Born in Clifton, Ohio, and a U. S. Navy veteran of WWII, his roots are here in Newcomerstown. The picture at left is a young Wayne Hayes at the approximate age of 10.

From 1951 to 1978, Woody served as football coach of the Ohio State University.

As history would have it, Buckeye fans and his Buckeye players alike, admired Woody for his tenacity for the game and his strong desire to win. And win he did. His record is legendary . . . 205 wins, 68 losses, and 10 ties.

Woody was the most argumentative coach in college football. The game was in his blood. "You can never pay back, but you can always pay forward." And that he did.

Every Ohio State Faculty member and student rides the wave of success that this man put forth, especially in terms of economics for the University.

If you think Woody was all about football, you thought wrong. A documentary of Woody, produced by WOSU TV provided this snippet of information on what kind of man he really was . .

Diane DeMuesy was a young nurse at the University Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, in the early 1970s. In one of the hospital rooms to which she was assigned was a young man dying of cancer. In the other bed in the young man's room was an Ohio State football player recovering from an injury.