The small path lined with buckeye trees between Ohio Stadium, Lincoln Tower and Morrill Tower contains generations of football history. At the base of every tree is a small square plaque. Each is set in cement and placed between the red brick that lines the sides of the path. Inscribed on the plaques are the names of famous Buckeyes and a year surrounded by the shape of Ohio.
The path begins with “Boyd Cherry 1914” and ends with “Michael Doss 2001, 2002, 2003.” Generations of the Ohio State football heroes are memorialized in the Buckeye All-American Grove.
Close examination of the Buckeye grove exposes a less-than-stellar monument to those players who earned the roar of Ohio Stadium crowds on a fall day so many times over.
“The Buckeye grove was actually started back in the ’30s with the idea that a tree would be planted for each All-American football player,” said Bill Wahl, an Ohio State historian.
Associate Director of Athletics Bill Myles said there are six or seven All-American lists decided by different associations including The Associated Press and the American Football Coaches Association. If a player makes the majority of those lists, they are given a tree, he said.
The Buckeye grove was originally located between McCracken Power Plant and Ohio Stadium. Wahl said it served as a tourist attraction for fans on football Saturdays and was intended to invoke team spirit. Before football games fans would swarm down 17th Avenue and pass through the Buckeye grove commemorating those who had played the game with brilliance.
“(In 1998) Ohio Staters put together a project for improvement. Many of the plaques were missing or very hard to find and it was hard to identify where the different All-Americans were. It was random and scattered about, not very identifiable,” said Steve Volkman, university architect at OSU. “They thought it would be great to move the Buckeye grove out of the way of future construction, where we wouldn’t be building.”
In 2000, the Buckeye grove was moved to its current location on the south side of Ohio Stadium. It is sponsored by funds from the MI Schottenstein Homes Foundation.
Because of the current location of the grove many students do not know it exists.
“I have no idea where it is, I don’t even think I knew we had one,” said Scott Ockunzzi, a freshmen in engineering.
But true to its initial intention, it still remains a source of team spirit for those who seek it out.
“On football Saturday you see a lot of people just walking through and looking at the plaques,” Myles said.
“Sometimes when I come back to campus, I walk though the Buckeye grove. It makes me remember all the Saturdays that I spent at the ‘Shoe and the pride I felt when we won a game,” said Brian Kiwala, 23, an OSU graduate. “But I hate that it (the Buckeye grove) gets messed up sometimes. It’s disrespectful to the players.”
Many of the plaques are missing from their spots, leaving nothing but an empty sheet of concrete. Volkman said that of the 96 plaques, 16 are missing.
Among the missing include Chic Harley, three time All-American (1916-1919), whose No. 47 jersey was retired October 30, 2004 during halftime of the Buckeye’s game against Penn State.
The years on the plaques are also a cause for concern. Some only have one-year assigned to the player, while the list of All-Americans from the Ohio State Athletics Department cite they are a multi-year recipient of the honor.
Lew Hinchman, three-time All-American 1930-1932, is only honored by the 1930 date on his plaque.
The date on Inwood Smith’s plaque reads 1935, but he was an All-American in 1936. Volkman was receptive when the problems were brought to his attention. He said, “I didn’t know, so if that’s the case, we can make the changes”
Volkman added that he is aware of the missing plaques.
“When the plaques were mounted originally, a great majority were mounted on the surface of the concrete, and they should have been imbedded so when snow plows come through the blades don’t catch them,” Volkman said. “When we replace them now, we embed them in the concreted so they’re flush. That way we’ll make sure that never happens again.”
He said that the missing plaques are on order to be replaced and will be remounted in the grove in the spring or summer.
“I hate to say it but sometimes people take those (the plaques) off and I imagine use them as collector’s items,” said Archie Griffin, three-time All-American (1973-1975) and president of the OSU Alumni Association. “I wish it wouldn’t happen because it’s there for a purpose and certainly it hurts when someone brings their family to see their tree…all of a sudden people go to where their tree is and there is no plaque.”
Future plans for the grove include the addition of new All-Americans Mike Nugent (2003, 2004), Andy Groom (2003), Matt Wilhelm (2003) and AJ Hawk (2004).
The lack of space on the path for these players will be rectified by an extension to the path.
“Last year by the Towers (Lincoln and Morrill Towers) we took down those walls and we opened up the walk area,” Volkman said. “That opens up an opportunity to connect up the Towers and extend the Buckeye Grove in that direction.”
Advancements in the Larkins Hall project will also alter the Buckeye Grove. Volkman said accommodations will be made for the tennis courts and paths that will run from Larkins to the towers.
Volkman said a seating area and canopy shade trees will be installed to beautify the Buckeye Grove area.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea, make it like a park type setting so you can sit out and look around, and look at the different All Americans that grace the stadium,” Griffin said. “People who have been former players come from out of town, that’s (the Buckeye Grove) usually one of the things they do when they bring their families.”
