Wednesday, July 30, 2008

It's Vic Janowicz day!
























Only five players have ever worn #31 in the history of Ohio State football. Odds are pretty good you've never heard of four of them.

But if you're a fan of Ohio State, you've heard of Vic Janowicz. In 1950, Janowicz broke through as a triple-threat player, playing halfback, safety, and placekicker. He even punted, and he would be known to run wide on a sweep and throw the ball deep.

As a junior in 1950, he won the Heisman Trophy, OSU's second player to win the award.

After his graduation in the summer of 1952, the university retired his number and no player has worn it since.

Following college, he chose a baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A few short years later, he went back to football and played in the NFL with the Washington Redskins. Unfortunately, he only saw one year in the NFL after suffering a brain injury in a car accident. He survived another 40 years after the injury before succumbing to cancer in 1996.

Hats off to Vic Janowicz, one of the all-time greats at The Ohio State University.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The days of multi-sport talents are coming to an end. Every sport and every position has its specializations. Not many athletes could play Baseball for years before switching to Football, especially not in today's world.

Thanks for this great write-up!