By JOHN KEREZY, Eyeoncleveland.com founder

Neary 11,000 times over, Thank you! Eyeoncleveland.com has had a lot of visitors to its stories in 2024, according to WordPress’s analytics. A couple of screen shots of some numbers from the report are below near the bottom of this column.
In an era when there’s more competition than ever for our minds and our time, I’m appreciative of so many reads of our stories. I’ve linked to a few of my personal favorites below, including about Uniting for Ukrainian Kids (written by former student Christina Easter), about Kevin Saghy’s business Earned Impression, and about the two-time state champion Hiland High School baseball team.
If you have an idea for a subject in 2025, don’t hesitate to connect with me! Drop me an email at john.kerezy@tri-c.edu with the details. EyeonCleveland exists to share great stories.

And now – onto a brief and light-hearted tale around the “one game” war, the football contest between two of the original members of the Big Ten Athletic Conference. Ohio State and Michigan have one of the longest rivalries in college football. Michigan’s Wolverines lead the series 61-51-6. William McKinley was president when the first game was played in 1897. For many of the Baby Boomer and early Gen X generations, two head coaches personified that rivalry – Woodrow “Woody” Hayes and Glenn Edward “Bo” Schembechler. Both are native Ohioans (Schembechler was born in Barberton, Hayes in Clifton). Schembechler was an assistant under Hayes at Ohio State until the former was chosen to head Michigan’s football program in 1969. For ten seasons,1969 until 1978, the Buckeyes vs. Wolverines contest seemed personified in the battle between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler.
Schembechler won the match-up, 4-5-1, and each coached their respective teams to 13 Big Ten titles. But Hayes won five national championship in his 28 seasons coaching the Buckeyes. Schembechler never earned a national title for the Wolverines in his 21 years of coaching there.
But enough history.
About 15 years ago, Columbus businessman, entrepreneur, and Ohio State fan Ryan Vester discovered that no one had been assigned to Woody Hayes’ old phone number after he and his wife Anne both died in 1987. Vesler worked with AT&T to obtain the number.
If you call that number today, 614-488-1910, you’ll hear Woody Hayes giving a pep talk to his team. But be advised: You might hear a busy signal too at first. Keep trying — seems that a lot of Buckeye fans like to hear Woody’s voice every late November.

LINKS TO SOME 2024 EYEONCLEVELAND.COM STORIES

Northeast Ohio families love hosting Ukrainian war orphans: https://wp.me/p6cQl4-Qo
Pitching, leather and teamwork propelled Hiland to 2024 crown: https://wp.me/p6cQl4-NX
Communications leader trades one dream for another: https://wp.me/p6cQl4-Fb