Ohio State has returned to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl, and that brings back memories of Woody Hayes, the Buckeye coach who left an indelible mark on the game.
Hayes, pictured with lineman John Hicks, was 4-4 in the game, and every trip West was an adventure, writes Chris Dufrense of the Los Angeles Times.
Hayes' bunker mentality was legendary. Hicks recalled the team being sequestered at a monastery before the 1971, '73 and '74 Rose Bowls. "A bed, a Bible and a toilet," Hicks said of his room. "It was a Spartan life."
Before kickoff of the '74 game, Hayes shoved a camera into the face of L.A. Times photographer Art Rogers.
Jim Murray, the Pulitzer Prize columnist for the Times, wrote of Hayes before the 1976 Rose Bowl: "A lot of people were surprised to hear that Woody Hayes suffered a heart attack last spring, because they didn't think he had one."
Murray portrayed Hayes as being primitive: "Woody is the Piltdown man of football. He didn't walk erect until he was 24 years old. . . . If he ever saw Raquel Welch, he'll grab her by her hair and take her home and cook her."
The 1976 game was Hayes' last in Pasadena. His team lost to UCLA, 23-10, and Hayes refused to talk to the media, eventually sneaking out a back door to board the team bus.
this guy was a joke by all accounts. I'm glad I didn't get to know him through my tube or the print media.
Posted by: Beez | December 27, 2009 at 02:48 PM