Ohio State Football - Central Ohio News

1. Howard Cassady, HB, Ohio State 2,219

2. Jim Swink, HB, TCU 742

3. George Welsh, QB, Navy 383

4. Earl Morrall, QB, Michigan State 323

5. Paul Hornung, QB, Notre Dame 321

COLUMBUS -- It took exactly one quarter for Howard Cassady to acclimate to college football at Ohio State.

In the second period of his first game, Cassady caught a 27-yard touchdown pass to trigger the beginning of what would become a spectacular career. Cassady would score two more touchdowns that day to help Ohio State shake loose from 13-13 fourth-quarter tie and roll past Indiana 33-13.

It didn't surprise anyone on the OSU sideline. Cassady was born on March 2, 1934, in Columbus and routinely snuck into Ohio Stadium as a kid. He graduated from Columbus Central High School and enrolled at Ohio State in March 1952. He returned a punt more than 60 yards in the Spring Game that and was a standout in the secondary. His opening-day performance against Indiana was merely a prelude.

Two weeks later, Cassady's running helped the Buckeyes upset No. 1-ranked Wisconsin 23-14. It didn't take long for sportswriters to tag Cassady with a nickname that would make him immortal in Columbus. Noting his style of hopping all over the field like the performing cowboy of that time period, "Hopalong" was born.

Cassady would finish the year with 293 yards rushing, 192 yards receiving, shared the team scoring title with 36 points on six touchdowns and picked off a pass on defense. He was a two-way standout as a freshman.

The next year he asserted himself even more on offense. Cassady racked up 514 yards rushing, 273 yards receiving and tallied eight touchdowns. Defensively, he picked off three passes and averaged 24.7 yards per return. Although the Buckeyes were just 12-6 combined in those first two years, coach Woody Hayes had his team and Cassady poised for a breakthrough season in 1954.

The Buckeyes got off to a 4-0 start, but faced a spirited test against No. 2 Wisconsin on Oct. 23. The Badgers led 7-3 and were driving deep in OSU territory in the third quarter when Cassady picked off a pass at the 12. The Ohio State playmaker weaved to the sidelines and sprinted upfield. He made a dazzling cutback to avoid a defender in Wisconsin territory and danced into the end zone with an amazing 88-yard return that turned the game around. To this day it is considered one of the greatest plays in school history.

The Buckeye offense fed off the momentum of that play, shifted into gear and OSU swept to a 31-14 victory.

The win moved Ohio State to No. 1 in the polls and eventually led to a showdown with Michigan for the Big Ten title. The 12th-ranked Wolverines controlled much of the action and were on the brink of breaking a 7-7 tie as the fourth quarter unfolded. Yet the Bucks held on downs inside their one-yard line, and Cassady peeled off a long run to ignite a 99-yard drive that turned the game around.

Later, with the Buckeyes clinging a 14-7 edge, Cassady intercepted a Michigan pass to thwart a drive. That set up a 62-yard march that he completed with a one-yard TD plunge. The 21-7 victory made Ohio State only the second team in conference history to win seven straight games in one season, the first to do it in 40 years.

The Bucks earned the Rose Bowl berth, where Cassady gained 95 yards rushing in a 20-7 beating of USC. It was a fitting climax to a 10-0 season and an AP national championship, the first of five Hayes would bring to Columbus.

Cassady's exploits earned him consensus All-America honors and a third-place showing in the Heisman balloting behind Wisconsin's Alan Ameche and Oklahoma's Kurt Burris. Cassady finished with 701 yards rushing, 148 yards receiving and six touchdowns. He also had four interceptions on defense.

"He is the greatest player of this century," Hayes said at the time.

Cassady's 1955 campaign made that statement hard to dispute. Frankly, the Big Ten had to be sick of seeing Hopalong by this point.

In 1955, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound blur spearheaded OSU's run to a second consecutive Big Ten championship and a No. 5 spot in the final AP poll. The Buckeyes were again perfect in conference play, with a 6-0 mark. In his final game at Ann Arbor, Cassady ran for 146 yards on 28 carries and scored his final touchdown. He was also a key defensive participant on a unit that allowed Michigan into OSU territory for one play, then threw the Wolverines back for a loss across the midfield stripe on the next snap.

The no-repeat rule kept Ohio State out of the Rose Bowl, but it didn't hurt Cassady's Heisman bid.

"There wasn't that much TV then, but definitely the Heisman Trophy was the No. 1 trophy to get if your were a college player," Cassady said upon reflection. "You appreciate it a lot more when you're (out of the game)."

Cassady won the award by becoming the first Heisman vote getter to crack the 2,000-point barrier. He racked up the largest margin of victory in the then 21-year history of the award, outdistancing TCU standout Jim Swink by 1,477 points.

"Howard Cassady is the greatest college football player I have ever watched," said Wilfrid Smith, former sports editor of the Chicago Tribune, while presenting Cassady with the Big Ten MVP Award.

Cassady finished his senior year with a school-record 958 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns, and returned 17 punts for 205 yards and another score. He also had two interceptions and averaged 31.3 yards on 10 kickoff returns. For his career, the redheaded speedster shattered Chic Harley's career scoring record by accumulating 37 touchdowns and 222 career points. He gained 2,466 yards rushing and averaged 5.6 yards per carry.

Defensively, Hayes claimed Cassady never gave up a TD pass in the secondary.

Hopalong capped his dream season with the 1955 Maxwell Award and was selected AP's Male Athlete of the Year ahead of heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano and Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham.

Cassady was also an outstanding baseball player, and started at shortstop for three seasons with the Buckeyes, skipping spring football to do so -- much to Hayes' chagrin.

Cassady was a No. 1 draft pick by the Detroit Lions, where he played six seasons, most often as a defensive back. He moved on to the Cleveland Browns, Philadelphia Eagles, and finished his career in a final year with Detroit. During his eight NFL seasons, Cassady mustered decent offensive numbers by running for 1,229 yards, catching 111 passes for 1,601 yards, scoring 24 touchdowns, and returning 77 kickoffs for a 20.7 average.

He retired from football and dabbled in a variety of business investments, including concrete pipe and shipbuilding. He continues to work as a coach with the Columbus Clippers, the New York Yankees Class AAA farm team.

True to form, Cassady's son Craig was a starting safety for the Buckeyes in 1975 and intercepted a pair of passes in a 21-14 win over Michigan in the season finale.

Hopalong Cassady was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Contact Phillips by e-mail at lbphillips@nncogannett.com or call (419) 521-7238.