\t\u2014 Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) May 26, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHave a meaningful Memorial Day.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE.\u00a0Memorial Day gives us the opportunity to honor all American men and women who gave their lives in service to the United States. Today, we recognize three Ohio State football players who made that ultimate sacrifice for the land of the free: Don Scott, Fred Norton and Rick Hausman.\n<\/p>\n \t \n\t\tDon Scott, All-American quarterback\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tDon Scott was Ohio State\u2019s first two-time All-American quarterback, a true multi-sport standout whose legacy still echoes through Columbus.\n<\/p>\n \n\tScott arrived at Ohio State after a decorated career at Canton McKinley. A 6-foot-2, 210-pound athlete, he was a do-it-all star at the prep level, playing quarterback, fullback, offensive and defensive line, kicker, and punter across four seasons. In Columbus, he starred at tailback and quarterback, earning two All-American honors while helping lead the Buckeyes to the 1939 Big Ten title. That season, he also helped the basketball team reach the Final Four before Ohio State fell to Oregon, 46\u201333, in the national championship game.\n<\/p>\n \n\tSelected No. 9 overall in the 1941 NFL draft, Scott instead answered the call to serve in World War II. He entered the Civilian Pilot Training Program, a government initiative designed to prepare pilots for military service, before commissioning into the Army Air Forces. Scott completed 10 bombing missions during the war.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOn Oct. 1, 1943, at just 23 years old, Scott was killed when his B-25 bomber crashed during training exercises in England. One month later, Ohio State\u2019s Board of Trustees honored his memory by naming the university\u2019s airport Don Scott Field. In 2023, Ohio State marked the 80th anniversary of that tribute.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BECUASE OF THE BRAVE, PART 2.\u00a0A Marblehead, Ohio, native, Fred Norton arrived in Columbus as a 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete affectionately nicknamed \u201cThe Smiling Irishman.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \t \n\t\tFred Norton\n\t<\/p>\n \n\tA gifted four-sport competitor, he became Ohio State\u2019s first four-sport letterman thanks to his success in baseball, basketball, football and track.\n<\/p>\n \n\tNorton captained both the baseball and basketball teams, but his greatest impact came on the football field, where he served as Chic Harley\u2019s lead blocker and helped guide the Buckeyes to the 1916 Big Ten title. He also showcased his versatility as a scorer, tallying five touchdowns in Ohio State\u2019s 128\u20130 win over Oberlin and adding six more in a 46\u20137 victory over Indiana that same season.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAfter his collegiate career, Norton joined the Reserve Corps and later trained in Ohio State\u2019s school of aeronautics before being sent to France in January 1918.\n<\/p>\n \n\tAs a member of the 27th \u201cEagle\u201d Pursuit Squadron, he was shot down in a dogfight after taking two anti-aircraft rounds to the chest. Norton managed to land his Nieuport 28 behind Allied lines but later died from his wounds and complications from pneumonia. He was 23 years old.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE, PART 3.\u00a0On May 9, 2024, Ohio State awarded Rick Hausman a pair of honorary Gold Pants<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tLike Don Scott and Fred Norton, Hausman gave his life in service to the United States. A walk-on under Woody Hayes, he answered the call to deploy to Vietnam in 1968, leaving an Ohio State team that would go on to defeat Michigan and capture a national championship. Just two months after arriving overseas, Hausman was killed in action, later receiving a posthumous Silver Star for his bravery.\n<\/p>\n \n\tMore than five decades later, the Gold Pants Club announced it would welcome Hausman as an honorary member.\n<\/p>\n \t \n\t\tRick Hausman\n\t<\/p>\n \n\t“On behalf of the Gold Pants Club, we know Rick and the sacrifice he made for our great country. It’s something that we’re all very proud of,” former Ohio State All-American Jim Lachey said at the ceremony, per ABC6’s Stacia Naquin<\/a>. “This is a\u00a0long overdue pair of Gold Pants.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \n\tLachey and other members of the Gold Pants Club presented the honorary award to Rick’s sisters, Bobbie Collins and Ann Lisk. Collins and Lisk told Naquin that they were\u00a0thankful their brother’s life can and will be remembered by past, present and future Buckeyes.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe was a very loving brother,\u201d Lisk said. “He was tough on the football field, but he was extremely loving off the field.”\n<\/p>\n \n\tThe ceremony at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center marked the latest in a series of tributes honoring Hausman in\u00a0May 2024. A week earlier, he was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame<\/a>. His family also helped establish the Rick Hausman Silver Bullet Award for Leadership, which will be presented annually to the top Ohio State ROTC cadet.\n<\/p>\n \n\tIn the fall of 2024, Hausman was also posthumously awarded a 1968 championship ring from Ohio State.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0PAUSE FOR REFLECTION.\u00a0Sometime Monday, as you reflect on the freedoms made possible by those who gave their lives in service to the United States, take a moment to remember them all \u2014 including Ohio and Ohio State\u2019s Don Scott, Fred Norton\u00a0and Rick Hausman. Three Buckeyes among many who made the ultimate sacrifice. We owe them our gratitude and appreciation. Because of them, we are free.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0SONG OF THE DAY.\u00a0“God Bless America” – Kate Smith.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0CUT TO THE CHASE. What is Memorial Day? Why do we celebrate it?<\/a>…\u00a0What is the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day?<\/a>… Honor the fallen via the Defense Casualty Analysis System<\/a>…\u00a0\u00a0For one sentinel, a final walk at Arlington\u2019s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier<\/a>…\u00a0Memorial Day travel records expected despite high gas and flight prices<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\tPhoto credit: The Ohio State University Archives, OSU Don Scott Airport\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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