A Fire to Win: The Life and Times of Woody Hayes

by John Lombardo

Woody Hayes is one of the greatest football coaches in history--and one of the most fascinating. More than a brilliant coach, he was a complicated, contradictory man. The former history teacher would tout the ideals of democracy yet run his football empire as an absolute monarchy. But he had a surprisingly altruistic side, hidden from the public,. and Hayes visited local hospitals, donated his time, money, and advice, and insisted that his players graduate. More than just a standard biography, A Fire to Win explores the psychological motivations of one of the most complex of coaches.

First and foremost, Woody Hayes was a coach--and his achievements are stunning. While at Ohio State, he won five national titles, and thirteen Big Ten Conference championships, made eight Rose Bowl appearances, and earned two national Coach of the Year awards. His killer instincts, honed in the navy, where he commanded a destroyer escort in the Pacific during World War II, helped him lead his teams to a 30-9 winning average. Moreover, Hayes's lifetime coaching record, 238-72-10, puts him in the first rank of college coaching immortals. No other coach has won more games in a shorter period.

John Lombardo uses his extensive sports writing experience to craft an accurate portrait of one of the most complex and fascinating figures in football. Countless interviews of former players, assistant coaches, administrators, faculty, associates, and friends shape the image of Hayes and his career, which spanned the mid-1940s to the late 1970s during a tremendous period of change in American society. A Fire to Win is an honest and revealing biography of Hayes, a man who ranks in the pantheon of football coaches.

Genres: Sports, Biography, Football

288 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jason Hintze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool to hear about the Woody behind the scenes, but I don’t think I would’ve liked to play for the guy

[Mickey Mantle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complex with a stubborn refusal to change or adapt to situations.
Seemingly an impossible human being on the job, and a kind caring person off the clock.
Problem was he was "on the clock" about 23 hours per day.

[Sandy III · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been quietly fascinated by Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes. This was an incredible look at the life of a fascinating figure in college football history.

[Nick Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straightforward and relatively objective, now onward to write another winning chapter tomorrow night in OSU football history, go Bucks, beat Notre Dame!

[Andrew Welsh-Huggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-researched, objective biography of Woody Hayes, recommended for anyone (like me) who knows the name and reputation but not much else. Only flaw is a deplorable amount of typos and grammatical errors which, ironically, at least according to the portrayal in this book, is the kind of thing that would have driven Hayes crazy.

[Donovan Maguigan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wanted to read this for a long time and was really disappointed. How do you have a book about Woody Hayes and omit the quote, "Because I couldn't go for three" when referring to the 1968 Ohio State / M*ch*g*n game? There were very few quotes from the man himself and the book really glazed over his tine at Ohio State. Felt like a cliff notes about Woody Hayes. Better books out there about him.

[Corbin Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aside from the grammatical errors, this was a very good read. It capture the good sides of Woody while also touching lightly on the bad things.

[Flavil Hampsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read on a iconic coach/man. His passion for all things drove him to success and failures.