Woody Hayes

Woody Hayes

Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (February 14, 1913–March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University (1949–1950), and The Ohio State University (1951–1978), compiling a career college football record of 238 wins 72 losses and 10 ties.

During his 28 seasons as the head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football program, Hayes's teams won five national championships (1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1970), captured 13 Big Ten Conference titles, and amassed a record of 205–61–10. Over the last decade of his coaching tenure at Ohio State, Hayes's Buckeye squads faced off in a fierce rivalry against the Michigan Wolverines coached by Bo Schembechler, a former player under and assistant coach to Hayes. During that stretch in the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry, dubbed the "Ten-Year War," Hayes and Schembechler's teams won or shared the Big Ten Conference crown every season and usually each placed in the national rankings.

Despite his great achievements at Ohio State, Hayes's coaching career ended ignominiously when he was fired after striking an opposing player late in the game during the 1978 Gator Bowl. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1983.