The History of Ohio Wesleyan Athletics

1870-1919 | 1920-1939 | 1940-59 | 1960-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-08

1921

George Gauthier, the "Little Giant," takes over as head football coach and athletics director at the request of Branch Rickey.

1922

Ohio Wesleyan provides the opposition for the first game in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State wins the game, 5-0. Ohio Wesleyan wins the OAC football title with a 7-0 league mark. The Red and Black finish 8-1 overall, with the Ohio State loss the only blemish. The 8-1 mark starts a string of 14 consecutive winning seasons.

Ohio Wesleyan acquires the bleachers from Ohio Field, Ohio State's old home field, and the gridiron on Edwards Field is rotated from a north-south alignment to east-west.

1923

The football team finishes 6-2, with losses to Ohio State and Colgate, and is undefeated in the OAC.

1925

The nickname "Battling Bishops" is adopted. Ohio Wesleyan athletic teams were previously known as "The Red and Black" or "The Methodists."

Gauthier's football squad has only a loss to Ohio State and a tie with Syracuse to blemish a 7-1-1 season. The Bishops win both OAC and "Big Six" championships, the latter a subdivision of the OAC (also including Cincinnati, Denison, Miami, Ohio University and Wittenberg) that sought to play primarily among themselves as the OAC boasted nearly 20 members at that time.

1926

The Big Six breaks away from the OAC to form the Buckeye Conference. Ohio Wesleyan rebounds from early-season losses to Ohio State and Wooster to claim the Buckeye football championship.

The golf team achieves varsity status. Playing without a coach, the Bishops go 1-2-1 in match play during their first season.

1927

Ohio Wesleyan provides the opposition for the first game in Michigan Stadium. Michigan wins, 33-0.

1928

Dwight Kane '29 wins the 120-yard high hurdles at the NCAA outdoor track & field championship meet, at the time one meet encompassing all member colleges. Kane wins the race in :14.7 to become Ohio Wesleyan's first national champion.

The football team records one of its most widely-heralded victories, beating Michigan, 17-7 in Ann Arbor. It would be the last meeting between the schools. The Bishops win their second Buckeye crown in 3 years.

1929

Selby Field, designed by Gauthier, opens in style as the Bishops top Marietta, 52-0, before a crowd of 9000 on Sept. 18. The field was formally dedicated on Oct. 19 of that year, with the Bishops defeating Miami, 20-12. The new home of the football and track teams is named after George D. Selby, who served the Ohio Wesleyan board of trustees for 24 years.

1934

Quarterback John Turley '35, a Delaware native, is a first-team Little All-America selection by the Associated Press and becomes the Bishops' first football All-American. Turley goes on to play for 2 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the fledgling National Football League.

1938

The Buckeye Conference disbands.

1939

After going 1-7 under Red Glancy, the golf team goes on hiatus for 8 years.

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1870-1919 | 1920-1939 | 1940-59 | 1960-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-99 | 2000-08