going into The Game, but this would be the 1st time it was ever Number 1 vs. Number 2 -- regardless of which one was which. It was the 1st time since the infamous 1973 tie game that both teams came in undefeated.

The game was endlessly hyped, and why not: The winner would win the Big Ten Conference Championship (which has been the case many, many times), and would secure a place in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game. And, unlike that 1973 tie, it would be the loser who went to the Rose Bowl -- the bowls' "Granddaddy of Them All" in the increasingly common situation, in this era of definitive National Championship Games, of being a consolation prize.

Woody Hayes arrived in Columbus in 1951, and made beating Michigan a priority. Up until 1968, a season in which he won his 4th National Championship at Ohio State, he usually did. The season before he got there, he coached at Miami University of Ohio, and one of his players was Bo Schembechler. He named Bo one of his assistants at Ohio State. Bo left to become head coach at Miami, and then, in 1969, at Michigan. He made beating Ohio State a priority, and, the 1st time out, did, ruining Woody's chance at back-to-back National Championships and "greatest team ever" status.

That started what is retroactively known as "The Ten-Year War." The men were very much alike, both heavily favoring the running game over passing, and adopting a my-way-or-the-highway approach. In 10 seasons, Bo won 5 games, Woody 4, and there was that tie in 1973. After the 1978 season, Woody was fired for punching an opposing player during a bowl game, and died in 1987. Bo remained Michigan's head coach through the 1989 season.

Through the tenures of his former assistants Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, Bo was invited to speak before the Michigan players on the Thursday before the Ohio State game. But in 2006, at age 77, his heart condition had gotten worse, and he'd had a pacemaker installed. The Thursday before the game, he attended the funeral of Tom Slade, his 1971 quarterback, who became his dentist, and who had just died of leukemia at age 54. That night, he talked to the players not about the tradition of the Ohio State game, or about what they could win, but about how they should be like Slade, who, he said, embodied what it meant to be Bo's three favorite words: "A Michigan man."

The next day, Bo was at WXYZ-Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Detroit, where, as usual, he was going to tape that week's installment of Big Ten Ticket, which discussed Big Ten football, particularly Michigan and Michigan State. But he had another heart attack, and died, just 30 hours before the biggest game in the history of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

A crowd of 105,708 plowed into Ohio Stadium -- or, as the recently-retired ABC college football master Keith Jackson called it, "The Big Horseshoe On the Olentangy" (River). ABC would do the game as usual, with Brent Musberger and Kirk Herbstreit (a former Ohio State quarterback, but one often critical of his Alma Mater) announcing. The Buckeyes were favored by 7 points. Before the game, in recognition of the great mutual respect between the rivals, a video tribute to Schembechler was played on the scoreboard, and received a standing ovation.

Michigan scored first, but Ohio State took charge after that, and led 28-14 at halftime. By the opening minutes of the 4th quarter, the Wolverines had closed to within 28-24. Smith took control of the game, and with 5 minutes left, the Buckeyes led, 42-31. But with 2 minutes left, Henne led the Wolverines to a touchdown and a 2-point conversion. It was 42-39. But the Wolverines were unable to recover the onside kick, and the Buckeyes ran out the clock.

Antonio Pittman rushed for 139 yards for Ohio State. Mike ran for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns for Michigan, but it wasn't enough.

Many fans hoped for a rematch in the BCS National Championship Game. But when the University of Florida beat arch-rival Florida State the following week, and beat Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game the week after that, they became the consensus Number 2 team in the country, setting up the definitive title game with the Buckeyes.

Neither Big Ten team closed their season with a win. Michigan lost the Rose Bowl to USC on New Year's Day 2007, 32-18. Seven days later, at what's now named State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburbs, Ohio State were defeated by Florida, 41-14. A season full of bangs for both teams ended with whimpers for both.

Troy Smith played 3 seasons for the Baltimore Ravens, and 1 for the San Francisco 49ers. Ted Ginn Jr. had a much more successful pro career, playing 14 seasons, and reaching Super Bowls (but not winning them) with the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers. James Laurinaitis played 8 seasons, and never reached a Super Bowl, but led the NFL in solo tackles with the St. Louis Rams in 2012.

