Northwest Ohioans and the College Football National Championship
FS 2-1
Tomorrow, Luke Montgomery (Findlay), Nate Riegle (Findlay) and Diante Griffin (Lima Senior) look to become the latest Northwest Ohioans to win a college football national title. If they do so they will become the latest in a long line of champions that have called Northwest Ohio home.
This article takes a look back on every member of a national championship team that is proud to call NWO home.
The Early Days of College Football
It was undeniable how good Michigan was at the beginning of the 20th century. Michigan’s first title squad in 1901 and innagural Rose Bowl winner featured three locals from Northwest Ohio, although their high schools are unknown, they were George Sadler and C. Sadler of Sandusky and William Walker of Toledo. The following year, when Michigan repeated in 1902, the team featured Chester Apel of Bowling Green, John Belford of Toledo, and Robert Gotshall of Toledo.
Michigan’s 1918 championship squad featured two standouts from the early days of Toledo Scott dominance. Eddie Usher, a bruising fullback, played the first game of the season before being called to active duty military service. Ernie Vick, a stout center, would be named First Team All-Big Ten and eventually be selected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
In 1924 it was Notre Dame and the Four Horseman’s time to shine. One of those legendary players, Defiance’s own Don Miller. Miller was joined by brother Gerry and Waite standout Edward Scharer. Miller and the Fighting Irish marched to a 10-0 record with a win over Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
In 1930, when the Fighting Irish won their second consecutive title, the squad featured John Connolly and Bernard Cousino of the original Toledo St. John’s high school before it reopened in the 1960’s.
The last locals to win a title in the Great Depression were three Michigan Wolverines in 1933. Findlay’s Charles Brandman, Maumee’s Robert Craper and Bluffton’s Howard Triplehorn all were a part of Michigan’s eighth national title team.
America Becomes Obssessed with Football
By the 1940’s, baseball was on the way out and football was on the way in. In 1942, not only was football on the way in, but so were the Ohio State Buckeyes. 1942 saw Ohio State win their first ever national title. Led by Findlay’s Gene Fekete (who was the first Buckeye to receive Heisman votes), the Buckeye’s went 9-1 to claim the championship. The team also featured a tight end from Fremont Ross who would be named to the All-American team and Cecil Souders of Bucyrus who would go on to play in the NFL. The team also featured Toledo Scott’s Bill Vickroy and Don Steinberg, Crestline’s Robert Frye and Galion’s Bill Durtshi.
1946 saw Emil Slovak, Oak Harbor’s only graduate who would ever win an NCAA title, take home the glory with Notre Dame.
In 1948 the Wolverines were back on top of the college football world, and in no small part to some Northwest Ohioans. Gene Derricotte of Defiance was the team’s return specialist and would set the school record for interceptions in a career and season. Charles Lentz of Toledo Woodward played in the offensive and defenisve backfield, Ed McNeill of Toledo Libbey starred at tight end and on special teams and Walter Young of Toledo Waite was a back-up quarterback.
1954 saw Ohio State win their second national championship. Four Toledo City League products were on the team in Scott’s Jim Parker, Waite’s William Cummings and Libbey’s James Wassmund and Richard Slicker. There were also four small town boys on the team in Willard’s Robert Thornton, Van Wert’s Jim Young, Carey’s Robert Cole and Sylvania’s Kenneth Cooper.
1955 and 1959 saw two less common schools help three Northwest Ohioans win a national title, coincidentally all from the same county. In 1955 John Lewis of Fremont Ross and Ed Roberts of Bellevue won a title with Michigan State. In 1959 Bob Hart of Bellevue won a national title with Syracuse.
In between those two titles, Ohio State won again in 1957. Four players on that team were graduates of Toledo DeVilbiss in Raymond Beerman, Thomas Crawford, John Dresser and Ernest Spychalski. The team also featured two sport star Galen Cisco from St. Marys Memorial, as well as, Gary Ballinger from Marion Harding, Ronald Cook from Lima Senior, Larry Disher from Anthony Wayne and Fred Schenking from Coldwater.
In 1966 for Notre Dame, Lima Central Catholic’s bruising linebacker Jim Lynch helped the Fighting Irish to a national title while also wining the Maxwell Award.
1968 Buckeyes rounded out a dominate three decade era of midwestern football as they marched to the national championship. Celina’s Jim Otis was the team’s leading rusher and scorer. Toledo Macomber’s Rufus Mayes was a large prescence on the line before going on to get drafted in the first round the following spring. Also on the team was Fostoria’s Arthur Burton, Lima Senior’s Dave Cheney, Maumee’s Jim Coburn, Toledo Rogers’ Gerald Erhsam and Paul Schmidlin, Bluffton’s Jim Oppermann and Celina’ Rich Quilling.
A New Era of College Football
The final three decades of the twentieth century saw college football shift from a midwestern dominated landscape to a national landscape. This meant locals on tremendous teams close to home often didn’t win national titles. While those that did were often at schools far from home.
In 1971 the Nebraska Cornhuskers won the national title. Featured on the team was Toledo Scott’ Willie Harper. Harper was a starting defensive end who would be First Team All-Big Eight and a First Team All-American. Also on that team was sophomore Marvin Crenshaw who was a backup right tackle out of Toledo Woodward.
In 1981 Fostoria’s Brad Fisher won a national title with the Clemson Tigers. Fisher was a senior starting senior Left Tackle for the team.
Toledo St. John’s product Rob Chudzinski won two national titles with the Miami (FL) Hurricanes as a tight end in 1987 and 1989.
In the 1997 the Michigan Wolverines won the national title. They were led by Heisman Trophy winner and Fremont Ross graduate Charles Woodson. Woodson would win many awards that year and help return the Wolverines to the national forefront. Also on that team were Toledo St. John’s products Jeremy Miller and Jeff Del Verne.
The Modern Era
The modern era of college football has been plagued by dominance from southern schools. However, Ohio State has won two national titles in that time. Thus helping Northwest Ohioans again earn a national title ring.
In 2002, Tim Anderson of Clyde knocked down the final pass attempt to seal the championship for the Buckeyes. Also on the team were underclassmen that would go on to star in the coming years, Van Wert’s Joel Penton, Perkins’ Brandon Schnittker, Cardinal Stritch’s Michael DeMaria, Findlay’s Josh Huston and Celina’s Jeremy Uhlenhake.
The Buckeye’s final title in 2014 featured two locals in Devlin McDaniel from Marion Pleasant and Aaron Marwhirter from Perkins.