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Digging Deeper: Players Who Wore No. 18

Matt Gutridge's picture
August 14, 2018 at 7:03am
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In 18 days Ohio State will play Oregon State to start the 2018 season. Below, you will find a list of the 40 players who have worn No. 18 for the Buckeyes since 1931.

Today's featured players are Merle Wendt, Don Clark and Andy Groom. 

Wendt is one of eight Buckeyes to earn All-American honors three times:
Chic Harley (1916, 1917, 1919)
Wes Fesler (1928, 1929, 1930)
Lew Hinchman (1930, 1931, 1932)
Merle Wendt (1934, 1935, 1936)
Archie Griffin (1973, 1974, 1975)
Tom Skladany (1974, 1975, 1976)
Mike Doss (2000, 2001, 2002)
James Laurinaitis (2006, 2007, 2008)

Players Who Wore No. 18 At Ohio State
PLAYER WORN B1G MVP TEAM MVP AA CAPT. 1R NFL ALL B1G AC AA NFL DRAFT AC B1G LETTER
Michael Vuchinich 1931-33                   1931-33
Merle Wendt 1934-36     1934, 1935, 1936 1936   1934, 1935, 1936   1937   1934-36
Francis Smith 1938                    
Andy Wansack 1939                    
Joseph Novak* 1940                    
William Vickroy* 1941                   1941
Jim Galbraith 1945                    
Charles Huwer 1946                    
Lee Williams* 1955                   1955
Donald Clark 1956-58           1957, 1958   1959   1956-58
Stewart Baffer* 1961                    
Robert Scott 1962                   1962
Nelson Adderly 1965                   1965
George Amlin 1966                   1966
Ronald Maciejowski 1968-70               1971   1968-70
Gregory Hare 1971-73       1973       1974   1971-73
Pete Prather 1974-75                    
Ricardo Volley* 1977                   1977
Timothy O'Cain 1981                   1981
Johnny Ross 1983                    
Gary Clift 1987                   1987
Troy Hilsenroth* 1988                    
Tim Walton 1990-93                   1990-93
Che Bryant 1994-96                   1995-96
Nate Clements* 1998                   1998
Tate Johnson 1998                    
Tony Locke* 1998                    
Kelton Lindsay 1999-2000                   1999
Andy Groom* 2001-02     2002     2002     2000, 2001, 2002 2001-02
Jim Otis* 2002-03                 2002, 2003 2002-03
Devon Lyons 2004-07                   2004-07
David Lisko 2004-07                 2007 2004-07
Travis Howard* 2008-10                   2009-10
T.Y. Williams 2010-12                   2011
DerJuan Gambrell 2011                    
Najee Murray 2012                   2012
Kato Mitchell 2013-15                 2015 2015
Michael Lawless* 2015                    
Jonathon Cooper 2016-18                 2017 2016
Tate Martell 2017-18                    

*Wore another number at Ohio State
Did not earn a varsity letter while wearing No. 18

Merle Wendt, E (1934-1936)
Born: 
1915
Death: 2000
High School: Middletown

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 19-5 with Wendt on the team.
1935 Big Ten Title.
Went 3-0 against That Team outscoring them 93-0.

Honors
1936 Captain.
1936 All-American.
1936 All-Big Ten.
1935 All-American.
1935 All-Big Ten.
1934 All-American.
1934 All-Big Ten.
1981 Inducted into the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Merle Wendt's Ohio State career per Wikipedia:

Wendt was a starter for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 1934 to 1936 and was captain of the 1936 team.

Wendt was five feet eleven inches tall, and weighed 190 pounds. He was described as "A great pass catcher, hard tackler and tops in defense."

Upon his selection as captain, one Ohio newspaper wrote: "A superb defensive man, the 188 pound flanker teamed with Gomer Jones, Cleveland, whom he succeeds at the Ohio helm, in leading the charge of the forward wall of Francis Schmidt's eleven."

