ESPN REPORT: The woody watch Head Coach is Being Fired Due to….
The Discover Orange Bowl on Friday will mark the second-ever meeting between Clemson and Ohio State. However, a punch thrown in another Florida bowl game 35 years ago will eternally link the two programs in history.
Woody Hayes, the famed Ohio State coach, lost his career as a result of the punch. Charlie Bauman became an unwelcome celebrity after that punch. Everything about the 1978 Gator Bowl, even Clemson’s historic victory, was overshadowed by that punch. And when this year’s Orange Bowl combination was revealed, that punch was the first thing that players in the first game considered.
QB Steve Fuller of Clemson observed, “Not many people remember much about the football game itself.” This was true in 1978. “We needed to establish ourselves as a national program, and that game was crucial to that.
However, that’s not what people remember at the end of the day. The Woody Bowl was that.
“What was the purpose of that?”
A brawl on the Ohio State sideline was sparked by a punch from Ohio State coach Woody Hayes. AP Image
There wasn’t a more glaring difference between the coaches in the Gator Bowl in 1978. The 65-year-old Hayes, who had spent 28 seasons in Columbus winning 205 games and five national championships, was the leader of Ohio State. In response, Clemson deployed 31-year-old Danny Ford, who had been elevated from offensive line coach to acting head coach for the bowl game following Charley Pell’s departure for Florida during the regular season.
“I was utterly terrified,” Ford remarked. “He was a legend and an icon. I was only a young child. I felt like a reporter at the pre-game news conferences. I did nothing but sit in the back and listen to him speak.”
However, Clemson was the superior team that season, and with almost two minutes remaining, the exhausted Tigers’ defense scrambled to preserve a 17–15 advantage. At the Clemson 24, Ohio State had already advanced to field goal range and requested what appeared to be a safe play on third-and-5. The running back would be wide open for a quick ball over the middle as the tight end cleared the linebackers. Art Schlichter, the quarterback, could either run or pass the ball.
However, rookie Schlichter was under pressure up the middle and threw the ball straight to Bauman, Clemson’s backup nose guard.
“The remainder is Gator Bowl lore,” stated former Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau.
After returning his lone career interception toward the Buckeyes’ sideline, Schlichter tackled Bauman close to Hayes’ feet. Running directly behind Bauman on the return, Clemson linebacker Bubba Brown claimed to have heard Hayes say at Bauman, “You SOB, I just lost my job!”
Leaping to his feet, Bauman turned to face the stands. After yanking the back of Bauman’s jersey in his direction, Hayes threw his right arm to his throat.
“You could see the disgust and anger coming off his face,” Brown stated. “Charlie said, ‘What did you do that for?'”
There was a brief altercation between the coaches and players of the two sides. Ford claims that one of the Ohio State players tore the ball cap off his head as he rushed over to assist in breaking up the scrum.
“I think he thought I was a manager or something,” Ford stated. “I picked my hat up and got back to the sidelines in a hurry.”
Millions of immediate replays would be available if such an occurrence occurred today, causing Twitter to explode. But in 1978, there were fewer camera angles available and the punch occurred on a crowded sideline. Hayes’ punch was never brought up by the ABC announcing team, which consisted of Keith Jackson and Ara Parseghian, during the show. It took a long time for a number of players and coaches to find out what had transpired.
However, guard Jim Savoca of Ohio State was in the thick of things, preparing to make a play that would never be made by the Buckeyes. He immediately understood the significance.
It was obvious to Savoca that he was done. “I knew it was over.”
‘That line couldn’t be crossed.’
