On this day in 1921, Oberlin College accomplished something that no other Ohio school has accomplished in 102 yearsâthey defeated The Ohio State University by a score of 7-6. As you can imagine if weâre talking about this over a century later, itâs one of the few things ever accomplished by my alma mater in football, so take a moment, sit back, and enjoy.
You may have never heard of Oberlin College. Oberlin is a liberal arts college which is about 45 minutes southwest of Cleveland. We have several famous alumni in the media: Lena Dunham went here (and HBOâs âGirlsâ is basically every Obieâs post-college experience) and we have countless public radio personalities as alumni (RadioLabâs Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich, Gimlet Mediaâs and This American Lifeâs Alex Blumberg, This American Lifeâs Ben Calhoun & Alix Spiegel, 99% Invisibleâs Roman Mars, NPRâs Jon Hamilton, and the BBCâs Aleks Krotoski).
Perhaps you also know us for our history: we are the first college to admit women, the first college to admit students âirregardless of color.â Co-ed dorms? You have us to thank for that, as one of the first colleges to have them, and the college to best represent that cause, with a cover article in Life Magazine about the subject in 1970. We also have the second oldest conservatory of music and oldest continually operating conservatory in the United States.
But what weâre not known for is footballâor, perhaps, I should correct that statement. Weâre not known for good football. The Oberlin Yeoman lost more games from 1990-2001 than any other team in college football. Any other team. From 1990-2000, we won 3 games. 3. Games. In. 10. Years. For a record of 3-105. During that time we nursed twoâcount âem, twoâ40+ game losing streams.
Perhaps the most ignoble part of this is that Oberlin once was a shining light of college football. On campus stands the John W. Heisman Club Field House, named after, yes, that John Heisman. We were the first school he ever coached and he lead us to an undefeated season in 1892. In that year we defeated both The Ohio State University and Michigan (although that Michigan game itself is controversialâafter our final score, going up 24-22 with 1 minute left, the ref declared time had expired on the game since the team captains had agreed to a 4:50 PM end time. Apparently in those years each team brought their own refs, and the Oberlin ref declared 4:50 had been reached and the game was over. Oberlin left the field. Then the Michigan ref declared that the game wasnât over and Michigan walked the ball down the field and scored. Both teams count it as a win).
Basically from the inception of the program until 1929 we were good. We had winning records, beat The Ohio State University more than once, had a couple of undefeated seasonsâalthough that, itself, was not without misery, like in 1916 when The Ohio State University dealt us a shutout of 128 - 0.
But letâs return to 102 years ago today, when we accomplished the greatest thing that we have accomplished on the football field, becoming the last in-state team to defeat The Ohio State University.
The Oberlin Reviewâs full page headline announcing the win was âOberlin Invasion Topples State 7 to 6.â Newspaper accounts of the day indicate that the night before brought a soaking rain, leaving the field sloppy and wet. Ohio State scored once in that game, when sometime in the first quarter a special teamer named Huffman blocked Oberlinâs punt and returned it for a touchdown. Butâin what turned out to be a decisive moment in the gameâtheir kicker, Pixley, missed the field goal leaving The Ohio State University up 6-0.
It was apparently a defensive struggle. The stats of the game give only 5 first downs to Ohio State, with The Review stating that âtoo much praise cannot be given the Oberlin element for its gallant stand in the first half and its irresistible rush in that great third quarter. State was outclassed at every point, finding it almost impossible to penetrate the Oberlin line for any appreciable gain.â State only saw 1 completed pass (to Oberlinâs 2âalthough apparently Ohio State got 14 yards on that one pass), and, as was more the case in these days, 76 yards in rushing (to Oberlinâs 136).
âThe Crimson and Gold linemen,â The Oberlin Review writes, âplunged through again and again, hurling back Stateâs runners for lossesâŠBowen, Withrow, Parkhill, and McPhee also repeatedly got behind the line and drove Stateâs backfield stars back for for big retrogressions.â
Oberlinâs points came at the beginning of the second half. Showing âplenty of pep and confidenceâ and âurged on by âMickeyâsâ war whoop, âThey arenât invisible,ââ Oberlin received the ball off of a punt at their 16 yard line. They then âstarted a march down the field, the like of which had not been seen by state fans for five years.â First play after the punt was from Oberlinâs right half Wood, who made an impressive 28 yard gain. After a few short runs, the quarterback broke free for 10 yards, putting the ball on Ohio Stateâs 42 yard line. Oberlin used âplunges, sneaks, passes, and end runs,â finally ending up on Ohio Stateâs 7 yard line.
With the Oberlin War Cry of âthe bigger they are, the harder they fallâ ringing out from the supporters in the stadium, Oberlinâs quarterback, Wheeler, dropped back and hit a 20 yarder to the fullback Parkhill in the end zone for 6. Parkhillâapparently also serving as Oberlinâs placekickerâthen put the ball through the uprights, sending Oberlin ahead 7-6. âThe 10,000 state rooters were left dazed and silent by this unbelievable drive, which culminated in their teamâs defeat.â
At that point, the game was surprisingly out of hand. The Oberlin defense intercepted 2 passes in the 4th quarter, stalling The Ohio State University in both of their possessions. Despite that, at the end of the game, Ohio Stateâs supporters gave their team âa great ovationâ as it trotted off the field.
Oberlin went on to win every other game of that season, except for a tie with Case Tech. 2 Oberlin men were appointed to the All Ohio Team that year, and 4 were appointed to the second team. âThe Championship Songâ was sung at the Football Banquet on 11/21/1921:
âOberlin, the champions of Ohio, Oberlin, the leaders of the state, Oberlin has good old Parkhillâ Oberlin has good old Parkhillâ ParkhillâParkhillâOâberâlinâ OâOberlin, the champions of Ohio.â
Alas the tune, as far as I can tell, is lost to memory.
And so that is the story of the last time an in-state team beat The Ohio State University.
This year, the Oberlin Albino Squirrels (our official unofficial mascot) sits 1-4, with one victory being 37-35 over Concordia University Chicago.
Hey, at least we arenât nursing a 40 game losing streak.
This might just be my new favorite post on Lemmy! I love old school cfb history. Bonus points for any that an Ohio State University might be butthurt about.
The bit about the Michigan game is classic. Wish the sport was still that petty today (although I guess UCFâs 2017 natty claim is probably on that level of âum ackshuallyâ pettiness).
And shout out to 99% Invisible. Iâm an architect so I listen to it a lot, but it should be genuinely interesting to anyone, in case someone hasnât heard of it.
Thanks, Iâm happy you enjoyed it!
TOSU fans arenât in the least bit upset about this one. Talk to them and they see it as a badge of honor. But I see it for what it really is: tOSU lost to a D3 school. Even though, you know, the divisions didnât exist then. But still!
The thing I love about the Michigan story is how random the game was back then. âWell golly gee my good chaps! Itâs 4:50 PM and we must depart!â âOh no, gents, I do declare it is 4:48 and there is time for one more drive!â
Oh to be a fly on the wall that day.
I love 99PI although I think Roman Mars did more about design back when he started it. If you want a podcast that very much is like old 99PI check out Twenty Thousand Hertz. Itâs about sound design instead of built world design but it really catches the early 99PI vibe.
Saw a lot of text and didnât really wanna read it but as soon as I hit the end of the first paragraph, I was cruising all the way to the end. Thanks for this!
Happy you enjoyed it!