Woody Hayes Biography

Wayne Woodrow Woody Hayes was born on February 14, 1913, and passed away on March 12, 1987, serving as an American college football coach and player. Hayes held head coaching positions at Denison University from 1946 to 1948, Miami University from 1949 to 1950, and Ohio State University from 1951 to 1978, amassing a career record of 238–72–10. He is widely regarded as the greatest Ohio State coach in the program's history. During his 28 seasons as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, Hayes led his teams to five national championships recognized by NCAA consensus selectors, including 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, and 1970. Over the final decade of his tenure, Hayes's Ohio State teams competed in a fierce rivalry against the Michigan Wolverines, coached by Bo Schembechler. During this period, known as The Ten Year War, both teams won or shared the Big Ten Conference title each season and typically ranked among the nation's top teams. After being promoted to head coach at New Philadelphia, Hayes achieved a 17–2–1 record in his first two seasons before posting a 1–9 mark in 1940.