In 66 sunrises Ohio State will open the 2018 season hosting Oregon State. Below you will find a list of the 32 players who have worn No. 66 for the Buckeyes. Today's featured players are Tommy James and Thomas Bugel.
Like the No. 67, the No. 66 has never had a Buckeye earn All-American honors.
Today's Trivia Question
How many people played for Paul Brown at every level of football, meaning Brown was the coach for high school, college and pro football?
| PLAYER | WORN | B1G MVP | TEAM MVP | AA | CAPT. | 1R NFL | ALL B1G | AC AA | NFL DRAFT | AC B1G | LETTER |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Wuellner | 1938-39 | ||||||||||
| Thomas James | 1942, 1946 | 1947 | 1942, 1946 | ||||||||
| Cecil Souders* | 1943-44 | 1945 | 1943-44 | ||||||||
| John Roe | 1944-45 | 1944-45 | |||||||||
| Thomas Snyder* | 1945 | 1945 | |||||||||
| John Biltz | 1949-50 | 1950 | 1949-50 | ||||||||
| Robert Roberts | 1952-53 | 1952-53 | |||||||||
| Robert Cole | 1956 | 1956 | |||||||||
| Richard Anders | 1957-59 | ||||||||||
| Charles Foreman | 1959-61 | ||||||||||
| Thomas Bugel | 1963-65 | 1964 | 1963-65 | ||||||||
| Jules DiFederico | 1966-67 | ||||||||||
| Brian Donovan* | 1968 | 1968 | |||||||||
| Steve Betz | 1969 | ||||||||||
| Lawrence Graf | 1973 | 1973 | |||||||||
| Tyrone Harris | 1974-75, 1977 | 1974-75 | |||||||||
| Michael Palahnuk* | 1979 | ||||||||||
| Richard Czyzynski | 1981-83 | 1981-83 | |||||||||
| Mike Madigan | 1984-85 | ||||||||||
| Karl Coles | 1986-87, 1989 | 1986-87, 1989 | |||||||||
| Stephen Robbins | 1988 | ||||||||||
| Paul Long* | 1990-92 | 1991-92 | |||||||||
| Andy Dawson | 1993 | ||||||||||
| Dan Gibbons | 1994-96 | ||||||||||
| Mike Jacobs | 1998-2001 | 2001 | 2000-01 | ||||||||
| Alphonso Townsend | 2000 | ||||||||||
| Doug Datish* | 2002 | ||||||||||
| R.J. Coleman* | 2003 | ||||||||||
| Andrew Moses | 2005-09 | 2008-09 | 2008-09 | ||||||||
| Ben St. John* | 2010-11 | ||||||||||
| Kyle Dodson | 2012-14 | ||||||||||
| Malcolm Pridgeon | 2016-18 |
*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 66
Tommy James, Half Back (1942 and 1946)
Born: 1923 (Canton)
Died: 2007 (Massillon)
High School: Massillon Washington
Ohio State
The Buckeyes went 13-4-2 with James on the team.
Won the 1942 National Championship.
Won the 1942 Big Ten Title.
Honors
1953 Pro Bowl.
Miscellaneous
Played for Paul Brown at Massillon Washington, Ohio State and the Cleveland Browns.
After the 1942 National Championship season James served three years in the Army. After WWII James returned to play for Ohio State in 1946.
Won 5 titles with the Browns (1948, 1949, 1950, 1954, 1955).
Excerpts from a Tommy James' article on clevelandbrowns.com:
James had the good fortune of playing for Hall of Fame coach Paul Brown at three different levels of football. James, a Massillon native, played for Brown at Massillon High School, then followed him to Ohio State before joining the Browns to play professionally from 1948-55.
James, Lin Houston and Horace Gillom are the only three players to accomplish the feat. Houston played with the Browns from 1946-53, while Gillom from 1947-56. ...
James considered it a privilege to play for the legendary coach at each level of football.
“It was good,” James said. “To have the same coach at all three levels was very exciting.”
[...]
One of James’ fondest memories was holding the ball for Lou Groza in the 1950 championship game as Groza’s field goal sailed through the uprights to give the Browns a 30-28 win and championship.
“That was a big thrill,” James said. “The 1950 championship game, I had an interception and I held the ball for Lou Groza when he kicked the game-winning field goal.”
Thomas Bugel, Linebacker/Middle Guard (1963-65)
High School: Munhall (PA)
Ohio State
The Buckeyes went 19-7-1 with Bugel on the team.
Went 2-1 against That Team.
Honors
1964 All-Big Ten.
Miscellaneous
Played quarterback in high school.
Thomas Bugel's bio per The Ohio State Team Guide:
6-0, 208...from West Homestead, PA...has been an outstanding linebacker for Ohio State the past two seasons, playing 260 minutes in 1963 and 227.5 minutes in 1964...when teamed with (Dwight) Kelley, Ohio State has as fine a pair of linebacker as any college team in the nation...extremely agile with excellent lateral movement...made a vital pass interception in last year's Northwestern game...can play offense or defense, but will concentrate on defense...is a sure tackler.
Played quarterback on offense and linebacker on defense fro Munhall High...enjoys all sports...wears glasses of the field...a College of Commerce student...of Irish-Slovakian descent...works for his father who is in the electro-plating business.
Today's Trivia Question
How many people played for Paul Brown at every level of football, meaning Brown was the coach for high school, college and pro football?
Answer: Three. Horace Gillom, Lin Houston and Tommy James.
| NAME | YEAR | ROUND | PICK | POSITION | TEAM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CECIL "CY" SOUDERS | 1945 | 25 | 259 | END | REDSKINS |
| TOMMY JAMES | 1947 | 17 | 146 | DEF. HB | LIONS |
| DOUG DATISH* | 2007 | 6 | 198 | C | FALCONS |
*Wore No. 50 when drafted.
| 99 | 98 | 97 | 96 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 90 |
| 89 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 80 |
| 79 | 78 | 77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 70 |
| 69 | 68 | 67 | 66 |
149 days until The Game.
