Gold Pants

"They put their pants on one leg at a time, the same as we do!"
--Francis Schmidt, March 2, 1934




Ohio State's new head coach was asked how the Buckeyes would do against rival Michigan, and that was Schmidt's reply. His teams bought into the philosophy, rattling off the most successful stretch in school history against that team up north. OSU won the next four Michigan matchups by a combined 114-0 margin.


Schmidt founded the "Pants Club", which still exists today as reward for a win over the Wolverines. Since 1934, each player and coach receives a miniature pair of gold pants for each victory over Michigan. The charms contain the recipient's initials as well as the year and score of "The Game".