Saint Woody: The History and Fanaticism of Ohio State Football

by Bob Hunter

Overview

The Ohio State Buckeyes have been a powerhouse in college football for decades, with numerous national championships and NFL draftees to their credit. With such a successful history, it’s no wonder that the passion for Ohio State football has reached a level of devotion that has religious overtones.

Saint Woody: The History and Fanaticism of Ohio State Football is a Bill Bryson–style look at Ohio State football and the spiritual fanaticism that surrounds it. Bob Hunter tracks the development of this powerhouse program from its earliest days to its heights under Woody Hayes, the de facto king of Ohio State football. Hayes led the team to three national championships and a record of 205-61-10 over a twenty-eight-year period and was at the heart of the “Ten-Year War,” a particularly intense period in the infamous Ohio State–Michigan rivalry. Hunter also looks at the present-day state of Buckeye football and the team’s scarlet-and-gray-clad followers, as well as its legion of detractors, who voted Ohio State as the “most hated” college team in a nationwide survey. America loves—and hates—a winner.

Irreverent, honest, insightful, and always entertaining, Saint Woody will appeal to anyone whose spirit has ever lifted when hearing that famous cry “Go Bucks!”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612342016
Publisher:	Potomac Books Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Bob Hunter has been a sportswriter at the Columbus Dispatch for the last thirty-four years and covered Woody Hayes’s final two years of coaching (1977–1978) as a football beat writer. In 2009 he was voted best sports columnist in Ohio by the Associated Press. The coauthor of The Buckeyes: A Story of Ohio State Football (1982) and author of Chic: The Extraordinary Rise of Ohio State Football and the Tragic Schoolboy Athlete Who Made It Happen (2008) and Buckeye Basketball (1981), he lives in Westerville, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Religion? 1

Chapter 2 Genesis 5

Chapter 3 The Martyr 13

Chapter 4 The Prophet 19

Chapter 5 The Messiah 25

Chapter 6 The Shrine 37

Chapter 7 The Graveyard 47

Chapter 8 The Wizard 55

Chapter 9 The Greatest Game Ever 83

Chapter 10 The Greatest Coach Ever? 77

Chapter 11 The Snowiest Game Ever 83

Chapter 12 The Trailblazer 91

Chapter 13 Saint Woody 97

Chapter 14 The Rivalry 111

Chapter 15 The Cogs 119

Chapter 16 The Hero 127

Chapter 17 Brother Earle 133

Chapter 18 The Season 141

Chapter 19 The Survivor 151

Chapter 20 Satans 157

Chapter 21 The Forgotten 165

Chapter 22 The Beloved 171

Chapter 23 Fallen Heroes 179

Chapter 24 The Benefactors 189

Chapter 25 The Rituals 199

Chapter 26 The Secret 209

Chapter 27 Gospel Writers 213

Chapter 28 A Season from God 221

Chapter 29 The Greatest Games 229

Chapter 30 Former Saint Tress 237

Chapter 31 The Flock 249

Bibliography 261

Index 267

About the Author 273

Editorial Reviews

Woody Hayes was bigger than life and remains so to many Ohio State fans. Bob Hunter, a perceptive and objective observer of the Buckeyes for more than three decades, also reveals the iconic coach, still revered a quarter century after his death, as so much more.”—Rusty Miller, retired Ohio sports editor, Associated Press


“A big part of college football is the lore, and few schools are richer in it than Ohio State. In Saint Woody, veteran Columbus sports columnist Bob Hunter details the sung and unsung men, games, and controversies that make Buckeyes football a magnificent obsession for millions. If you ever wondered if Woody really went for two against Michigan ‘because they wouldn't let me go for three’ or how snowy was the Snow Bowl, this is the book for you.”—Bill Livingston, sports columnist, Cleveland Plain Dealer


“Even the most expert of Buckeye fans will learn more about Ohio State football, Woody Hayes, and others connected to the great tradition than they knew before opening Bob’s book!”—Paul Keels, play-by-play announcer, Ohio State–IMG Radio Network

From the Publisher

“Even the most expert of Buckeye fans will learn more about Ohio State football, Woody Hayes, and others connected to the great tradition than they knew before opening Bob’s book!”—Paul Keels, play-by-play announcer, Ohio State–IMG Radio Network

Paul Keels

“A big part of college football is the lore, and few schools are richer in it than Ohio State. In Saint Woody, veteran Columbus sports columnist Bob Hunter details the sung and unsung men, games, and controversies that make Buckeyes football a magnificent obsession for millions. If you ever wondered if Woody really went for two against Michigan ‘because they wouldn't let me go for three’ or how snowy was the Snow Bowl, this is the book for you.”—Bill Livingston, sports columnist, Cleveland Plain Dealer

Bill Livingston

“Woody Hayes was bigger than life and remains so to many Ohio State fans. Bob Hunter, a perceptive and objective observer of the Buckeyes for more than three decades, also reveals the iconic coach, still revered a quarter century after his death, as so much more.”—Rusty Miller, Ohio sports editor, Associated Press

Rusty Miller