White Male of Distinction #3: Woody Hayes
Woody Hayes 1913-1987
The legendary football coach Woody Hayes was an Ohio State legend. Hayes won over 200 games as coach of the Buckeyes and 3 national titles. Hayes is most famous for stripping away some of the flashy aspects of football for a “3 yards and a cloud of dust approach” that was as consistent and exciting as a good hot bowl of Oatmeal on a Saturday morning in the Fall
In politics, Hayes was a strong believe in Nixon and the establishment. He helped to calm fears and anti-war protests on the Ohio State campus. Hayes was an innovator who brought the baseball style coach’s tirade to football and was an expert at storming the field to make a point. Hayes was eventually fired in 1978 after punching a Clemson player in the chest for intercepting a pass against OSU. Still, it was that kind of fight that made Hayes the coach he was and that’s why he is our White Male of Distinction for August 3rd.
“Show me a gracious loser, and I’ll show you a bus boy,” Woody Hayes
