1921
George Gauthier, the "Little Giant," takes over as head football coach and athletics director at the request of Branch Rickey.
1922
Ohio Wesleyan provides the opposition for the first game in Ohio Stadium. Ohio State wins the game, 5-0. Ohio Wesleyan wins the OAC football title with a 7-0 league mark. The Red and Black finish 8-1 overall, with the Ohio State loss the only blemish. The 8-1 mark starts a string of 14 consecutive winning seasons.
Ohio Wesleyan acquires the bleachers from Ohio Field, Ohio State's old home field.
1923
The football team finishes 6-2, with losses to Ohio State and Colgate, and is undefeated in the OAC.
1925
The nickname "Battling Bishops" is adopted. Ohio Wesleyan teams were previously known as "The Red and Black" or "The Methodists."
Ohio Wesleyan joins Cincinnati, Denison, Miami, Ohio University, and Wittenberg in forming the Buckeye Athletic Association, a subgroup of the Ohio Athletic Conference that sought to play primarily among themselves.
Gauthier's football squad has only a loss to Ohio State and a tie with Syracuse to blemish a 7-1-1 season. The Bishops win the OAC championship with a 6-0 record.
1926
The golf team achieves varsity status. Playing without a coach, the Bishops go 1-2-1 in match play during their first season.
1927
Ohio Wesleyan provides the opposition for the first game in Michigan Stadium. Michigan wins, 33-0.
1928
The Buckeye Athletic Association withdraws from the Ohio Athletic Conference to form the Buckeye Conference. Joining Ohio Wesleyan as charter members are Cincinnati, Denison, Miami, Ohio University, and Wittenberg.
Dwight Kane '29 wins the 120-yard high hurdles at the NCAA outdoor track & field championship meet, at the time one meet encompassing all member colleges. Kane wins the race in :14.7 to become Ohio Wesleyan's first national champion.
The football team records one of its most widely-heralded victories, beating Michigan, 17-7, in Ann Arbor. It would be the last meeting between the schools. The Bishops win their second Buckeye crown in 3 years.
1929
Selby Field, designed by Gauthier, opens in style as the Bishops top Marietta, 52-0, before a crowd of 9000 on Sept. 18. The field was formally dedicated on Oct. 19 of that year, with the Bishops defeating Miami, 20-12. The new home of the football and track & field teams is named after George D. Selby, who served the Ohio Wesleyan board of trustees for 24 years.
1934
Quarterback John Turley '35, a Delaware native, is a first-team Little All-America selection by the Associated Press and becomes the Bishops' first football All-American. Turley goes on to play for 2 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates of the fledgling National Football League.
1938
The Buckeye Conference disbands on Dec. 10, effective at the end of the 1938-39 academic year. At the time of its demise, the Buckeye Conference included Ohio Wesleyan, Dayton, Marshall, Miami University and Ohio University, along with probationary members Western Michigan and Xavier.
1939
After going 1-7 under Red Glancy, the golf team goes on hiatus for 8 years.
Back to the main history page
