May 28, 2008

Getting a Kick out of the Past

An open field on Ohio Wesleyan’s campus was the birthplace of two great university football traditions…

Mascots, speakers and sponsors gather at the site of the first-ever college football game for both The Ohio State University and Ohio Wesleyan University as part of the Delaware Bicentennial celebration.

Photo by Jeff Bates

“Looking back, it’s inspirational to visualize the very positive impact these two college football programs have had on people, particularly the fans,” said Jack Park of WBNS Radio, a speaker at the celebration.

Park joined a roster of speakers including Archie Griffin, two-time Heisman Trophy winner and current president and CEO of The Ohio State University Alumni Association; Jim Tressel, head coach of the Buckeye football team; Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University; and Gene Smith, assistant vice president and director of athletics at Ohio State. Ohio Wesleyan speakers included: Rock Jones, the university’s newly-appointed president; David Robbins, interim president and provost; Mike Hollway, football coach; Roger Ingles, athletic director, who served as emcee; and Dick Gordin, former coach, alumnus, and professor emeritus. In addition to Jack Park, Brent Carson, president of the Delaware Historical Society and member of the Delaware Bicentennial Commission, recounted the 1890 game’s historic impact.

Battling Bishops football players and both universities’ pep bands and cheerleaders added spirit to the event; and as part of the Delaware Bicentennial celebration, a historic plaque was installed at the site.

Park pointed out a tradition of shared history between the two teams over the years. For instance, when Ohio State played its first game in the newly built Ohio Stadium on October 7, 1922, Ohio Wesleyan was its invited opponent.

He also recounted that Ann Gross, Ohio Wesleyan class of ’35, married Woody Hayes, who later would go on to become a longtime Buckeye football coach. When Hayes assumed his first college head coaching position at Denison University, his alma mater, in 1946, Ann was glad to attend the Ohio Wesleyan game. “That 1946 game between Denison and Ohio Wesleyan turned out to be a pretty tough one for Coach Hayes,” Park noted. “Ohio Wesleyan beat his Denison team, 39-0. And to add insult to injury, his wife, Mrs. Anne Hayes, sat on the Ohio Wesleyan side with all her college friends and cheered for her alma mater, Ohio Wesleyan.”

As for the original 1890 football game: The Bishops lost to Ohio State by a score of 20-14. Over time, Ohio Wesleyan faced Ohio State a total of 29 times—more than any other Ohio school in history—winning two games and tying one.

To view archived online video of the May 3 OSU-OWU Bicentennial Football Celebration, go to Stream OWU.

– Kathy Baird