500th game in Ohio Stadium today

Back in 1920, two men proposed that a massive stadium be built at OSU.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The old gray stadium on the banks of the Olentangy River has seen its share of legends and ghosts, memorable moments and unforgettable games.

Ohio Stadium — home of the Snow Bowl, where Woody and Archie and the rest wove their magic — hosts its 500th game today when Northwestern (1-2) ventures in to play No. 8 Ohio State (3-0).

“It shows you how small you really are in such a big program and in such a historical, traditional stadium,” said Ohio State assistant coach John Peterson, who also was an offensive lineman for four years in the stadium. “You’re getting a chance to play a game in it. That’s a pretty neat thing.”

Back in 1920, two men looked into the future and decided that football, already big, would capture the imagination of the Ohio State campus. Thomas E. French, a professor and member of the athletic board, and athletic director Lynn St. John proposed a massive stadium to be a cathedral for the growing sport. They knew that football had caught on thanks to a skinny kid with wavy hair and fast feet named Charles W. “Chic” Harley, the school’s first three-time All-American — and it wasn’t going away.

Nay-sayers were wrong

Many thought the school was building a huge white elephant, a coliseum that would never be filled and would dip the entire university in scarlet ink. They were obviously wrong.

The stadium seated 60,000 fans when it opened and cost $1.5 million to build. After a $200 million renovation a few years ago, it now seats in excess of 105,000 and is filled to the brim on almost every autumn Saturday.

Since the stadium’s debut in 1922, the Buckeyes are 375-104-20 in what is affectionately called “The Horseshoe” (even though when it was updated, its original open end was closed off by a massive permanent grandstand and scoreboard).

More than 100,000 have crowded in for the last 36 games at Ohio Stadium.

Just stepping onto the field (now FieldTurf instead of grass) is still considered a very, very big deal.

“That’s crazy, anytime you can be a part of history. It’s definitely an honor,” current Buckeyes linebacker James Laurinaitis said. “It’s something that when you grow up you can tell your kids someday, hey ... I was in the ’Shoe for the 500th game. Stuff like that, it is important. That’s pretty cool.”