War As They Knew It. Michael Rosenberg.

 

War as they knew it.   Michael Rosenberg.  

Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a time of unrest. 

 

At first glance of the title, War as They Knew it, one might think that this is referencing any of the many military wars fought over time in recent history.    Actually, that would not be too far off the mark.   There was indeed a war but this was about two rival college football coaches that sparred off against each at the end of each regular season for ten consecutive times. The esteemed author/writer Michael Rosenberg collected and put together a well written, intriguing and often humorous story of how Woody Hayes of Ohio State and Bo Schembechler of Michigan competed against each other in what was considered a ten-year war. 

Several characters are introduced in this book but the two main characters of course are Wayne Woodrow (Woody) Hayes, the legendary coach in Columbus, Ohio for nearly three decades and his protege, Glen “Bo” Schembechler, who ended up coaching in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a full score and year.   The book revolves around and alternates between the two characters during their time coaching against one another in the Big Ten conference from 1969 to 1978.    While this was one of America’s fiercest rivalries in college football, and still is today, the head-coaches were somewhat surprisingly friendly towards one another.    However, the author revealed that during this “war” they only spoke to one another during the conference meetings, held prior to the start of the season, and before the season ending contest.  

Rosenberg, a senior writer for Sports Illustrated, produced myriad stories and accounts of Woody Hayes during his time with the Buckeyes.    This was primarily, although not solely, where the humor was found in this manuscript.   Hayes was a decided conservative and staunch supporter of the Republican party.   In fact, he was well acquainted with the president of the United States at the time, Richard Nixon, and was known to speak out in his defense towards the end of Nixon’s term and also supported America's involvement in Viet Nam.    Not surprisingly, Hayes, who was a tenured professor at the school, was an ardent student of military war, battles and the strategies that went with them.   He frequently made the parallels between coaching the game and deploying military troops for battle.   What is more, Hayes was known to refuse pay raises at the school.  He did this, according to the author, to help fight inflation.   Upon reading of an energy shortage and crisis in the early 1970’s, the old man, as often referred to in the book, decided to do his part by walking three miles to work.    It seems as though Hayes did not intentionally seek attention, fame or even additional money.    He was a man that lived by the principle of more work and less money.     His main focus was preparing for and defeating that “school up north”.

Hayes happened to be an admirer of literature.   Among his favorites was Ralph Waldo Emerson.  There was enough of an influence on the OSU coach that the author attempts to connect sayings of Emerson to the way Hayes lived his life.   Rosenberg skillfully included this at the end of each chapter. 

Schembechler played for Hayes at Miami of Ohio in the later 1940’s and early 1950’s.   This came about when Hayes took over for Schembechler’s first coach in Oxford, Ohio.   Schembechler and Hayes connected well as player/coach and then head coach/assistant coach following Hayes to Ohio State in the 1950’s and early 1960’s.   The book did not portray Schembechler as nearly as quirky as his mentor but he could be quite ornery with the media, was tough on his players and had little tolerance for attitudes against the norms of society.  While Schembechler was just as competitive as Hayes, and certainly wanted to beat Ohio State, it seemed, through the author, that he was less a lunatic about dominating his rival then his mentor was.  

The games were a smashing success, of course.   Both teams were not only competitive during that ten year stretch but among the very best in college football year in and year out.   The games were well publicized and attended, just as Michigan athletic director, Don Canham, had hoped and intended.     Canham was actually the third main character in this story.    Rosenberg characterized him as a shrewd business man, already a millionaire by the time he ascended to this position, and ran the athletic department accordingly.   He brought Schembechler to coach the Wolverines in hopes of jump starting a stale program.    Canham was visionary and believed in marketing the program and did so in unconventional ways in the late 1960’s.   One method was to promote  games through the media in order to help fill the stadium particularly when scheduling marquee opponents such as Notre Dame.   He also started selling merchandise with the Michigan logos as another revenue stream.   The fact that both programs were at or near elite status when they met every other year in Ann Arbor helped fill the famous Big House which was equipped to hold some of the largest crowds at that time.

The book also attempts to discuss the civil unrest of this era and how it impacted both midwestern cities.    Rosenberg asserts that Ann Arbor transformed from this conservative college town in the 1950’s and early 60’s to a more liberal, if not radical, town of unrest and progression.   Schembechler was indifferent and stayed out of the politics where possible as he was more inclined to spend 12 hours in a dark room watching film.   Hayes, no stranger to long hours and days at work, on the other hand, railed against the changes as he was outspoken about order and civil duty in our nation.   Hayes would take any opportunity to tell young people to go to law school upon completion of their undergraduate studies.   

The book is full of one interesting story after another in this three hundred- and twenty-five-page opus.    It gives the reader many opportunities to laugh out loud (especially when reading about Hayes), think and ponder about their own values and principles.    The book is heavily slanted towards the two coaches and Midwestern cities just three hours apart from each other. Furthermore, readers have to wade through some detailed minutiae of all ten games.    Nevertheless, although the book was published in 2008, it still contains a well composed and important swath of history, a different kind of war book, that can be enjoyed equally among college football fans or any history aficionados for that matter.  

 

·         You might like to read this book if you are a fan of Michigan or Ohio State football.

·         You might like to read this book if you are a college football fan.

·         You might like to read this book if you enjoy reading about stories in middle America.

·         You might like this book if you seek stories about successful leaders.

·         You might like to read this book if you enjoy history about sports and civil rights. 

Read more about the author on Twitter:    https://twitter.com/Rosenberg_Mike