Ken Fritz, a former All-America offensive lineman for Ohio State who tried to hold Woody Hayes after his notorious punch in the 1978 Gator Bowl, died. He was 66.
The football team at Ironton High School revealed his death on Tuesday on X, the app that replaced Twitter.
Fritz played for Ironton before attending Ohio State in 1976. He spent three seasons starting at left and right guard and was voted a consensus All-American as a senior in 1979, when the Buckeyes were unbeaten and ranked first in the Associated Press poll before losing to Southern California in the Rose Bowl.
“He was just a driving force on the offensive line,” recalled Doug Donley, an Ohio State wide receiver at the time. “He
was crucial to our success. “He was a leader.
Fritz was a junior the prior year when he stopped Hayes on the sideline late in the Gator Bowl after the renowned coach hit Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman, who had intercepted a ball from quarterback Art Schlichter. Hayes was fired as a result of the punch, ending his almost three-decade tenure as Buckeyes coach.
Hayes can be seen clutching Fritz’s facemask in photographs from the incident.
“They said Woody tried to punch Kenny,” Donley explained. “Ken responded, ‘No, he wasn’t punching me; he was just trying to get away.'” That is my point on Kenny. He has your back. Even if he tried to strike Ken, Ken would not say anything unpleasant. Think about it. That’s the type of person he was. “Just a good teammate.”
Fritz was draughted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the tenth round of the 1980 NFL draft.
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