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06-16-2006, 12:29 PM
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Vic Janowicz - 1950 Heisman Winner (Official Thread)
gonna drop a little historical knowledge on ya...
Wikipedia Link Quote:
College Football HOF Link  Quote:
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Vic Janowicz at baseball-almanac.com  Quote:
         
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06-16-2006, 01:50 PM
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About time we had a thread on one of our all-time greats...
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06-16-2006, 02:18 PM
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This article contains one of my favorite facts about Vic Janowicz (bold added). He scored 15 points, threw a TD pass, put 2 kickoffs into the end zone, and recovered 2 fumbles in the first 5 minutes of the Iowa game!
centralohio.com Janowicz's all-around skills led to Heisman By Larry Phillips Gannett News Service  Photo courtesy of the College Football Hall of Fame Vic Janowicz was one of the most highly recruited athletes in Ohio State history. COLUMBUS -- Vic Janowicz played his final season of high school football in 1947, and the state of Ohio hasn't seen anything like him since. Janowicz could run, pass, hit on defense and kick the ball better than any schoolboy in the state. Playing at Elyria High School, Janowicz spearheaded his team's run to a Lake Erie League championship by scoring 101 points and earning All-Ohio and All-America honors. He also excelled in basketball and baseball (the latter well enough to eventually play for the Pittsburgh Pirates) while drawing scouts from coast to coast. Naturally, a recruiting war ensued that included offers from 61 colleges. When the smoke finally cleared, and thanks largely to the efforts of Columbus businessman John Galbreath, Janowicz signed with Ohio State. It was a historic moment. "Vic excelled in every phase of the game," said Wes Fesler, who coached Janowicz during his first three years at Ohio State. "He not only was a great runner, passer and blocker, he also did all of our kicking, including punting, field goals, quick kicks, kickoffs and extra points. "He was one of the finest, most versatile athletes I have ever seen." Even so, it took Fesler two years to figure out how best to unleash his star. Freshmen were ineligible in 1948, and Janowicz played mostly safety on defense in 1949. He did run 30 times for 121 yards (4.0 avg.), caught a pass for a 24-yard TD and punted four times with a 34.8 average. Injured in the third game against USC, Janowicz missed four contests, but returned in time to help the Bucks tie Michigan, earn a share of the Big Ten title, collect the school's first Rose Bowl victory, a 17-14 win over California, and finish sixth in the final AP poll. He gave a peek of his future in Pasadena. Trailing 7-0, Janowicz pilfered a key interception to stop a Bears' drive and his 45-yard return to set up the Buckeyes first score. The play turned the game's momentum for good and Fesler described the sophomore's play at the Rose Bowl as "brilliant." It would be an omen of things to come. In 1950, Fesler moved his 5-foot-9, 186-pound junior to left halfback and quarterback in the single-wing offense. The results were dramatic. "I can't imagine Ohio State ever having a more versatile player," said former Ohio State sports information director Marv Homan. Although the Buckeyes lost their season-opener to SMU, Janowicz's inspired play led to an exciting six-game winning streak and vaulted OSU to No. 1 in the national poll. He showed his skills as a passer against Pittsburgh, completing six-of-six passes for 151 yards and four TDs. His most incredible day came against Iowa on Oct. 28 before 82,174 fans at Ohio Stadium. In the first five minutes alone, Janowicz blasted two kickoffs into the end zone, recovered two Iowa fumbles, scored on an 11-yard TD run, fired a 12-yard TD pass, returned a punt 61 yards for a score and kicked three PATs. The day ended with Janowicz completing five of six passes for 133 yards and four TDs. He also booted 10 of 11 PATs, still a conference record, and averaged 42 yards on a pair of punts. Fesler yanked him early in the third period after OSU opened a 55-14 bulge at intermission. "Vic had to be one of the finest athletes ever to play at Ohio State," said teammate Walt Klevay. Late in the season, No. 1-ranked Ohio State suffered seven turnovers and was upset at Illinois, but still had a chance to salvage the conference crown when Michigan arrived on Nov. 25. Unfortunately, so did the worst blizzard in more than three decades, which turned the game into the infamous Snow Bowl. Michigan pocketed a 9-3 win without registering a first down in the legendary contest. Janowicz punted 21 times for 685 yards (32.6 yards) in the howling wind, and nailed an incredible 38-yard field goal, one of the greatest feats in school history, to stake the Bucks to a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes. "I