Chad Henne has played 13 seasons in the NFL, but only started 54 games. He won a Super Bowl ring as Patrick Mahomes' backup on the Kansas City Chiefs. Mario Manningham played 6 seasons, winning a Super Bowl with the New York Giants, and was a teammate of Smith on the team that lost a Super Bowl.

*

November 18, 2006 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played that day were these:

* Number 3 Florida beat Western Carolina, 62-0 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

* Number 4 University of Southern California (USC) beat Number 17 University of California, 23-9 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

* Number 5 Arkansas beat Mississippi State, 28-14 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi.

* Number 6 Notre Dame beat Army, 41-9 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Number 7 Rutgers were upset by the University of Cincinnati, 30-11, costing the Scarlet Knights the Big East Conference title.

* Two days earlier, in a rivalry game, Number 8 West Virginia beat the University of Pittsburgh, 45-27.

* Number 9 Louisiana State (LSU) beat Mississippi (Ole Miss), 23-20 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

* Number 10 Louisville beat South Florida, 31-8 at Cardinal Stadium in Louisville.

* Number 14 Wake Forest were mildly upset by Number 19 Virginia Tech, 27-6 at Groves Stadium (now Truist Field) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: Number 15 Auburn beat Alabama, 22-15 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

* Number 20 Boston College beat Number 21 Maryland, 38-16 in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

* Rivalry: Number 22 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt, 39-10 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now First Bank Stadium) in Nashville.

* Rivalry: Yale beat Harvard, 34-13 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Navy beat Temple, 42-6 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Rivalry: Purdue beat Indiana, 28-19 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

* Rivalry: Northwestern beat Illinois, 27-16 at Ryan Field in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois.

* Rivalry: Minnesota beat Iowa, 34-24 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* Rivalry: Kansas beat Kansas State, 39-20 at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

* Rivalry: Washington beat Washington State, 35-32 at Martin Stadium in Pullman, Washington.

There were 13 games in the NBA that day:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Boston Celtics, 122-118 at Madison Square Garden. Paul Pierce scored 39 points.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 86-68 at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Washington Wizards beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111-99 at the Verizon Center (now the Capital One Arena) in Washington. Gilbert Arenas led all players on the day with 45 points.

* The Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks, 93-88 at the Philips Arena (now the State Farm Arena) in Atlanta. Dwyane Wade scored 37 points.

* The Orlando Magic beat the Charlotte Bobcats, 97-83 at the Amway Arena in Orlando.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies, 89-84 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The Detroit Pistons beat the Houston Rockets, 104-92 at The Palace in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, Michigan. Yao Ming scored 33 points in defeat.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 102-100 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

* The New Orleans Hornets beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 99-96 at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Chris Paul scored 35 points for the Hornets.

* The Denver Nuggets beat the Toronto Raptors, 117-109 at the Pepsi Center (now the Ball Arena) in Denver. Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points for the Nuggets.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Phoenix Suns, 120-117 in overtime at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (then named the EnergySolutions Arena). Shawn Marion scored 35 points in defeat.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-97 in overtime at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* And the Golden State Warriors beat the Seattle SuperSonics, 107-95 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena). Ray Allen scored 34 points in defeat.

There were 12 games in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1 at the Mellon Arena (as the Civic Arena was then known) in Pittsburgh.

* The New York Islanders beat the Florida Panthers, 4-1 at the BankAtlantic Center in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 2-1 at the Air Canada Centre (now the Scotiabank Arena) in Toronto.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2 at the TD Banknorth Garden (now just the TD Garden) in Boston. Glenn Murray scored the game-winner with 2:54 left in overtime.

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the Dallas Stars, 5-4 at the RBC Center (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh, North Carolina.

* The Nashville Predators beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 4-2 at the Gaylord Entertainment Center (now the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1 at Scotiabank Place (now the Canadian Tire Centre) in Ottawa.

* The Colorado Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild, 2-1 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3 in a shootout at Rexall Place (as the Northlands Coliseum was then known).

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the Phoenix Coyotes, 5-3 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The San Jose Sharks beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1 at the HP Pavilion at San Jose (now the SAP Center).

* And the Chicago Blackhawks, the St. Louis Blues, the Vancouver Canucks, the Calgary Flames, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Anaheim Ducks were not scheduled.

