Ohio State Player Death / John Sigrist
Oct. 28, 1901, that the future of Ohio State football was put in doubt when John Sigrist became the first (and still only) OSU player to die from injuries suffered during a game that was played just a few days earlier on Oct. 26, 1901 against Western Reserve. Oct. 26, a football Saturday, Sigrist was digging in on defense against Western Reserve during a critical game for the Buckeyes against a fifth-consecutive in-state opponent during an era when the goal was to be crowned champion of the Ohio colleges. A large crowd had gathered, taking advantage of newly installed bleachers at University Field, which was located at Athletic Park on High Street near Woodruff Avenue.
Early in the second half, Western Reserve made a 2-yard gain through the middle of the line that Sigrist, who played center-rush, determined would not be repeated. On the next play, he stooped into a semi-erect position, with his head lower than usual, and drove forward.
A pileup ensued. The Columbus Citizen summarized the play in a prosaic single sentence: "John Sigrist failed to rise from the ground." The daily newspaper went on to describe the scene in more-stylized detail: Tender hands lifted his limp body from the field and carried it to the armory. An ambulance was summoned and Sigrist was removed to Grant hospital. Two days after OSU's 6-5 win, the 27-year-old senior in the College of Agriculture died from his injuries, which included fractured vertebrae in which bone crushed the spinal cord. The autopsy report concluded, "from the moment of the accident the young man was doomed."
That sad slice of Buckeyes history is nearly as difficult to locate as the gray granite gravestone marking the site of Sigrist's burial in this small, rural community in Wayne County, on the edge of Amish country, about 90 miles northeast of Columbus.
His death nearly crippled the entirety of football play nationwide and surely put to task whether Ohio State's young program would continue or not. Scrutiny, by even the President of the United States, of football occurred that questioned the level of violence within the sport; perhaps a precursor to the modern era that with the help of great strides in the medical field is proving just how violent the sport is.
From my collection - the only 1901 item I own - Sigrist is standing up and 5th from the right side (listed as #9) if you expand the image.
