There are few names that have more meaning in the history of Ohio State football than Woody Hayes. I had the distinct honor of being recruited by the great Ohio State coach and have my own fair share of Woody stories that I have touched upon as I have contributed here at BuckeyeGrove.com.

Through the years there have been volumes written about this great, unique and iconic man but not everything has made it way into print on how Woody shaped, molded and influenced the lives of so many people including his former players and assistant coaches.

In the coming weeks it will be my pleasure to share a series of articles titled 'We Remember Woody' with the goal of bringing these untold stories into the public eye. As I speak to Woody's former players and coaches I will have them share their tales and feelings for "The Old Man'" and I hope that everyone finds these stories to be inspirational and compassionate. At the same time I feel many will bring out the less seen human side of Woody with a sense of humor and maybe even an occasional eye-roll.

Every single person I have spoken to in preparation for this series has said that Wayne Woodrow Hayes has shaped their lives for the better and I have yet to find a single interview subject who has said anything to the contrary. Each person has expressed to me how grateful they are for their experiences with Coach Hayes, whether it involves work routines and discipline, the teaching and demonstration of how to "Pay Forward" or some of those outrageous practice, locker room and halftime stories we often share over a couple beers.

I want to kick things off with one of my former teammates, Bill Jaco, starting tight end and tackle from 1976-79. He recently shared a great story with me about his recruitment from Toledo (Ohio) St. Francis high school and involves a friend and classmate of his, Pam Geist, nee Norman.

Jake (as we called him) was being recruited by Woody as a senior and was a three-sport star playing football, basketball and football. Pam was the valedictorian at their high school and later went on to be the roommate of Bill's future wife, Joan.

Woody was the keynote speaker at a Lions Club function in Toledo where Pam was being honored and she had the opportunity to meet Coach Hayes during the event. Woody was impressed with Pam's intelligence, academic performance and it didn't hurt that she was planning on enrolling at The Ohio State University.

Pam was excited to be embarking on her academic career at Ohio State but also shared a concern with Woody, that her family was not finically stable and she was worried about her ability to complete her education. Woody, in his ever-omnipresent manner, told Pam if she ever needed any help whatsoever to call her in his office at St. John Arena. He gave her is card and wrote his direct line phone number on the back.

Three years had gone by and despite part-time work and college aid, Pam was at the end of her rope and was not going to be able to afford to complete her degree. She remembered that conversation with Coach Hayes and then asked Bill Jaco if he thought she should call Woody.

"Absolutely, give him a call and I'm sure he will do whatever he can to help you." Jaco told her.

Pam called Coach Hayes and he instructed her to come visit him the next morning on campus. It was then that Woody confirmed to Pam that he would support her completion of her degree and provided her with a check to cover the last year of her college education.

To this day Bill Jaco believes that Coach Hayes provided one of the unused football athletic scholarships to fund her education. This was back in the day when there were 120 scholarships allocated by NCAA rules versus the 85 scholarships which are allowed today.

Pam Norman went on to receive her bachelor's degree in mathematics from The Ohio State University in 1979 and then went on to receive her Master's degree in Mathematics Education. After graduating and beginning to advance in life, Pam returned to visit Coach Hayes. She had written a check for the funds that Woody had advanced her and wanted to repay him for the wonderful deeds that he showered upon her. Woody would have no part of it.

He told Pam to go out and "Pay Forward" to another student or individual who needed the same help that she did. Pam was amazed.

"He was the most amazing man I ever met," Pam said. "He was incredibly educated, compassionate and dedicated to helping other people. It changed my life forever."

Now let's backtrack to a conversation I recently had with one-time defensive coordinator (1970-1978), George Hill.

George told me a story from his days working alongside Woody, when his office was located next door to Hayes' in St. John Arena.

"This would have been 1977," Hill said. "Woody knocked on my door and asked that I join him for lunch at the Faculty Club across campus. We walked across The Oval and were seated at the same table that Woody always occupied and we were served by a young college junior, who served Woody every time he had lunch at the Faculty Club.

"We had a great lunch talking about our defense for the upcoming 1977 season when our waitress brought the bill and told Coach Hayes that unfortunately she would not be able to wait on him anymore because she was dropping out of school due to lack of finances.

"Woody asked her how many quarters she had left to complete her degree, to which she replied, 'three'. Woody then said, 'You are not going to drop out of school. You come see me at St. John Arena tomorrow at 9:00 and we'll see what we can do about you finishing your education.'

"The young girl arrived at about 10 minutes before nine o'clock the next morning and I could see her pacing nervously outside Woody's office. Woody invited her in and closed the door. 30 minutes passed by, then 45 and it was going on one hour, when the door opened and the young girl exited Woody's office with a handkerchief and had tears streaming down her face.

"I was a little worried and I went in and asked Woody, 'Is everything alright Coach?' And Woody said, 'Yes, George everything is fine.' (He then told me), 'You know George, back when we won the National Championship in 1954, the OSU Alumni Association gave me a Cadillac. I didn't need a G*****n Cadillac! I refused to accept it, but they said coach, it is already bought and paid for. I said, I don't care, let's do something different. So, they decided to sell it and give me the money. I told them that I would put that money in an account at the bank and that not one member of the Hayes family would ever see a nickel of that money.'

"Then Hayes said, 'And you know what George, we win the National Championship again in 1957 and those dumb sons of bitches buy me another Cadillac!' We went through the same exercise and sold the Cadillac and put those fund in the bank as well.

"'Do you know George,' Woody said with that sly smile on his face, we have now used that fund to help 73 different students complete their degrees at our wonderful Ohio State University."

That was in 1977 and Woody would live another 10 years until 1987. No one will ever know how many people Woody helped from that one fund, in addition to the countless other people we know he "Paid Forward" and supported throughout his life.

I firmly believe that Pam Geist was one of the many recipients from "Woody's Fund" versus the Athletic Scholarship that Bill Jaco thought he provided. It is incredible what a level of humanitarianism Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes maintained throughout his life and how many countless examples we uncover yet today.

Some things should never change.

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