And in English soccer, Arsenal played North-East team Newcastle United to a draw, 1-1 at the Emirates Stadium in North London.

November 2, 1935: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State, "The Game of the Century"

November 2, 1935: For the 1st time, a college football game is given the label "The Game of the Century."

This may have been inspired by the trial, earlier in the year, of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, for kidnapping and killing Charles Lindbergh Jr., the 2-year-old son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh. That trial, held in Flemington, Hunterdon County, New Jersey from January 3 to February 13, was known as "The Trial of the Century."

Most college football games that have been called "The Game of the Century" were between the teams ranked Number 1 and Number 2 in the national polls. That was not possible this time: The 1st major poll, that of the Associated Press, did not begin until the next season.

At the time, Ohio State University was one of the better programs, having gone 7-1 in both 1933 and 1934. But they weren't yet an iconic team: That would come in the 1950s, under head coach Woody Hayes. For now, the Buckeyes were coached by Francis Schmidt. And they had begun the season by beating Kentucky, Drake (clobbering the Des Moines, Iowa school 85-7), Northwestern and Indiana.

In contrast, the University of Notre Dame, based in South Bend, Indiana, did already have a national following, thanks to their late coach Knute Rockne. They had won the National Championship in 1924, thanks to a backfield known as the Four Horsemen. Now, one of those Horsemen, Elmer Layden, was their head coach.

They had already become the unofficial Catholic university of America. (Not to be confused with The Catholic University of America, an actual school in Washington, D.C.) The a Irish opened their season 5-0, beating Kansas at home, Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) away, Wisconsin away, Pittsburgh at home, and Navy in Baltimore.

So these 2 big teams were ready to face each other on November 2, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Every major newspaper in the country sent a writer to cover it. It was broadcast on national radio, unusual even then. A crowd of 81,018 poured in, and some people had paid scalpers up to $50 for a ticket -- a little over $1,000 in today's money. And this was during the Great Depression.

Ohio State were heavily favored, and, at first, the game followed that script. Frank Antenucci intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Mike Layden (the coach's younger brother), and lateraled to Frank Boucher (no relation to the New York Rangers hockey star of the same name), resulting in a 65-yard return for a touchdown.

In the 2nd quarter, another interception set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Joe Williams. But, having kicked the extra point on the 1st touchdown, Dick Beltz missed on this one. Still, that 13-0 lead held into the 4th quarter. Notre Dame looked beaten.

Looks can be deceiving. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Andy Pilney returned a punt to the Ohio State 13-yard line. That led to, early in the 4th quarter, Steve Miller running the ball in from 1 yard. It was 13-6 Ohio State. Pilney later threw a touchdown pass to Mike Layden, making it 13-12. Both times, the extra point was missed.

Notre Dame had a legendary name in their backfield: William Shakespeare. Playing off his sharing of a name of the greatest writer in the English language, the New York native was known as the Bard of Staten Island, the Bard of South Bend, and the Merchant of Menace. He had already scored a touchdown for Notre Dame against Army the year before, at Yankee Stadium in his hometown.

Now, Ohio State tried to run out the clock, but fumbled, and the Irish recovered. With less than a minute to go, Pilney ran for 30 yards, getting the ball to the Buckeye 19. But he was injured on the play. Shakespeare entered the game. Once more unto the breach. He threw a pass, and an Ohio State player nearly intercepted it, but dropped it.

Finally, with time for perhaps one more play, fullback Jim McKenna took the snap, and handed it to Shakespeare, who threw an option pass. Wayne Millner, later to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame by catching passes from Sammy Baugh on the Washington Redskins, was down on his knees in the end zone, and caught the ball. Notre Dame had won, 18-13.

Grantland Rice, his column in The New York Herald Tribune syndicated throughout the land, wrote of the game, "This was one of the finest things I've ever seen in football."

But the glory did not last. Just 7 days later, at home no less, Notre Dame lost to Northwestern. Then they went to New York, to again play Army at Yankee Stadium, and only came away with a 6-6 tie. They closed the season at home, beating USC, finishing 7-1-1.