could see the goal posts, but not the stands behind," Janowicz said later. "Conditions weren't so bad in the first half. If it had been in the second half, it would've been impossible." Michigan blocked a pair of punts into the end zone, one for a safety and recovered the other for a TD, to reach the Rose Bowl. It was a disappointing moment, but only seemed to heighten the aura surrounding Janowicz. He completed the season by leading the Big Ten in scoring and total offense. Overall he scored 65 points, booted 26 PATs, three field goals and handled the punting chores. Janowicz completed 32-of-77 passes for 561 yards and 12 TDs and ran for 314 yards and four more scores. He also was a top defensive player at safety, and saw action in 277.5 minutes while competing in all nine games. The 20-year-old junior won the Heisman decisively with 633 votes, compared with 280 for runner-up Kyle Rote of SMU. Unfortunately for him, the Snow Bowl loss led to Fesler's resignation. Woody Hayes was hired, and although he would eventually lead OSU to unparalleled success, the former Miami of Ohio coach was unable to mold his system to fit Janowicz that first season. Hayes switched the Buckeyes' offense from the single wing, which featured Janowicz, to the T formation. Janowicz became the halfback, which effectively took the ball out of his hands, a rather bizarre move in retrospect. In 1951, Janowicz gained 376 yards rushing and completed just 7 of 25 passes for 74 yards and two TDs. He had 14 PATs and three field goals, and averaged 39.4 yards on 62 punts. The Buckeyes went 4-3-2 after being ranked seventh to start the season. It was a disappointing campaign for everyone, and a dour end to a remarkable career for Janowicz. Numbers don't tell the complete impact he had in all phases of the game. He played in 26 contests, ran for 982 yards and eight TDs, and threw for 635 yards and 14 TDs. He punted 120 times with a career average just under 38 yards per boot, and kicked six field goals, two of which won games against Pitt and Northwestern in 1951. "He was not only a great runner but also passed, was a place kicker and punter, played safety, and was an outstanding blocker," Hayes said. Janowicz won MVP honors at the 1952 Hula Bowl, then served a year in the military before signing a baseball contract with the Pirates in 1953. In two years as a catcher and third baseman in Pittsburgh, he compiled a .214 batting average. That rugged showing prompted him to try football again. Janowicz joined the Washington Redskins in 1954, and lost the NFL scoring title on the final day of the 1955 season, finishing second (with 88 points) to Doak Walker. A near fatal car accident the following fall left Janowicz in a coma for 30 days and resulted in a brain injury. That incident effectively ended his football career. As an NFL player, Janowicz had 410 yards on 99 carries and scored four touchdowns. He also caught 12 passes for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Janowicz booted 10 field goals and 37 extra points. He went on to become an administrative assistant to the state auditor, and in 1991 was voted the greatest OSU athlete in the past 50 years. Janowicz was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1976. He died in February 1996, just two months after Eddie George won Ohio State's sixth Heisman trophy. Contact Phillips by e-mail at lbphillips@nncogannett.com or call (419) 521-7238.
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06-16-2006, 02:48 PM
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06-16-2006, 03:42 PM
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Vic Janowicz in the Snow Bowl:
1. Kicked a 38 yard field goal, That 38-yard kick later was voted one of the “Greatest Feats in American Sports” by a panel of sportswriters. 2. Punted 21 times for 685 yards. 3. Vic Janowicz said after the game “It was like a nightmare. My hands were numb (and blue). I had no feeling in them and I don’t know how I hung onto the ball. It was terrible. You knew what you wanted to do, but you couldn’t do it.” http://library.osu.edu/sites/archive...n/snowbowl.htm  Michigan won the 1950 “Snow Bowl” game — without making a first down. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State University Athletics)  The 1950 “Snow Bowl” game was played with half the field covered with a tarpaulin because it was frozen to the ground. There was too much snow on it to make much of a difference. (Photo courtesy of Ohio State University Athletics) COLUMBUS — Nov. 25, 1950. On that date, Ohio State and Michigan battled in one of the oddest, most memorable college football games ever played. “The field was totally covered with snow. What many people don’t realize is that the game was played with half the field covered with a tarpaulin because it was frozen to the ground. It didn’t matter because there was so much snow on it,’’ said Marv Homan, the former OSU sports information director, who did play by play for university station WOSU that day. Just how bizarre was the game?
