Happy Birthday: Wayne Woodrow Hayes
Happy Birthday: Wayne Woodrow Hayes
Often overlooked by many today for the "incident", but still celebrated as one of the true greats in college football history. A destroyer commander in WWII who was in perhaps the most hellish naval battle of WWII, Leyte Gulf (he gets my respect for that alone). He was known for being a great coach and a true teacher for those who played for him, and here (albeit for me, behind enemy lines in Buckeye land) he is still a hero. They actually sell T-Shirts that say "Woody is looking down smiling: and he still hates Michigan".
Some select Woody stories:
When he was coaching many, many years ago (perhaps at Miami-Ohio) his team was about to board a train to go to a game. Anyway, he had an African American player that the conductor was not going to let ride on the train with the rest of the team.
Woody told the conductor, "He is a part of our team. Either he rides with the rest of us or we won't board the GD train."
Guess what? Uh......the conductor let the African American player board the train and sit with the white players and coaches, which was unheard of in those days.
And,
Late in a game with Michigan, and with a sizable lead, OSU scored a touchdown and Woody went for two. When asked after the game why he went for two, he replied, "cause they don't let me go for three".
Woody also did many things for his players long after their playing days. He would often give them money; pay their bills when they fell on hard times and made sure they were keeping up family values. He took care of his former players' wives and chidren after they (his former players) passed on, I also read.
I'm not the biggest Buckeye fan, but I think Woody was a genuine gentleman who made one unfortunate mistake.
Some select Woody stories:
When he was coaching many, many years ago (perhaps at Miami-Ohio) his team was about to board a train to go to a game. Anyway, he had an African American player that the conductor was not going to let ride on the train with the rest of the team.
Woody told the conductor, "He is a part of our team. Either he rides with the rest of us or we won't board the GD train."
Guess what? Uh......the conductor let the African American player board the train and sit with the white players and coaches, which was unheard of in those days.
And,
Late in a game with Michigan, and with a sizable lead, OSU scored a touchdown and Woody went for two. When asked after the game why he went for two, he replied, "cause they don't let me go for three".
Woody also did many things for his players long after their playing days. He would often give them money; pay their bills when they fell on hard times and made sure they were keeping up family values. He took care of his former players' wives and chidren after they (his former players) passed on, I also read.
I'm not the biggest Buckeye fan, but I think Woody was a genuine gentleman who made one unfortunate mistake.
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