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HB Paul Sarringhaus (1942 All American and National Champion; World War II Veteran)

ScarletBlood31

Buckeye in Blacksburg
Recently at an outdoor market I came across a guy selling a ton of original Life magazines from all different time periods. After looking through a bunch of the World War II and sports related ones I found this gem from October 22nd, 1945:


$(KGrHqZHJEsE916drFiOBPiZGbp+sQ~~60_35.JPG

Caption: "Ohio State's Star Halfback"
October 22, 1945
10 cents


At first I didn't know anything about him, but upon further research I found out that he was an All American halfback (who could also throw) and a leader of tOSU's first National Championship in 1942. I also found an article talking about how he left the team after 1942, along with several of his teammates, to join the Army and then go fight in World War II. He returned in 1945 after the war and that's when this picture was taken.

I'm going to give this to my dad as a gift since he was raised in Columbus and has been a life long Buckeye fan. Even though this is before his time I thought it was an awesome story and picture for an Ohio State fan of any age. In an age where athletes often speak of self-sacrifice and putting the team first, I thought this could serve as a humbling reminder of those who defined what that means.

I was wondering if anyone here had any more insight into who Paul Sarringhaus was or any other details surrounding that first National Championship. Any information would be appreciated and also I figured a Buckeye legend like this deserved his own thread.
 
I know this is an old thread, so I've no idea if you'll see this, ScarletBlood31. Ran across this while googling about my family history.

For what it is worth, I grew up with a copy of this magazine. It was one of the few pictures I had of my paternal grandfather. I don't know much about the man, he left my grandmother when my father was 6 mo old. My dad reached out to him in the mid 90s, shortly before Paul Sarringhaus died. He informed my father of his health history to better understand health problems that my father, and now I, suffer from. Other than that Paul Sarringhaus, at that time, was not interested in his son or grand children. I do not know his circumstances prior to that, including why he left. My family didn't talk about it.

I am proud of my grandfather's accomplishments at OSU and in the war. His athletic genes also surely helped my father and myself have successful careers in college athletics. I don't know much about his personal or family life, so I cannot say anything about that. I do wish I had a chance to talk to him back in the 90s, but he was not open to that.

You asked about who Sarringhaus was. That gave me the opportunity to share what I know of him. Thank you for starting the thread and letting me share. And thank you for posting that pic, ScriptOhio.
 
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