Bo's Warriors- Introduction

 

                                                              Introduction to be continued   Part 3

 

I am settled on a title for my manuscript - Bo’s Warriors. Today’s post continues the introduction to my upcoming soon-to-be published book.

Was Don Canham that smart or should it be apparent to anyone about Bo’s potential to teach and motivate young men in this macho sport of American football?

For those of you that do not know the story, Bo became the winning est coach in Michigan football history with a 194-48-5 record from 1969 through 1985, and at the time, retired as the winning est football head coach in the nation. Bo was also voted Big Ten coach of the year and national coach of the year by both the Football Coaches Association and the Football Writers Association. Bo was now elite and a football legend.

What about and what do we know about the football coaching genius Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes?” Woody started his coaching career at Miami of Ohio. Other notables that started their career at this University included Paul Brown, Pro Football Hall Of Fame; Ara Parseghian, national college football champion Notre Dame 1966 in 1973 and College Football Hall of Fame 1980; Weeb Ewbank, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1978; Bill Mallory, Indiana Hall of Fame 1993 and Sid Gillman, Pro Football Hall of Fame 1983 and was ranked by ESPN, as one of the 20 greatest NFL coaches.

Woody, the legendary genius, was the head coach at Ohio State University from 1951 through 1978. During that time, Lieutenant Navy Commander Hayes won five national championships in 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, and 1970. Woody’s teams won 13 Big Ten conference titles and he compiled a 205-61-10 coaching record.

According to Buckeye co-captain Gary Moeller, “Woody, hated the media.” He told us players “if anyone comes up to you and tells you how good you are blah blah blah punch them in the nose, unless it’s your parents.” The blemish on Woody’s resume was his interaction, with Clemson’s Charlie Bauman. Charlie intercepted an Ohio State pass (thrown by quarterback art Schlichter) sealing Ohio State’s loss. A physical altercation quickly followed when Woody assaulted this Clemson middle guard, in 1978, Gator Bowl. Woody Hayes, the legend was quickly dismissed, lost his coaching position, and never coached again. I don’t believe that coach Hayes ever apologized to Clemson’s Bauman. However, I wouldn’t expect that he would. Would you?

During the 10 year rivalry (war) between Ohio State and Michigan, either Bo Schembechler or Woody Hayes, either won or shared the Big Ten conference title between themselves. No other Big Ten school would win the conference title during their decade of battle. Not only that, both Michigan and Ohio State placed in national rankings every year during this rivalry. Clearly, the battles between Bo and Woody and Michigan and Ohio State reached national significance. Their battles became legendary, their teams dominated and their players became media and household names.

A number of you might be thinking what is so special about the University of Michigan? And why should we care about the game of football? And, more specifically, what difference does it make as to the final score on the football field between the Buckeyes and Wolverines? These are just a few the questions that you might be thinking at this time.

Did you know, the University of Michigan was founded in 1817? Doing the math, I come up with 197 years as of 2014. That makes my University older than Ohio State’s. Since its founding, the University of Michigan is considered one of the top universities of the world. It’s not only a multi ethnic public institution of higher learning, it also has reached unequaled achievement in research.

As far as sports are concerned at the University of Michigan, intercollegiate competition began in 1865-1866. Historically, this means going back to Abraham Lincoln, the civil war, and the freeing of African-Americans. For some reason, intercollegiate sports, and fighting for equal rights and economic interests between the North and South do not seem to be correlated. In reference to the recent movie “Lincoln,” I’m picturing rugged living, political shenanigans, manipulation, young men dying and the death of a great American. Sports do not come to mind, let alone football.

Michigan has more NCAA Division I national titles in both hockey, in men’s swimming and diving than any other University of Division I status. Their prize swimmer was Michael Phelps.

To be continued