The Buckeye Ninja

Red Grange was chosen as the Big Ten’s greatest icon by the Big Ten Network. I would have preferred that it be Woody Hayes, Archie Griffin, or Chic Harley (who wasn’t even included!), but I can’t complain too much about the choice of Grange. I’m just glad it wasn’t Bo Sklembachlor or Tom Osborne (since the BTN is so dead set on trying to convince the world that all of Nebraska and Penn State’s histories are relevant to Big Ten fans).

Harold Edward “Red” Grange was born in Forksville, Pennsylvania in 1903, but his family moved to Wheaton, Illinois when he was five. He was a high school, college, and pro football star, commentator, and some time actor. The day after his final college football game (against Ohio State) he and player/coach George Halas agreed terms for a contract with the Chicago Bears. Apparently he did alright for himself, but I’m more concerned with his school days.

After being a four sport star at Wheaton High School, earning 16 varsity letters in football, basketball, baseball, and track, he enrolled at the University of Illinois with the intention of competing only in basketball and track. He scored three touchdowns against Nebraska in his first game for the Illini, who went on to go undefeated and win the 1923 national championship – as did Fielding Yost’s Michigan team, since the teams didn’t play each other in that year’s Big Ten schedule. They did play in 1924 though, and every Buckeye should be a Red Grange fan for what he did to the defending national champion Wolverines in Memorial Stadium’s opening game. First, he returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Then, he scored on a 67 yard run, again on a 56 yard run, and again on a 44 yard run, all in the game’s first 12 minutes. Those four touchdowns equaled the amount of touchdowns that Michigan had allowed during the entirety of the previous two seasons. He then sat out the second quarter (showing more mercy than the ugly northerners deserved), then returned for another touchdown run and passed for a sixth. One must assume that the mercy rule was enacted because the game ended 39-14. Grange’s 402-yard outburst was more than enough to give the sun and blue their first loss since the 1921 Ohio State game in Ann Arbor. ESPN and others claim that this game inspired Grantland Rice to give him the nickname “The Galloping Ghost”, but Grange said that Chicago sportswriter Warren Brown came up with the name. Rice did call him a “gray ghost” in a description of the 1924 game with Michigan. Also after this game, the Chicago Tribune said, “They knew he was coming; they saw him start; he made no secret of his direction; he was in their midst, and he was gone!” In the 20 games he played for Illinois, he ran for 3,362 yards, received for 253, and threw for 575.

Kickoff return TD vs Michigan

But back to Wheaton High School. In his junior year he scored 36 touchdowns while his team went undefeated. In his senior year his team only lost one game. In that game, a 39-0 loss to Toledo’s Scott High School, Grange was knocked out and remained unconscious for two days. Such is the power of Toledo. That Scott High School team was chosen by the National Sports News Service as the national champion. Take that, Illinois!

When the Ohio University Bobcats met the Miami University RedHawks at Yager Stadium in The Battle of the Bricks this past weekend, there were more important facts and statistics involved than Ohio’s ranking in the polls. Ohio….and I am talking about Ohio University, located in Athens, Ohio. The one from the Mid-American Conference. The one called the Bobcats. I know it’s difficult for some, uh, slower people to recognize that there’s a difference, but….Oh! So you’re saying he’s NOT stupid, but is in fact trying to get under our skin? Oh! Well, very well done, sir. Clever. You sure got us. Anyway…. Ohio University was ranked twice this year, at 25th in week 7 then at 23rd in week 8. Prior to this year, the Bobcats were last ranked for seven straight weeks in 1968. And that’s it. They were never ranked before that. No doubt they would have been ranked if the AP Poll existed in 1915, a year when the only blemish to their 8-1 record came at the hands of the Redskins of Miami (I still believe that when Miami changed their mascot it should have been to a redskin potato).

How about Miami? They have had far more success on the football field. Overall, Miami is 651-395-44, which compares favorably to Ohio’s 516-525-48. Miami is 7-3 in bowl games, compared to Ohio’s 1-5. Ohio’s lone bowl victory was against Utah State. Miami has defeated the likes of Texas Tech, Arizona State, and today’s fairly successful SEC teams South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Then, of course, Miami has seen some big names in the football world come through its program either as player or coach, including Clifton’s Woody Hayes, Barberton’s turncoat Bo Schembechler, Akron’s Ara Parseghian, Norwalk’s Paul Brown, Loudonville’s Ron Zook, Troy’s gone too soon Randy Walker, Toledo’s John Harbaugh, and Lima’s QB with a predilection (allegedly) for non-consensual sex Ben Roethlisberger. All Ohioans. They were champions four times in the Ohio Athletic Conference, three times in the Buckeye Conference, and fifteen times in the Mid-American Conference. They featured in the AP Poll in 1955, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, and 2003, being ranked as high as 10th in two different seasons.

So what is the greater significance of these two schools, one in which Ohio University leads the way? They are the first and second colleges founded in Ohio. Better than that, Ohio University was the first university established in the Northwest Territory and is the ninth oldest public university in the United States, being founded in 1804. It was conceived in the late 18th century, chartered as the American Western University in 1802, then founded one year after Ohio became the first state created out of the Northwest Territory, the 17th in all. Miami University, founded in 1809, is the tenth oldest public university in the United States. It was originally mentioned in an Act of Congress signed by President George Washington (therefore also in the 18th century), but was not passed by the Ohio General Assembly until 1809, and they didn’t get their first president until 1824, which was also when their first classes were held. The school closed in 1873, only to be re-opened in 1885 when it paid off its debts.

So where do these two schools stand in the greater picture? Obviously there were colleges founded in the colonial era, including the Ivy League schools and others including The College of William and Mary and Rutgers. But, outside of the original colonies, where do they stand? I’m glad you asked. As far as I could tell, there were four colleges founded before Ohio University outside of the original colonies (if we’re counting the colonies as not including their western-stretching claims. West of the Appalachian Mountain Range, let’s say). Kentucky’s Transylvania University (1780) was the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains, and the 16th university in the United States. ”Transylvania” means “across the woods”, and it was across the forest from Virginia in its Transylvania colony. Tennessee’s Tusculum College (1794) is the 23rd oldest operating college in the United States. The University of Tennessee (also 1794) was founded as Blount College two years before Tennessee became a state. In 1807 UT was rechartered as East Tennessee College. Finally, the University of Louisville (1798) was the first city-owned public university in the United States. It was founded as Jefferson Seminary, and didn’t actually open until 1813. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.