Buckeye: A study of Coach Woody Hayes and the Ohio State football machine

Vare's BUCKEYE: A STUDY OF COACH WOODY HAYES AND THE OSU FOOTBALL MACHINE is an inside look at Woody Hayes and the 1973 season. Wonderfully written in the style of the New Journalism, Vare brings to light the genius/madness of Hayes. Hayes is Patton, a man out of place in modern times. A workaholic who curses like a drunken sailor, Hayes also loved literature and learning. He refused pay raises and spent much of his free time visiting hospitals. Vares realizes what an enignma Hayes is and what a great story he has on his hands. Hillarious is the transcript of the Woody Hayes football show where Woody interviews his players. For any OSU fan, meloncholy for Hayes stubborness during the UM game in refusing to listen to his assistants pleading with his to pass the ball. The team itself realized that Hayes had lost the national championship for them with his play calling. But,as Vares make clear, without Hayes' ability to recruit and lead, OSU wouldn't have been in that position in the first place.

This is a must read for any Ohio State fan. Especially for those old enough to be a part of the Woody Hayes regime. This is when it was the game plan that we are Ohio State and we are tough and try to stop us man to man with the offensive scheme being simple...three yards and a cloud of dust! This is the timeframe when Lombardi dies and Woody took overthe moniker as the hard nosed extreme disciplinarian in the spot light. Many hated him but with 5 National titles, 13 Big Ten titles to his credit he got results! Unfortunately today he probably would not have prospered as much as the time period back then due to so many restrictions and sensitivity to too much attention being placed on football. The other side is he himself (Woody) made about $29,000 a year and never asked for a raise or took more money so how many coaches today would do that? The author shows Woody's compassionate side and loyalty in this book where he helped athletes by giving them money for food and bought hats and gloves out of his own measly $29,000 salary but when he mentioned it to a Sports Illustrated reporter he was put on probation by the NCAA. Like others have said I could not put it down and it is a fine addition to any Buckeye fan's collection!

This book illustrates truly how bad Coach Hayes wanted to win. In-depth coverage of the preparation for the "Big Game" show how hard Coach Hayes wanted to win it. "Buckeye" takes you through all the blowouts of the 1973 season and the heartbreak of the 10-10 tie with "the team up north". I think that Robert Vare did a great job in proving that Columbus is a Buckeye Football city. Every Buckeye fan should read this book to really appreciate who Woody Hayes was and how he took Ohio State Football from the bottom of the Big 10 in 1951 to the top of the nation in the 1970's.

I found myself unable to put this book down the second I started reading it. The detail in which it desrcibes the Ohio State Football program under Coach Woody Hayes is remarkable. This book is a must for any and all Ohio State Buckeye fans.