April 23, 2008

Ohio Wesleyan, Ohio State to Celebrate 1890 Football Matchup

(top): Ohio Wesleyan’s football team in 1890. (bottom): The site of the original football matchup, as it looks today.

That’s the 118th anniversary—to the day—of Ohio Wesleyan’s first football matchup against The Ohio State University. It was the first official game for both schools, and it happened just east of Phillips Hall near the sulphur spring.

“It’s almost hallowed ground, both to Ohio Wesleyan and to Ohio State,” says Brent Carson, president of the Delaware Historical Society and representative of the Delaware Bicentennial Commission, reiterating 1952 OWU alumnus, former coach, and professor emeritus Dick Gordin’s description of the game site.

The location was unknown until a letter from C. Rollins Jones—1892 OWU alumnus and a player in the first matchup—was discovered in the University’s archives last year. Jones had written the letter in the 1940s, clearly describing the game site as near the sulphur spring and a small creek called Delaware Run. Gordin was integral in uncovering the letter and getting the ball moving on the legendary celebration.

In conjunction with Delaware County’s Bicentennial Celebration, fans from Ohio Wesleyan and Ohio State will meet again at 1:30 p.m. May 3 at the site of the original matchup to unveil a historical marker. Bands and cheerleaders from both schools will perform, and famed mascots Brutus and the Battling Bishop will be in attendance. The event is free and open to the public.

Ohio Wesleyan’s athletic director Roger Ingles will serve as emcee of the event, while newly elected president Rock Jones also will speak. Special guests from Ohio State will include head coach of the Buckeye football team, Jim Tressel; two-time Heisman Trophy winner and current president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association, Archie Griffin; and university president, Gordon Gee.

“I think it’ll be a fantastic event. Only a one-of-a-kind—they’ll never do it again,” says Carson. Click here to hear several podcasts containing more of Carson’s thoughts about the game, Ohio Wesleyan history, and more.

For more information about the event, including historical background, fun facts, and parking maps, visit news.owu.edu/owuOsu.html.

– Ann Marcum