The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

OSU-UM a  holiday treat for Springboro grad

Frazier’s home run lifts Reds to 5th straight win
10:20 a.m.
Spartans head to regional final
5/24/12
Fenwick’s tourney run ends in regional semis
5/24/12
2 Middie jumpers qualify for state
5/24/12
College baseball: Miami tops Toledo in MAC tourney
5/23/12
> More sports headlines

By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 10:09 AM Friday, November 20, 2009

COLUMBUS — His first memories of the big game go back to his grade-school days, standing in the crowd along the South Main Street parade route in Springboro, listening to Christmas music and waiting for Santa Claus to come by tossing out candy.

“Every year we have a big Christmas parade in Springboro, and it’s always the same day as the Ohio State-Michigan game,” Jake Ballard said. “They usually have TVs set up outside the restaurants and stores so you can check out the game, too.

“I can remember watching guys like Andy Katzenmoyer and wishing I’d get a chance to play in that game some time.”

Once Ballard got into his prep career at Springboro High School, it was obvious he would. Considered the No. 8 tight end prospect in the nation and, as a senior, named Ohio’s Division II Defensive Player of the Year, he was recruited by Ohio State and especially Michigan. He may well have signed with the Wolverines were it not for a couple of clandestine, last-second phone calls from OSU.

And because of that, Ballard — now a senior tight end for the Buckeyes — has had Christmas in November ever since.

Going into the showdown Saturday, Nov. 21, in Ann Arbor, Mich., Ohio State has beaten Michigan five years in a row. Ballard has been a part of the past three victories, and he has the gold pants to prove it.

“Actually, my mom has ’em all,” he said, laughing. “I tried to give one pair to my dad, but she took ’em away from him.”

One of the storied traditions of Buckeye football, the gold charms — replicas of a pair of football pants — are given to every OSU player and coach after a victory over Michigan.

The tradition was begun in 1934 when first-year coach Francis Schmidt was asked how his team would beat the powerful Wolverines. He said, “They put their pants on, one leg at a time, just like everybody else,” and sure enough his teams then shut out Michigan four years straight.

“I’ve put each of the pants charms on a gold chain, put spacers between them, and that’s the necklace I wear to all the games,” said Debby Ballard, a surgical nurse at Good Samaritan Hospital. “This being Michigan week, I start wearing it every day to work.

“At first, some people think they’re teeth, so I have to explain. I show them how each pair has the date of the game and the score on the back. And on each knee is the boy’s initials.

“At games this year, I’ve had a lot of people come up and want to take pictures with the necklace. They’ll bring their kids over and have me lean down. So I’m in a lot of photos, but I don’t really know if they’re bothering to include my face.”

Tressel trumps Carr

Ben Ballard remembers the day his son felt the real embrace of Michigan football: “I was outside cutting the grass, and Jake comes running out yelling, ‘Michigan just offered! ... Michigan just offered!’ He was thinking of going there.”

Remembering that time, Ben now chuckled: “His high school coach had been told by Ohio State that if Michigan made an offer, he should call right away, and he did.

“The next day Jake was supposed to talk to Coach Carr (then Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr) at noon. So Jim Tressel calls at 11:30 that morning.”

Jake said it was Tressel who sealed the deal: “He really seemed interested in me as a person and cared what I did.”

That personal touch was evident this past summer when Tressel accompanied Ballard back to Springboro for the Quarterback Club’s annual Fathers and Sons Banquet. Tressel spoke to the group and fielded questions, including some about why the Bucks rarely throw to Jake even though he seems to catch most everything that comes his way.

“It was all good-natured, and even (Tressel) joked about it,” Debby said with a laugh.

Known especially for his blocking — he’ll often be lined up Saturday against Michigan’s Brandon Graham, arguably the most menacing defensive end in the Big Ten — Ballard has 33 career catches for 353 yards and three touchdowns.

Some of the most indelible memories of his career, he said, are from the Michigan games. He recalled his first game at the Big House in 2007, and especially getting ready to go out onto the field and face a vocal crowd of 110,000:

“You’re all huddled up in that tunnel. It says “GO BLUE” in maize and blue across the doorway, and you can hear that roar out there.

“You step out, and it’s just you and your teammates. If you don’t look to each other for support, you don’t have a chance.

“The fact that we’ve dominated the past few years just heightens the tension. We’re not just another team walking in there. We are THE team. The one all those fans hate.”

The past couple of years the two teams have confronted each other near midfield before the game, but Ballard says don’t read too much into that:

“I know a lot of Buckeye fans think we absolutely HATE Michigan, but that’s not true. Oh, there’s dislike, but at the same time, we’ve got respect for each other. We know what’s at stake.

“When we get out there right before the game — and it’s still not quite time for kickoff — all that emotion and rage that’s been fueled for a week is there, and guys start jabbering.

1 | 2 next page »

Share this article