Ohio State bounced back, beating the University of Chicago away, Illinois at home, and Michigan in Ann Arbor. But they didn't play Minnesota. Ohio State and Minnesota were declared Co-Champions of the Big Ten Conference, but it was Minnesota, 8-0, who were named National Champions by most organizations then deciding the thing.

There have been a few "Games of the Century" since, some involving Notre Dame. One in 1993 followed this pattern: Notre Dame stunned Florida State, then blew the National Championship the following week by losing, in that case to Boston College.

Aside from Millner, most of the players on both sides did not play professional football. Shakespeare was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but made more money than he could have in football at the time by signing with the Cincinnati Rubber Company. He became an executive with them, and still was one when he died in 1974.

Elmer Layden remained at Notre Dame until 1941, when he was offered the job of NFL Commissioner. He held that job for 5 seasons, guiding the League through the difficult days of World War II. He died in 1973.

Francis Schmidt stayed at Ohio State through the 1940 season, winning another Big Ten title in 1939. He was succeeded by Paul Brown, who began his legend by leading the Buckeyes to the 1942 National Championship. Schmidt became head coach at the University of Idaho, but his health began to fail, and he died in 1944.

*

November 2, 1935 was a Saturday. There were a few other big college football games that day.

One was in New York. Fordham University -- coached by another of Notre Dame's former Four Horsemen, Jim Crowley -- played the University of Pittsburgh at the Polo Grounds, and it ended 0-0. Fordham finished 6-1-2 on the year, Pitt 7-1-2. They would play each other at the Polo Grounds again in 1936 and 1937, and those games would also end scoreless. Finally, in 1938, Fordham went to Pitt Stadium, and the Panthers emerged victorious, 24-13.

Manhattan College beat City College (CCNY), 65-0 at Ebbets Field. New York University beat Bucknell, 14-0 at Yankee Stadium. One of NYU's players, Ed Smith, had done some modeling work, and was a high school teammate of sculptor Frank Eliscu. Eliscu asked Smith to pose in his football uniform. In 1982, someone called Smith up and asked him what it was like being the model for the Heisman Trophy, which Eliscu had designed. Smith said he did know he was the model for the Heisman. The Downtown Athletic Club, caretakers of the Trophy, gave him a copy.

Among New Jersey's teams: Rutgers beat Lafayette, 31-6 at Fisher Field in Easton, Pennsylvania; and Princeton beat Navy, 26-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

The aforementioned Minnesota beat Purdue, 29-7 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Nebraska beat Missouri, 19-6 at Memorial Stadium (now Faurot Field) in Columbia, and went on to win the Big Six Conference, which later became the Big Eight and formed the bulk of the Big Twelve.

Stanford beat Santa Clara, 9-6 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California, between San Francisco and San Jose. By beating the University of California 3 weeks later, they won the Pacific Coast Conference, the precursor to today's Pac-12.

Louisiana State beat Auburn, 6-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, and went on to win the Southeastern Conference title. Southern Methodist (SMU) beat Texas, 20-0 at Ownby Stadium in Dallas, and went on to win the Southwest Conference title.

There were no scores in the other sports. The NHL hadn't yet started their season. The NBA hadn't yet started at all. Baseball was done until April. And the NFL waited until the next day, Sunday, to play.    

October 10, 1936: The 1st "Script Ohio"

October 10, 1936: The Ohio State University Marching Band first performs their Script Ohio
formation, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Their football team is not up to the task: It loses to the University of Pittsburgh, 6-0.

The formation is based on the sign at the Loew's Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus, although the capital O now resembles the block O in Ohio State's logos. They march to "Le Régiment de Sambre et Meuse," a French poem by Paul Cézano (not to be confused with the painter Paul Cézanne), set to music by Robert Planquette and arranged and expanded into a military march by Joseph-François Rauski. It was composed in 1870 -- the same year in which The... Ohio State University was founded.

At the various junctions in the formation, the band members swing their horns. This is especially difficult for those with heavy instruments, like the sousaphone. At the conclusion of the formation, the drum major leads a sousaphone player to the top of the lower case i in "Ohio," and he "dots the i." It's always a senior, and the seniors get their choice of games. The one with the most seniority inevitably chooses the Michigan game.

