Thursday, December 29, 2005

Woody goes wacko...

The New York Times in its headline called it "The Punch Heard 'Round the Gator Bowl" but for those of us watching Buckeye coach Woody Hayes go off it would be a slightly more aggressive take, more like "Woody goes wacko"...

Taking a page from the Bobby (now known by the more mellow, "Bob") Knight tantrum repertoire of chair throwing and player choking, Woody Hayes, incensed by the interception of an Ohio State pass by Clemson middle guard, Charlie Bauman, took matters into his own hands by grabbing Bauman and giving him a punch or two for his audacious act. The interception came in the final 2 minutes of a 17-15 Gator Bowl loss to the Clemson Tigers. It was also seen by, oh, I dunno, about 10 million viewers. Woody would lose more than a Gator Bowl game for administering that facial to Bauman...

Woody Hayes was dismissed the next day after 28 years as the Ohio State coach for one of the most shocking episodes of an attack on a player by a coach in sports history (Latrell Sprewell has the record for player's attacks on a coach). Woody's achievements as a coach follow in my commentary...

More December 29 Memories...

1813) The British burn Buffalo during the War of 1812 (starting the renaissance of Buffalo still in progress)...

1851) The 1st YMCA is organized in Boston (The Village People take note and start composing a song)...

1862) The bowling ball is invented...

1890) The U.S. Seventh Cavalry massacres over 400 men, women and children at Wounded Knee Creek, SD (this was the last major conflict between Indians and U.S. troops)...

1934) The 1st college basketball doubleheader is played at Madison Square Garden. Promoter Ned Irish, credited for popularizing the game, rents the Garden for $4,000 as 16,000 fans watch NYU beat Notre Dame 25-18 in the opener and Westminster (PA) beat St. John's 37-33 (if you add the total scores you get 62-51 which is still a low scoring game)...

1945) Sheb Wooley (of "Purple People Eater" fame) records the 1st commercial record cut in Nashville (on the tiny Bullet label, it was not a hit)...

1949) KC2XAK of Bridgeport, CT. becomes the 1st UHF TV station to begin operating on a regular daily schedule...

1952) The 1st transistorized hearing aid goes on sale by Sonotone Corporation (WHAT, WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY ???)...

1957) Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme walk down the aisle (Eydie blames it on the bossa nova while Steve says "go away little girl")...

1963) The folk group, The Weavers, give their last farewell concert at Orchestra Hall in Chicago (surviving members have held reunions several times since)...

1963) Papa Bear, George Halas wins his 6th and final NFL championship as the Bears defeat the Giants 14-10 on a frozen Wrigley Field field (Halas will retire in 1967)...

1965) The Supremes release "My World is Empty Without You"...

1968) The Jets beat Oakland to win the AFL championship 27-23...

1972) Following 36 years of publication, the last weekly issue of Life Magazine hits the newsstands (the magazine will later become a monthly publication and then a Sunday supplement which it is now)...

1974) Elton John's version of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is #1 (the original Beatles' version was contained in their "Sgt. Pepper" LP)...

1975) Paul Kantner and Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane agree to disagree and divorce...

1975) Terrorists explode a bomb in the main terminal of LaGuardia Airport killing 11 and injuring 75 (this was believed to be an act by a Croation terrorist group that was never captured)...

1978) Woody Hayes goes berserk during the Gator Bowl (feature story)...

1989) Jane Pauley says goodbye to NBC-TV's "Today Show"...

1992) Governor Mario Cuomo grants Scarsdale Diet Doctor killer, Jean Harris clemency...

1994) Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopez pleads quilty to arson charges for setting fire to and destroying boyfriend Andre Rison's $1 million Atlanta mansion (Lisa claims her left eye failed to notice what her right eye was up to)...

1997) Hong Kong begins killing 1.25 million chickens, the entire population, for fear of the spread of "bird flu" (Frank Perdue was heard muttering "Oh the humanities")...

To ensure accuracy, multiple reference sources were used in the timeline...

Happy Birthday To...

1925) Dina Merrill...

1934) Broadcast journalist Tom Jarriel...

1938) Mary Tyler Moore...

1938) Jon Voight...

1946) Marianne Faithfull...

1947) Ted Danson...

1972) Jude Law...

Commentary...

Here's where we separate the personality from the talent and records achieved by Woody Hayes. In his 28 years as Ohio State coach:

• From 1951 to 1978 Woody had a record of 205-68-10...
• He won 13 Big Ten Titles...
• 3 National championships...

Woody Hayes ended his coaching career with 241 total wins...

On March 12, 1987 Woody Hayes passed away at the age of 74...