“There were times when it snowed so hard I could not see the other side of the field,” Homan said. “It was totally enveloped in snow.” Lancaster resident Jim Hietikko was an offensive tackle for OSU from 1950 to 1952. In 1950, he was a sophomore backup to Buckeye captain Bill Trautwein. Hietikko said players had no idea how bad the weather would be that Saturday. “It wasn’t real bad that week,” Hietikko said. “We got up in the morning, probably around 6:30, and it was coming down like you wouldn’t believe. “The streets were almost impassable. We boarded the bus to go to the stadium around 10:30, and along the way you saw a lot of motorists having difficulty. Even the bus was having difficulty getting down to the stadium.” Dick Logan was a starting defensive tackle for Ohio State in that game. The former Mansfield Senior star now runs a sporting goods store in North Canton. “We sat around for quite some time waiting for a decision to be made (on whether to cancel the game),” he said. “We had all these people come down from Michigan and the athletic directors decided they had to play the game. “We found some long underwear somewhere and put that on and gloves and went out and warmed up. We still didn’t think we would play the game. We came back in to the locker room, and they said it’s a go. It was quite a mess.” Hietikko said it was impossible to get warmed up. “When you released downfield to block, you couldn’t find the opposing team member from Michigan until you got right up on him. It was that bad,” Hietikko said. “When you did hit somebody, it hurt, because your hands were frozen and your feet were frozen.” Dick Ellwood, 71, is retired from Anchor Hocking in Lancaster. Originally from Dover, he was a senior OSU linebacker in the game and a defensive captain. “The attitude was: We’re going to play the game and we’re going to beat Michigan. Who cares about the weather,” he said. “It was a dumb football game, a really stupid football game. When you put the ball down on the field, and it just blows off, that’s unreal. It was a nightmare.” All the scoring was in the first half. The first time Michigan had the ball, OSU’s Joe Campenella blocked a punt and OSU took over at the Michigan 6. Not only could the Buckeyes not score a touchdown, they lost 16 yards back to the Michigan 22. “(OSU’s Vic) Janowicz tried to throw a pass in the end zone, and he threw it away. In those days, you were penalized if you threw it away,” said Hietikko, now president of Behrens Insurance in Lancaster. So Janowicz, who went on to win the Heisman Trophy as a junior that year, tried a field goal. “When he kicked the ball, it went up into a cloud of snow. It just disappeared,” Homan said. But it split the uprights for the Buckeyes’ only points of the day. That 38-yard kick later was voted one of the “Greatest Feats in American Sports” by a panel of sportswriters. “When Janowicz kicked the field goal, I’ve always maintained that that would be the most memorable field goal in OSU history had the game ended up 3-2, and it could have very easily,” Homan said. Michigan scored two points in the first quarter when Janowicz dropped back to punt deep in his own end. It was blocked, and the ball went out of the back of the end zone for a safety. The key play in the game occurred with just 20 seconds left in the first half. On third down, Michigan’s Tony Momsen blocked another Janowicz punt. Momsen’s brother, Bob, played for Ohio State. “Officials had to stop the game and call time to see if it had been recovered in or out of the end zone. There was a long delay,” Homan said. They actually had to call for ground crew and literally dig down to see whether it was in the end zone or out of the end zone.’’ OSU head coach Wes Fesler was criticized heavily for punting on third down. He later said he just wanted to get the ball out of the OSU end of the field. Under pressure, he resigned a few months later and was replaced by Woody Hayes for the 1951 season. “It was terrible,” Hietikko said. He could have ran one play and ran out 45 seconds, or whatever it was, and got to halftime without punting." The announced attendance for the game was about 50,500. “I don’t know if there were 50,000 there at any one time. There sure as heck weren’t in the second half,” Homan said, estimating about 5,000 people in the stands at the end of the game. “Those 5,000 left were down on the field helping to clean the place off,” Hietikko said. “The funny thing about this is over the years, I’ll bet there must have been a million-and-a-half people there,” Hietikko said. Everybody I talked to was at the game. Everybody. They want to make sure they were there in their own mind. Everybody tells you, ‘Sure, I was at that game. I was there.’ Baloney.” Homan said the fact anywhere close to 50,000 showed up is a tribute to OSU’s football following. “Anybody that went any distance to see the game, you would have to question their sanity.” A good example of someone who should have had his sanity questioned is Harold Henry, says his son, Dick. The younger Henry, who is a Lexington resident and the athletics director at Marion Harding High School, was only 4 years old at the time, but remembers the tale quite well as it was told to him through the years. Dick grew up in Marion. In the 1940s and 1950s, his father ran the Pure Oil Co.’s service station, now the location of Tubby’s Pizza near Marion’s downtown. “The morning of that game my dad fell over one of the jacks and broke both his arms,” said Dick. “But somehow he had tickets, and no matter what, he was going. “He went to the game chewing aspirin,” said Dick. The casts for the two broken arms were put on after he returned, and Harold, who went on to sell insurance in Marion as an independent agent and also operated the former Olympic swimming pool just outside of town, always had a painful reminder. After the arms healed and the casts came off, “his left arm never straightened all the way again,” said Dick. Other fans faced some tough obstacles in the aftermath as well. “After the game they had the emergency squad at the stadium.” Hietikko said. “People brought liquor to try to keep warm with it, and some of them passed out. Coming out of the locker room, lights were flashing and they were carrying people out of there.” Cars were stranded for days. Logan said it took his parents three days to get back to Mansfield. OSU players not only had to deal with the cold but with losing the Big Ten championship. “The first thing we did was get into a hot shower and stay there,” Hietikko said. Our hands were frozen. Our feet were frozen.” How did the team react to losing? “It wasn’t pretty,” Logan said. “You can’t print what we did. It was devastating.” The terrible field conditions hurt Ohio State more than Michigan, Logan said. “It just neutralized everything,” he said. The fact is that we felt it was our opportunity to win the ball game. We felt we were better than Michigan.” Homan had his own problems in the press box on top of the stadium. “I probably had more clothes on that day than any day I did the play-by-play,” Homan said. The windows in our booth frosted up. We absolutely could not see out, so we had to open the darn things. We were about at the height of the stadium. We were up there and caught much of the wind. It was rugged,” he said with a laugh. http://www.centralohio.com/ohiostate...gan/part4.html The Snow Bowl  (OSU Archives) Normally, no Buckeye fan would glorify a loss to the Michigan Wolverines. But the 1950 game, despite an OSU loss, is one that is forever etched in football lore.  (OSU Archives) It was a day that no human being should have even been outdoors, but that didn't stop the Buckeyes and Wolverines from getting it on. The temperature was in the teens, and there was a driving snowstorm. The yard lines could not be seen. It was arguably some of the worst conditions for any football game ever. There was no offense from either team; OSU's Vic Janowicz set a whopping OSU punting record as he kicked 21 times for 685 yards. But it was the Michigan punter, Charles Ortmann, who won the game with his outstanding punting that pinned OSU deep in their own territory. As a result of OSU's poor field position, Michigan was able to block one OSU punt for a safety and one for a touchdown. Vic Janowicz was able to muster a field goal in the first quarter, but the only offense all day would not be enough as the blocked punts gave UM the 9-3 win. Yes, the Buckeyes lost, but the game has gone down in history as one of the more famous college football games ever. http://www.bucknuts.com/osuhistory/greatmoments.htm
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08-27-2008, 12:09 PM
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Scout.com$
All-Time Greatest No. 3: Vic Janowicz............1950 Heisman winner, All-American and Big Ten MVP after the 1950 season.
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