A Fire to Win: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes
Legendary Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes died in 1987, but his legacy lives on. Lombardo presents Hayes' youth in rural Ohio as the cornerstone of the values that would guide him all his life. Education was critical to Hayes' family, and it was the call to teaching that eventually led to coaching. Lombardo follows Hayes' career from his first high-school job--from which he was dismissed for being abusive to his players--to small Denison University to Miami of Ohio and finally to Ohio State. Hayes' volatile, on-field personality--in his last collegiate game, he punched an opposing player, leading to his almost immediate dismissal--stood in sharp contrast to the scholarly, empathetic, and generous man who was revered by players and associates. Lombardo explores these contradictions without delivering any conclusions, but even Hayes seemed unable to control his demons, let alone understand them. Typical of sports biographies, there's a bit too much then-they-played narrative, but on balance, this is a sympathetic yet evenhanded examination of a modern coaching giant.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.