Chris Ward, OSU offensive tackle in 1970s, elected to College Football Hall of Fame
Chris Ward, a left tackle for Ohio State in the 1970s, has been voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Ward, 68, becomes the 28th Buckeye to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Nineteen players and three coaches will be inducted in December in Las Vegas.
Former OSU linebacker James Laurinaitis, now on the Buckeyes' coaching staff, was a finalist but was not elected.
Ward followed two All-American tackles – John Hicks and Kurt Schumacher – and proved up to the challenge.
Ward, a Dayton native, started at left tackle for the Buckeyes from 1975-77 and was an All-American his final two years. His blocking helped Archie Griffin win his second Heisman in 1975. Ohio State shared or won outright Big Ten titles all four years Ward played.
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“This is unbelievable,” said Cornelius Green, who was Ohio State’s quarterback in Ward’s first season as a starter. “Chris replaced Kurt Schumacher and Kurt replaced John Hicks. How blessed I am to have three All-American tackles in a row.”
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Ward was a three-time All-Big Ten selection and an Academic All-American.
“He’s one of the great left tackles in Ohio State history who for some reason always got left behind (in recognition) because of people like John Hicks and the pancake man (Orlando Pace),” Green said. “I’m just so thankful that the light is shining on him so Buckeye fans can really realize how great Chris Ward was. I’m overjoyed for him.
Ward was the fourth overall pick in the 1978 draft by the New York Jets. He played six years with the Jets before finishing his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints in 1984.
Ward is the son-in-law of the late legendary running back Jim Brown.
Two others with Ohio ties were also elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Mark Dantonio, a Zanesville native who was defensive coordinator under Jim Tressel when the Buckeyes won the 2002 national title, will be enshrined.
He was 132-74 as a head coach at Cincinnati for three years and for 13 at Michigan State. Dantonio led the Spartans to the College Football Playoff in 2015 after upsetting defending national champion Ohio State late in the season.
Former Ohio University head coach Frank Solich was also elected. The Cleveland native coached the Bobcats from 2005-20 after coaching Nebraska for six years. Solich's career record was 173-101.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State offensive tackle Chris Ward elected to College Football Hall of Fame
