Digital Commons @ Otterbein

Title

1963 Otterbein College (26) at Hiram College (18) Football Film

Authors

Archives, Otterbein UniversityFollow

Files

Description

Otterbein 26 at Hiram 18

October 19, 1963, 2:00 PM

Charles A. Henry Field, Hiram, Ohio

Time: 10:32 Type: B & W Program: No

Schools: Otterbein University is a private university in Westerville, Ohio. The university was founded in 1847 by the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and named for United Brethren founder the Rev. Philip William Otterbein. After the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church, in 1968, Otterbein has been associated with the United Methodist Church. In 2010, its name was changed back from Otterbein College to Otterbein University because of an increasing number of graduate and undergraduate programs. Colors: Tan and Cardinal. Mascot: Cardinals

Hiram College is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio. It was founded in 1850 as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute by Amos Sutton Hayden and other members of the Disciples of Christ Church. On February 20, 1867, the Institute incorporated as a college and changed its name to Hiram College. James A. Garfield, who had been a student at the institute from 1851 to 1853 and then returned in 1856 as a teacher was one of the early principals. Garfield expanded the institute's curriculum. He left the Institute in 1861 and in 1880 was elected the 20th President of the United States. Colors: Red and Blue. Mascot: Terriers (Athletics at Hiram began in the 1880s but no mascot was chosen until 1928. In that year two mascots, Farmers and Mudhens, were discussed but neither caught on. During an athletic banquet at the end of the ’28 season head coach Herb Matthews compared the temperament of the football team to a “little bull terrier that holds on to the end.” The name stuck and from then on, the mascot has been a bull terrier.”)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiram_College

Pio, Chris, Gryphons, Gorloks and Gusties: A History of NCAA Division III Nicknames and Mascots, Privately Published, Las Vegas, NV, 2021, pp. 81-82.

Coaches: Otterbein – Robert “Moe” Agler (March 13, 1924 – September 16, 2005, Otterbein ‘48) A 1941 graduate of Dublin High School in Dublin, Ohio, he enrolled in Otterbein College where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. After serving in the Navy during World War II, and participating in the D-Day invasion, Agler returned to Otterbein in 1946 where he was a member of, arguably, the best team in school history. He was instrumental in the school’s most memorable game, a 13-7 loss to the University of West Virginia with the Cardinals threatening to score as time expired. After graduating in 1948 he played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) and the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Returning to central Ohio in 1950 Agler was hired as head football coach at his alma mater, Dublin High School, where he won the Franklin County Championship. He moved to Johnstown High School in 1952 before returning to Otterbein the next year as an assistant to Harry Ewing. In 1955 Agler replaced Ewing as head coach serving two stints, from 1955 to 1965 and 1970 to 1974, compiling a record of 74–63–5. He was also the head basketball coach at Otterbein from 1955 to 1958, tallying a mark of 13–39, and served as Athletic Director (1955-1975). Following his retirement, he was instrumental in the construction of the new Memorial Stadium.

