Woody Hayes is an Ohio State Buckeyes icon. He helped lead them to five college football national championships and ultimately made the program the dominant one it is today. This came after he foolishly punched a player on another team. As a matter of fact, I never saw a football player make a tackle with a smile on his face.
Ohio State is one of the most dominant college football programs in the country. After going in his first season and in each of the next two seasons, Howard Cassady an eventual Heisman Trophy winner and other great players led the Buckeyes to a record and an AP national championship in He threw a legendary tirade during the Michigan game, destroying the sideline down markers.
He shoved news photographers out of his way. His own players and coaches knew to watch out for his bursts of anger and intensity. We would joke about it and say, 'Circle right to get away from that left hook. He probably hurt himself more than anything. Yet the Buckeyes still couldn't quite believe what they saw that Dec. But it was the intent. You couldn't cross that line. It's different when you kick a sideline marker or push a cameraman. We expected him to be that animated with us, but never with the opponent.
Immediately following the game, the Ohio State locker room was so quiet that it was "kind of eerie," Mason said. The assistants stood in a hallway as Hayes and athletic director Hugh Hindman met in the small coaches' office.
When Hindman walked out, Mason recalled, he paused and said calmly to the assistants, "Expect the worst. The next day, the team traveled to the Jacksonville airport without Hayes, which was unusual because "we never went any place without Woody," Mason said. Hayes was driven to the team plane by Florida state troopers. While the team was in the air on the way to Columbus, Hindman announced that Hayes had been fired. When the Buckeyes landed, TV trucks filled the tarmac.
Hayes got on the plane's loudspeaker and told his players to drive home carefully and be ready to return to school on Monday. Finally, he added, "I'm no longer the head football coach at Ohio State. Cousineau had left the stadium that night in his uniform, pausing only to grab a duffel bag out of the locker room. He flew to Hawaii early the following day to play in the Hula Bowl and didn't know the magnitude of what had happened until he landed in Honolulu and was greeted by reporters.
Bauman never wanted the notoriety that he unwittingly achieved and has rarely talked about the punch. He declined all interview requests this month through the Clemson sports information department, and attempts by ESPN.
Bauman's last known interview came in for a Florida Times-Union story on the game's 30th anniversary. We all make mistakes. I mean, he didn't hurt me or anything. Bauman acknowledged in a interview with Orange and White Illustrated that he spoke with Hayes shortly after the game. Hayes didn't apologize, but the two had a respectful conversation, Bauman told the publication. If he has any hard feelings about Hayes or Ohio State, Bauman has chosen an odd way to show it. The New Jersey native lives outside of Cincinnati and said in that interview that he often attended Buckeyes home football games.
It took a lot for a man like that to never say anything. A few weeks after the game, Fuller and Tigers star receiver Jerry Butler were among several players honored at a banquet by the Columbus Touchdown Club. Hayes attended the event. Fuller said no one at the banquet ever mentioned the punch. In the summer of , Hayes spoke at the South Carolina high school coaches association clinic.
True to form, he didn't apologize for punching Bauman and even admonished several high school coaches in attendance for their facial hair. Ford said the coaches gave Hayes a standing ovation. Savoca ran into Hayes at different functions over the years and said Hayes would always ask him, "I was going for the ball, right? Going for the ball. The Clemson players on that team wish more people remembered that the Gator Bowl was a pretty special moment for them. The Tigers were blown out by Pitt in the same game the previous season.
Beating a nationally recognized program like Ohio State signified a breakthrough and gave the program its second-ever win season. I don't like nice people. I like tough, honest people. Jack Park, commentator for The Bruins defeated the Buckeyes in Archie Griffin's final game. The loss denied Hayes and the Buckeyes a national championship and started a downward spiral for Hayes. The Buckeyes went and in the next two seasons and won the Big Ten title in each season.
However, Hayes dropped back-to-back games to his former assistant Bo Schembechler and " that team up north " and never again competed for a national title under Hayes. Prior to the season , Hayes' assistants and those close to the program felt something was coming, but they didn't know what it was.
They were not completely surprised when something bad happened. Park strongly believes Hayes' health had a lot to do with what happened in Hayes' fateful, final game. The score was Clemson was leading Ohio State. With under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Hayes had to abandon his beloved running game and rely on freshman quarterback Art Schlichter. Schlichter dropped back and tried to get the ball to a receiver crossing over the middle. But Charlie Bauman cut in front of the pass and intercepted it.
Bauman was tackled in front of the Ohio State sideline, and in the ruckus that ensued, Hayes threw a punch into Bauman's throat. Those watching from the stands and those watching on TV were not privy to what actually happened in the scrum on the Ohio State sideline.
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