"Dotting the i" is considered the highest honor at Ohio State. The following people have been honorary i-dotters:

* 1971: Novice Fawcett, University President, 1956-72.

* 1974: Richard Heine, Band head composer and arranger, 1935-85, making him, essentially the father of Script Ohio.

* 1978: Bob Hope, entertainer, who grew up in Cleveland.

* 1979: Jack Evans, Band Director, 1952-64.

* 1983: Dr. Paul Droste, Band Director, 1970-83.

* 1983: Woody Hayes, head football coach, 1951-78.

* 1985: Robert Ries, Ohio State ticket director, 

* 1990: James "Buster" Douglas, a Columbus native, then in his brief reign as Heavyweight Champion of the World.

* 1995: Dr. E. Gordon Gee, University President, 1990-98, and again 2007-13.

* 2006: Jack Nicklaus, golf legend, Columbus area native, played at Ohio State. He left a few credits short of a degree, but was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1972.

* 2009: John Glenn, former astronaut and U.S. Senator, and his wife, Annie Glenn, advocate for people with disabilities. Both graduated from nearby Muskingum College, but maintained ties to Ohio and to OSU.

* 2011: Dr. Jon Woods, band director, 1984-2012.

* 2011: Lex Wexner, Ohio State Class of 1959, CEO of L Brands, makers of women's lingerie and beauty products, and a major OSU donor.

* 2016: Earle Bruce, head football coach, 1979-87.

UPDATE: 2024: Archie Griffin, Ohio State running back, the only 2-time winner of the Heisman Trophy, 1974 and '75.

On occasion, the Band will do a "Double Script": A Script facing each side. On Homecoming, they join with the Alumni Band to do a "Quadruple Script."

*

October 10, 1936 was a Saturday. The baseball season had ended 4 days earlier, when the New York Yankees beat the New York Giants in the World Series. It was too early for the basketball season or the hockey season. The NFL played the next day. But there were other college football games on this day:

* Minnesota beat Nebraska, 7-0 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Nebraska would win the Big Six Conference title anyway.

* Northwestern beat North Dakota Agricultural, 40-7 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Northwestern would later be ranked Number 3 in the nation -- 1936 was the 1st season of the Associated Press (AP) poll of sportswriters -- and beat Number 1 Minnesota at Dyche Stadium, giving them the Big Ten Conference title. But a season-ending loss to Notre Dame would cost them the National Championship, which ended up being awarded to Minnesota, anyway.

Northwestern would rename Dyche Stadium Ryan Field in 1997. North Dakota Agricultural would change its name to North Dakota State in 1960.

* Speaking of Notre Dame, they beat Washington University of St. Louis, 14-6 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

* Louisiana State beat Georgia, 47-7 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU were declared Southeastern Conference Champions, but blew a shot at the National Championship when they went into the Sugar Bowl ranked Number 2 in the country, and lost to Santa Clara University. (For some reason, they did not play on this day, instead playing the next day, a rare college game on Sunday: They beat the University of San Francisco, 15-7 at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.)

* Alabama beat Mississippi State, 7-0 at Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It was renamed Bryant-Denny Stadium in 1975. Like LSU, 'Bama finished the regular season undefeated, but it had a tie in conference play, to Tennessee the week after this, and that cost them the SEC title.

* Arkansas beat Baylor, 14-10 at The Hill in Fayetteville, Arkansas. They went on to win the Southwest Conference Championship.

* The University of Washington beat UCLA, 14-0 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Washington went on to win the Pacific Coast Conference, but lost to the University of Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl. Pitt thus claims this season's National Championship -- although, at 8-1-1, it's debatable as to whether they had a better claim to it than did 7-1 Minnesota.

* Navy beat Virginia, 35-14 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* In New York City, Army beat Columbia, 27-16 at Yankee Stadium.

* New York University beat Pennsylvania Military College, 26-0 at Ohio Field in The Bronx. PMC became Widener University in 1972, and now compete in NCAA Division III. At least they still have a football team: NYU suspended their program in 1953, and its other sports teams also compete in Division III.

* And in New Jersey, Princeton beat Rutgers, 20-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton.