Hiram – Robert Leo Patrick "Grandpappy" Dove (February 21, 1921 Youngstown, Ohio – April 19, 2006, Canfield, Ohio; Notre Dame ‘43): He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and professionally for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). At ND he was a three-year starter at the end, from 1940 to 1942, and a consensus All-American in his final two seasons. Dove was the first sophomore to start for the Notre Dame in 11 seasons. He received the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy in 1942 as the top lineman in the country and also played in the East–West Shrine Game. During his three seasons as a starter, Dove helped the Irish to a 22–4–3 record, including an undefeated (8–0–1) campaign in the first season of legendary coach Frank Leahy. In 1948, Dove joined the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, where he played for five seasons. In 1953, he was traded to the Detroit Lions and played on their 1953 and 1954 championship teams. He retired in 1955. Following his retirement as a player, Dove embarked on a 37-year coaching career at the professional and collegiate levels. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2001. In the All-America Football Conference, Dove was a co-coach for the Chicago Rockets in 1946. Dove was an assistant coach at the University of Detroit from 1955 to 1957, and then became an assistant for the Lions from 1958 to 59, and for the Buffalo Bills in 1960 and 1961. He was the head coach at Hiram College for seven seasons, from 1962 to 1968. He joined the Youngstown State University staff in 1969, where he served as an assistant under four coaches, including Jim Tressel. In 1987, Dove was named coach emeritus and served in that position through the 1991 NCAA Division I-AA national championship season. Beyond his 2001 induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, Dove was also a second-team selection on Street & Smith's All-Time Dream Team, which covered players from the first 50 years of its publication (1941–1990). Dove was chosen at defensive end on the second team, ranked behind Ted Hendricks of Miami and Hugh Green of Pittsburgh, and alongside Bubba Smith of Michigan State. Earlier, in 1975, Dove was one of 10 players inducted into the Citizens Savings Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. The other nine players were Ron Beagle, Navy; Chuck Bednarik, Pennsylvania: Carl Diehl, Dartmouth; Bill Fisher, Notre Dame; Leroy Keyes, Purdue; Tommy Nobis, Texas; Greg Pruitt, Oklahoma; Joe Romig, Colorado; and Charles "Bubba" Smith, Michigan State.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dove

Notes: The game was back and forth through the first three quarters. The only score in the first half was a one-yard TD by Otterbein’s Bill Thompson. Hiram tied the game at 6-points early in the third quarter on a one-yard run by Harvey Gelsand. The Cardinals regained the lead on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Dave Kull to Dick Amelung. Hiram came back and tied it at 12 with a 50-yard pass from John Ferrara to Tom Reushling. In the fourth quarter Otterbein’s Dick Reynolds, future Cardinal basketball coach and athletic director, returned a Hiram punt 55-yards for a touchdown, followed by a three-yard touchdown run by Bill Thompson which brought the final score to 26-18. For more game details see the Columbus Dispatch articles linked to this page.

References:

Kilburger, Wil, “Sad Session For OC Area Coaches,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, October 15, 1963, p. 24A.

“Four New Records In OC Grid Book,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, October 17, 1963, p. 36A.

Kilburger, Wil, “Grads Watch Cap-Kenyon,” Columbus Evening Dispatch, October 18, 1963, P. 5B.

“Cards Click on Late Rally,” Columbus Sunday Dispatch, October 20, 1963, p. 35B.

Game Date

10-19-1963

Game Score

Otterbein 26 - Hiram 18

Coaches

Otterbein – Robert “Moe” Agler (March 13, 1924 – September 16, 2005, Otterbein ‘48)

Hiram – Robert Leo Patrick "Grandpappy" Dove (February 21, 1921 Youngstown, Ohio – April 19, 2006, Canfield, Ohio; Notre Dame ‘43)

Game Location

Charles A. Henry Field, Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio

Comments

The game was back and forth through the first three quarters. The only score in the first half was a one-yard TD by Otterbein’s Bill Thompson. Hiram tied the game at 6-points early in the third quarter on a one-yard run by Harvey Gelsand. The Cardinals regained the lead on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Dave Kull to Dick Amelung. Hiram came back and tied it at 12 with a 50-yard pass from John Ferrara to Tom Reushling. In the fourth quarter Otterbein’s Dick Reynolds, future Cardinal basketball coach and athletic director, returned a Hiram punt 55-yards for a touchdown, followed by a three-yard touchdown run by Bill Thompson which brought the final score to 26-18. For more game details see the Columbus Dispatch articles linked to this page.

Game Film # and Reel #

Reel #1

Recommended Citation

Archives, "1963 Otterbein College (26) at Hiram College (18) Football Film" (1963). 1963 Sports Films. 3.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/sports_films_1963/3

Film Time

10:32 minutes

Keywords

College Football, Football Programs, Football Films