Libraries' U-M/OSU site offers historical look at storied rivalry

Updated 11:00 AM November 10, 2003

Libraries' U-M/OSU site offers historical look at storied rivalry

By Katie Gazella

There was no disputing the outcome of the game, an 86-0 drubbing by U-M over rival Ohio State in the 1902 football game.

A scene from the 1902 matchup between U-M and OSU. (Photo courtesy Bentley Historical Library)

"Never before did Ohio State have such a score run up against her, and she probably never will again," said an article in the Oct. 29, 1902 issue of OSU's student newspaper, The Lantern. The article had a downtrodden feel to it, noting, "Few people who saw the game are willing to admit that there will ever again be such a team as the Wolverines."

The tone of a Michigan Alumnus Magazine account of the game, naturally, was much more gleeful in its take on U-M's dominance.

"Before the largest crowd that ever gathered at Ferry Field—fully six thousand were present—Michigan shattered all of Ohio's claims to prestige," the Alumnus article said.

These articles from more than a century ago are part of a Web site put together by libraries from both schools, http:// www.lib.ohio-state.edu/arvweb/OSUvsMichigan/osuvsmichigan.htm. It includes statistics about the heated rivalry, a history of the schools' stadiums and coaches, and articles about notable games from OSU and U-M publications.

But rivalry isn't the whole story. The universities also cooperate and collaborate closely in many academic areas. This side of their relationship is demonstrated in exhibits from U-M's Special Collections Library and Ohio State's Rare Books and Manuscripts Division. The exhibits highlight rare and unusual items each institution owns which originated in the other state. This site is http://www.lib.umich.edu/spec-coll/ohio-mich/ .

Game program covers from 1938 (above) and 1968 (below). (Courtesy Bentley Historical Library)

The game between U-M and OSU is a much-anticipated match-up every year. But this year's meeting on Nov. 22 in Ann Arbor is even more significant because it is the 100th football game between the two teams.

The rivalry site first went up last year and received 17,000 hits the week of the U-M/OSU game, says Greg Kinney, associate archivist at the Bentley Historical Library. "We were amazed," he says.

Kinney is working on the site with Tamar Chute, associate university archivist at OSU. Originally, the idea for the two schools' libraries to create a site about the history of the rivalry came from Fred Ruffner Jr., a 1950 Ohio State graduate who lives in Michigan and is the founder of Gale Publishing.

The articles from the different publications are a new feature this year, Kinney says. Sometimes the two views of the world are quite different, such as the 1961 game, which OSU won 50-20.

"The jubilant players hoisted [Coach Woody] Hayes to their shoulders and carried him triumphantly to the dressing room," said the article in The Ohio State University Monthly. The Michigan Alumnus Magazine writer, however, saw it as less spontaneous, noting that it appeared that Hayes "stood on the field after the game and motioned until some of his players got the idea he wanted to be carried off the field on their shoulders."

Statistics on the site show that OSU has more Heisman Trophy winners (six, vs. U-M's three), but U-M has more Big Ten titles (40, vs. OSU's 28). Those on either side who want to turn the rivalry into a numbers game will find little ammunition from such close statistics as the schools' records in their home stadiums as of last season: 342-101-20 for OSU, and the almost identical 344-103-15 for U-M.

The most colorful part of the site is a display of program covers from several games. One, from 1934, is a collegial image of two players hands' shaking. Another, from 1938, shows someone in a U-M uniform walking arm-in-arm with a person wearing an OSU uniform.

Lest anyone think the rivalry is entirely friendly, however, the program from 1968 shows an OSU player in a tree, pelting a U-M player with buckeyes.

Libraries' U-M/OSU site offers historical look at storied rivalry

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