October 7, 1922: Ohio Stadium Opens

October 7, 1922: Ohio Stadium opens in Columbus. Ohio State University had outgrown the 14,000-seat Ohio Field, but people laughed when they built a 66,210-seat stadium. They got over 71,000 fans for the opening game, a 5-0 win over Ohio Wesleyan.

NOTE: New York University, oddly, also played football at a facility named Ohio Field, from 1901 until they dropped their program after the 1952 season.

Seating capacity was raised to 78,000 in 1948, 81,000 in 1962, 83,000 in 1974, 85,000 in 1982, 91,000 in 1991, and it broke the 100,000-seat barrier in 2001. Officially, since 2019, the seating capacity of what ABC Sports college football master Keith Jackson labeled "The Big Horseshoe on the Olentangy" has been 102,780, but they've topped out at 110,045, in their 2016 win over arch-rival Michigan. The field was switched to AstroTurf in 1971, back to natural grass in 1990, and to FieldTurf in 2007.

Since moving in, the Buckeyes have won 34 Big Ten Conference Championships, and claim 8 National Championships: 1942, under head coach Paul Brown; 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968 and 1970, under Woody Hayes; 2002, under Jim Tressel; and 2014, under Urban Meyer. Ohio Stadium has been home to 6 Heisman Trophy winners, including Archie Griffin in 1974 and 1975, the only 2-time winner. The others have been Les Horvath in 1944, Vic Janowicz in 1950, Howard Cassady in 1955, Eddie George in 1995, and Troy Smith in 2006. Smith was a quarterback, the rest were running backs.

Ohio Stadium was also home to the Ohio Glory of the World League of American Football (WLAF) in 1992, and to the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer from their 1996 founding until 1998. The Columbus Bullies, winners of the only titles in the 1940 and 1941 edition of the American Football League, played at Red Bird Stadium, later Cooper Stadium, the city's minor-league ballpark from 1931 to 2008.

*

October 7, 1922 was a Saturday. These other notable college football games were played:

* Army beat Kansas, 13-0 on The Plain in West Point, New York.

* Navy beat Western Reserve, 71-0 at Worden Field in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Columbia beat Amherst, 43-6 at South Field in Upper Manhattan.

* Rutgers beat Fordham, 20-15 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

* Princeton beat Virginia, 5-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton, New Jersey.

* Syracuse beat New York University (NYU), 34-0 at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

* Harvard beat Holy Cross, 20-0 at Harvard Stadium in Boston.

* Yale beat North Carolina, 18-0 at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

* Alabama beat Oglethorpe, 41-0 at Denny Field in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* Notre Dame beat Saint Louis University, 26-0 at Cartier Field in South Bend, Indiana.

* Michigan beat Case -- an Ohio school, if not Ohio State -- 48-0 at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 1970, Case and Western Reserve merged, forming Case Western Reserve University.

* The University of Chicago beat the University of Georgia, 20-0 at Stagg Field in Chicago.

There was also a World Series game played. With the questionable calling of Game 2 due to "darkness" in mind, Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis insists that Game 4 be played, despite a heavy rain. Again, one big inning, a 4-run 4th off Yankee pitcher Carl Mays, is enough for Hugh McQuillan of the Giants to squeeze out a 4-3 win. Aaron Ward's 2nd homer of the Series is all the long-ball clout the Yankees will display.

Mays' brief collapse today‚ coupled with his 2 losses in the 1921 Series‚ and with the 1919 Series still fresh in fans' memories, leads to rumors that he took money to throw the games. The accusations will persist for decades. As with the claim that his pitch that killed Ray Chapman of Cleveland in 1920 was on purpose, Mays goes to his grave in 1971 insisting that it wasn't true.

Also on this day, Grady Edgebert Hatton Jr. is born in Beaumont, Texas. A 3rd baseman, he played from 1946 to 1960, mostly for the Cincinnati Reds, and was an All-Star in 1952. He later managed the Houston Astros from 1966 to 1968, remained with them as a scout and a coach, and died in 2013.

Also on this day, for the 1st time, a member of the British royal family speaks during a radio broadcast. It is Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Prince of Wales, the heir to the throne. In early 1936, upon the death of his father, King George V, he became King Edward VIII. In late 1936, he used another radio broadcast to to explain his decision to abdicate the throne, and became the Duke of Windsor.