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Home > Blogs > Buckeyes Beat > Archives > 2008 > July > 02 > Entry
Tippy Dye has his say
Two years ago, as Ohio State headed into its monumental 1-against-2 matchup with Michigan, some Buckeyes fans learned the name Tippy Dye for the first time.
Heading into the game, one of the major storylines was the possibility that quarterback Troy Smith could collect his third straight win against the Wolverines. Only one other OSU quarterback had done that.
Before the game of the year, No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 2 Michigan on Nov. 18 at Columbus, Ohio, somebody recalled that only one Buckeyes quarterback had ever beaten archrival Michigan three consecutive times.
His name was Tippy Dye and the years were 1934, ‘35 and ‘36. He was 5 feet 7, 135 pounds, wore No. 50 and played offense and defense as the Buckeyes shut out the Wolverines all three years. Dye’s three straight were viewed as an especially significant feat last fall because Ohio State’s quarterback, eventual Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, was about to match that accomplishment. Smith did exactly that in the Buckeyes’ 42-39 victory that day, a victory that set up Monday’s national title game against Florida.
Dye did many things after he left Ohio State, a line of success that included a stop as the University of Washington’s basketball coach. Dye visited Seattle recently. Now 93, he was asked by a Seattle reporter about his history with the school, his experiences as a coach and administrator and his thoughts about the state of college sports.
We learned that, if he were leaving college today, we would never have known Tippy Dye the coach:
“We had great teams, great people,” he said. “They were all good folks, not like they have today. “I couldn’t coach today. I wouldn’t want to.”
The rest of Dye’s story is interesting and worth your time. But it’s this last part that is the most disturbing. We hear former coaches many times say that it would be much more difficult to do that work in today’s environment.
But to hear a man with the accomplishments of Dye say that he wouldn’t want to even coach at all is troubling. I suppose, though, that every generation feels the same about the next one. Perhaps those who coached Dye and his comrades thought they were too difficult to deal with.
Hearing such things does make one thankful that some powerful coaches are seemingly doing what Jim Tressel stresses — creating good citizens, graduating players, and the like.
If nothing else, be impressed with Dye because he beat Michigan three straight times. That has rarely happened in this series.
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