Woody Hayes was an author who published You Win With People in 1973. The autobiography recounts his success on the football field and contains many funny stories from both life and football. As all Buckeye fans know, Woody’s 205 wins remain a Big Ten conference record! He won 13 conference championships and three national championships and also coached three Heisman Trophy winners. Woody was right more than he was wrong—much more.
An example of a funny story from You Win with People is the 1968 game against the University of Michigan in which Ohio State was up 48-14 and went for two points after scoring a touchdown. When asked about this curious decision after the game, Woody Hayes reportedly (according to his writing) said he went for two because “I could not go for three.” What a way to treat a rival. The book You Win with People tells of Woody Hayes’ exploits on the football field, including against rival Michigan. It is an essential read for Ohio State football fans who should not just read but own the book, especially now.
The Ten-Year War
Woody Hayes wrote You Win with People in 1972 (published in 1973), four years into the Ten-Year War, which lasted from 1969 to 1978. The war was a five-to-five tie between Michigan and Ohio State, and the Ohio State versus the University of Michigan game decided the conference championship and often the national title. That game pitted coach Woody Hayes of the Ohio State Buckeyes against coach Bo Schembechler of the Michigan Wolverines. Schembechler played and coached for Hayes before going to Michigan. Fittingly, this was a five-to-five tie between Michigan and Ohio State.
The Best College Football Player Ever
Woody’s accomplishments at Ohio State include coaching probably the most outstanding college football player ever. Archie Griffin was a running back for Ohio State, and he is the only football player ever to win two Heisman trophies, an annual award to the best college football player in the nation. Griffin rushed for 5,177 yards while at Ohio State. Griffin’s career at Ohio State lasted from 1972 to 1975, so he played for the Buckeyes when Woody Hayes wrote You Win with People. The book tells of Griffin’s first two football seasons at Ohio State. Ohio State was 9-2 and 10-0-1 in Griffin’s first two years at the school, and in 1973, Ohio State won the Rose Bowl.
After playing, Griffin was the long-time President of the Ohio State Alumni Association and is one of the few non-band members to dot the I in the Ohio State University marching band Script Ohio, one of the great traditions in college football. Archie Griffin, Woody Hayes, and the book You Win with People are forever linked in Ohio State football lore. It is impossible to overstate the importance of these two and this book. Let the reader think they are unimportant; college football is now a multi-billion dollar industry! It was built on the foundation of Woody and Archie.
Hayes Was a Military History Buff
To say that Woody Hayes was colorful would be the understatement of the century. One notable aspect of Hayes’ legacy is that he was a military history buff who owned hundreds of books and gave millions of dollars to Ohio State University. Current Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day is the hire of Woody Hayes’ legacy. Hayes owned hundreds of books on military history. He said there were countless parallels between military history and football. Indeed, history repeats itself. This is particularly true of military history and football. The old ball coach was well-read.
However, Woody Hayes was much more than just a successful football coach at Ohio State; he was a military history buff who supported the study of military history at Ohio State. Following his death, per his wish, Woody Hayes gave enough money to the University to fund an endowed professorship at the University’s Mershon Center for International Relations. John Mueller currently holds the Hayes Chair in Military Studies. It turns out that Coach Woody Hayes was a university benefactor.
Conclusion
At Hayes’ funeral at First Community Church in Marble Cliff, Ohio, on March 17, 1987, former President Richard Nixon delivered the eulogy before a crowd of 1,400, acknowledging the friendship that had begun between the two during his second term as vice president. Having met Hayes at a reception following a Buckeye win over Iowa in 1957, Nixon recalled, “I wanted to talk about football. Woody wanted to talk about foreign policy. And you know Woody—we talked about foreign policy.” Over 15,000 people participated in a memorial service at Ohio Stadium the following day. Woody Hayes is a legend at Ohio State, and the book You Win with People tells why.
