Bobcat fans,

My name is Steve Uhlmann and I am a writer for The Athens News. I'm doing a story about Peden Stadium and I was looking for input from Bobcat fans about what their favorite memories, games and quirks of our beloved football field are. 

If you are interested in sharing, shoot me an email at su232409@ohio.edu. Thanks! 

Running 40's under the home seats and being timed by Coach Hefflefinger who was holding the stop watch 40 yards away from the starting line and being clocked at 4.7 when there was no way in heck that I was a shade under 5.2.   

A couple of seasons ago after a poor start to the season, I was early to a game and walking with a guest through the very same tunnel and who should be walking solo, deep in thought but our Coach FS--I'd never seen a coach walking out there before and was surprised to see him by himself.  Knowing the locker room was close at hand I said, "Hey coach, what did they do, lock you out?"  His face turned into a big smile, he let out a loud chuckle and exclaimed, "Did they lock me out!--apparently amused by the thought.  Or of course he could have just been polite to a dumb axe fan who caused him to take his mind away from the game plan.   The team came out fired up and rolled so at least I cannot be blamed for a major distraction.

Having the stands go right down to the field before removing the track and lowering the field so you could just step onto the field after games to dance among the 110 Marching Men of Ohio playing Ely's Coming!

Us breaking several fire codes (possibly?) fitting nearly 26,000 fans in a 24,000 seating capacity stadium.

http://www.ohio.edu/armyrotc/history.html

In May 1937 a group of thirty-four ROTC students, having formed a temporary organization called the "Kaydets," petitioned the Campus Affairs Committee for authority of organize a chapter of the Pershing Rifles for the Basic Course students. The application was approved and a charter was granted by the National Society of Pershing Rifles to this organization as of 27 May 1937, under the title of Company F, First Regiment of Pershing Rifles. The ROTC Armory with an indoor rifle range was completed under the east wing of Peden Football Stadium in December 1937.

1. ) Students grabbing the Toledo mascot in early 1980, passing him up through the stands and dangling him over the top.


2.)  Two students pulling up a rope or chain just as BGSU team began to run on the field, also 1980ish, causing a huge pileup and some fisticuffs


3.)  The student side catching on fire on Halloween night in 1984.


4.)  Me and the "Big M" (a beauty from Jefferson Hall)  having a midnight picnic on the 50 yard line.  Wait, that was just a dream.

I was at that game and stormed the field with the 200 or so others remaining in the stands at the end. In my memory, it was 6-3, but I looked it up and it was a 15-10 win. I do remember that the two teams involved were ranked dead last and second-to-last in all of Division 1A. Remarkably, we won a few more games that year.

It was the 5-0 loss to a hapless Utah State team during the following year's zero-win campaign that put me off Bobcat football for a while. What a putrid display that was. Thank goodness for the 110, and thank Frank that it's a distant memory.

My Freshman Year (1981) the Ritz restaurant used rolls of paper to create a sign on the hill across the highway that said “Ribs at Ritz”. Some students climbed the hill and changed it to “Tits at Ritz”. I remember everybody laughing watching the overweight cops trying to climb hill.

Chip wins - I forgot that episode.  It was Homecoming, as I recall, and the entire student side of the stadium was going crazy.  I can imagine President Ping dispatching those campus police!

Does anyone have a full story on this? I've heard this one-sentence description a lot, but never all the details.

Here's the video:

I think that's the best video I've ever seen!  Muck Fiami!!

Maybe Frank can use this as the Motivational Tape for Miami?

'69....you went down to the field and ignored that staid and stoic Connecticut poise?  Love it!!!

My favorite Peden moment was the clad in white wienie man selling his wares when OU's Laurie Lea Schaefer was in attendance by chanting "you can't cheer Miss America without your wienie in your hand".