From Woody's Couch

Here at the Archives we come into contact almost on a daily basis – particularly during football season – with devoted Buckeye football fans. Most are looking for photos or statistics or articles about

Woody Hayes commemorative plate, 1970

their favorite players or coaches. In fact, we have a whole collection of materials related to Woody Hayes, the head coach with the longest tenure and most wins in the history of the program. We have letters, speeches, photos, artifacts, and lots of other material related to Hayes’ life and career. The collection is open to fans and serious researchers alike.

Now we add a commemorative plate of Coach Hayes to the collection, and while this would not appear to be unusual, the family who donated it – the Pattis of Akron – took the time to contact the Archives and to send the artifact to us in order to preserve the legacy of love that Michael Jerome Patti, who passed away last April at the age of 67, had for Buckeye football for more than 50 years.

Mike came into possession of the donated plate in 2003 at about the time of the Buckeyes’ National Title win over Miami when his nephew, Andy Flores, a resident of Lewis Center and ardent Buckeye fan, gave the plate to him. Andy had found the plate on eBay and chose it for his uncle Mike since he was sure he would treasure it, which he most certainly did, displaying it reverently in his home. When Mike’s son, Keith, wrote to us in September that he would like us to consider adding the plate to our collections, he wrote that “it would mean so much to my family that Ohio State carries on my dad’s legacy of a loyal fan.”

Mike Patti, wearing his OSU cap, and his
wife, Lynn, congratulate their son, Keith, at his Air
Force graduation in 2009.

And loyal he was. Mike, a native of Akron who never attended OSU, earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics education from the University of Akron. While attending school with a full course load, he also worked as an assistant manager at a local McDonald’s to finance his education.  He graduated in 1971.

Despite Mike’s time constraints, he always made time to cheer on the Buckeyes, especially during the 1969 Rose Bowl where the team clinched the National Title. Mike also was as steadfast in his devotion during the losses as with the wins. Fast forward to 2000, during the fourth quarter of the game

against South Carolina, when the Patti clan was sitting down to eat. Mike, according to his other nephew, Ben, another loyal Buckeye, would not leave the television “even during what felt like the worst loss in the history of OSU football.”

Ben also recounted a similar story about Mike wanting to share his enthusiasm with the family: “I will never forget him driving me home from his neighborhood one year. I must have been eight, maybe nine years old. I know it was hard for him to not watch the Buckeyes football game, but nevertheless, he was happy to take me home even after a long night of trick-or-treating. I tried so hard to keep my eyes open in the car and listen to the

Keith Patti displays an outfit chosen by his
father, Mike, in 1984.

game. He was so excited, cheering for every play and cursing at every penalty. Eventually I was awakened by him shaking me and yelling, ‘Ben, wake up – the Buckeyes are going to the Rose Bowl!’ Even in October, he was so optimistic.”

For the three of them – Keith, Ben, and Andy – the inclusion in the Archives of one of their respective father and uncle’s most prized possessions of his Buckeye fandom is very gratifying, since all three carry on Mike’s dedication to the Buckeyes.

An autographed photo from then-coach Jim
Tressel.

Over the years, we have received many commemorative artifacts related to OSU football – pins, buttons and even drinking glasses. We are thankful for each of them because they demonstrate in a tangible way the connection that fans have to their treasured team. But we rarely have the opportunity to hear such a wonderful tale of a truly dedicated fan who was so beloved by his family.

When you watch The Game this weekend, think of all the devoted fans who have been there for the Buckeyes through thick and thin, and whose loyalty we help preserve here at the Archives. And of course, Go Bucks!

When people contact us to donate material to the Archives, they often say something like, “I don’t really know what to do with it, but I just can’t bear to throw it away.” To that, we give a hearty and grateful thank-you. If it weren’t for donors like that – who try their hardest to find a good home for a historical object instead of just pitching it into the trash – the Archives would have far less material that documents the history of campus life at OSU.

Case in point: In February 2015 Beth White of Gainesville, Ga., offered to donate material from her uncle, David Armstrong White, who had attended OSU from the fall of 1965 to June 1970. He had died in 1999 and had never had children, so there was no one in the next generation to hand down some of his “stuff” from OSU. And what great “stuff” it is! It turns out David White was a member of OSU’s 1969 Big Ten Championship Fencing Team. As such, he was awarded a plaque for being on the team, and since he participated at the Varsity level, he received a Varsity “O” jacket.  Along with these items, Beth White also donated earlier this year a photo of David White in 1971 wearing the jacket, a photo of the team in 1969, and some photos of a team reunion from 1994.

1969, David Armstrong White in letterman

It also turns out that because of Beth White, we know the rest of the story about her uncle. Unless an OSU alum does something that gets him or her onto the pages of The Lantern or the Alumni Magazine after graduation, we usually don’t know the path their lives took after leaving campus. In David White’s case, after earning his bachelor of science degree in Architecture in June 1970, he lived in Columbus for a while, then moved to Atlanta in 1973 where he worked for an architectural firm for several years. He decided to return to school to obtain a degree in child psychology, so he entered George State University where he earned a master’s degree and specialization degree in that field. He was employed by Gwinnett County Public Schools as a staff psychologist until he retired in 1997. He passed away in October 1999.

By the way, David followed in his father’s footsteps when it came to attending OSU. Willard Chandler White Sr. earned a bachelor of arts degree in June 1960 and

followed that with a master of arts degree, specializing in Speech, in March 1962.

1969 Men’s Fencing Team

To see some of David White’s artifacts and photos and to learn more about the history of fencing, visit the Archives’ exhibit case in the display area of Thompson Library at the east end of the first level, closest to the Oval. The exhibit will be up through early December. And thanks again to Beth White for taking the time and effort to find an appropriate home for her uncle’s pieces of OSU history.