Wendt was selected as an All-Western Conference end as a sophomore in 1934. He was also selected as a first-team All-American in 1934 by the International News Service—the Hearst newspapers wire service.

In 1935, Wendt was selected as a first-team All-American by Liberty Magazine and the Newspaper Editors Association.

[...]

Wendt played on Ohio State teams that defeated the Michigan Wolverines three straight years by a combined score of 93-0.

In 1936, Wendt was asked about his greatest thrill: "After no undue amount of deliberation Merle decided that his greatest thrill was the time he caught the winning touchdown pass against Michigan in 1934."

Wendt's life after playing football at Ohio State:

Wendt had offers to play professional football from seven NFL teams, but opted instead to pursue a career in chemical engineering.

He married his wife, June Stone, six days after receiving his degree in chemical engineering. For many years, Wendt was the director of chemical engineering for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. in Akron, Ohio.

Donald Clark, RB (1956-1958)
Born: 
1936 (Akron)

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 21-5-2 with Clark on the team.
1957 National Champion.
1957 Big Ten Title.
1958 Defeated Oregon 10-7 to win the Rose Bowl.

Honors
1957 All-Big Ten.
1958 All-Big Ten.

Donald Clark's Ohio State career per Wikipedia:

Clark played his college football with the powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes. Playing from 1956 to 1958, he was integral part of their 1958 Rose Bowl victory and national championship.

An All-American, he was drafted in the first round by the Chicago Bears, even though he was injured.

Clark spurns the NFL for the CFL:

Canada was Clark's preferred destination, and he signed with the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1959.

After rushing for 343 yards, he couldn't agree on contract terms with Ottawa, and was traded to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who promptly dealt him to the Montreal Alouettes.

Clark retired in 1964, only 27 years old, due to knee, rib and kidney injuries.

Video of 1958 Rose Bowl. Spoiler Alert, Ohio State defeats Oregon in yet another Rose Bowl:

Andy Groom

Andy Groom, P (1999-2002)
Born:
 1979 (Columbus)
High School: Hartley (Columbus)

Ohio State
The Buckeyes were 35-15 with Groom on the team.
2002 National Champion.
2002 Big Ten Title.

Honors
2002 All-American.
2002 All-Big Ten.

Groom's senior season per The Ohio State Team Guide:

Enjoyed a brilliant senior season and was named to a first-team berth on the Football Writers and the Associated Press All-American teams...also a first-team All-Big Ten pick...led the Big Ten and was fourth nationally in punting with an average of 45.0 on 60 attempts.

Turned in the the third best single-game performance in school history at Wisconsin, averaging 50.2 yards on six punts, including a career best effort of 74 yards.

Six punts for a 47.7 average and a long of 63 against Miami in the Fiesta Bowl...also the holder on placements...former walk-on who was converted to a scholarship at the start of 2001.

In high school, earned all-state honors in Division IV... played cornerback, quarterback and did all the kicking. His uncle, Jeff Groom, played for the Buckeyes.

Highlights of Andy Groom's Ohio State career:

  • Groom finished his Buckeye career with the highest punting average (45.0 yards per punt) in school history.
  • He totaled 2,697 punting yards which ranks him sixth on the all-time list.
  • Groom punted for Ohio State during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
No. 18 In The NFL Draft
NAME YEAR ROUND PICK POSITION TEAM
MERLE WENDT 1937 6 59 T PACKERS
BILL VICKROY* 1943 12 105 C RAMS
DON CLARK 1959 1 7 RB BEARS
RON MACIEJOWSKI 1971 15 376 QB BEARS
GREG HARE 1974 8 203 QB BILLS
NATE CLEMENTS# 2001 1 21 CB BILLS

*Wore No. 55 when drafted.
#Wore No. 20 when drafted.

Previous Numbers
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 65 64 63 62 61 60
59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50
49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40
39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30
29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20
19 18                

101 days until The Game.

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