GALION — One of Ohio State’s biggest fans will be cheering on his beloved Buckeyes when they battle Penn State this weekend.
Dr. Jim Goudy, well known around town for his love of the Scarlet and Gray, has been a football faithful at Ohio Stadium for more than 40 years. He’s also a die-hard tailgater and has a reserved spot at the Fawcett Center with his local entourage and the rest of Buckeye Nation.
The Galion physician is nuts about the Bucks.
“It’s a hobby, but it’s also become an obsession,” Dr. Goudy said, as pointed out his OSU tennis shoes and opened his sport coat to reveal a Block “O” logo stitched on the red satin lining. “Over the years I got to meet a lot of the players, too.”
Although he graduated from OSU and earned his medical degree there, Dr. Goudy has been fascinated with Ohio State football since he was a kid growing up in Mount Vernon. He and his father, Jim Goudy, used to listen to games on the radio. By age 10, he was bit by Buckeye fever.
He attended his first football game Oct. 21,1978, the last year under legendary head coach Woody Hayes. Ohio State easily defeated Iowa 31-7 that day.
“Just the size of the stadium, it was huge, and the fanfare is what I remember most,” he recalled. “It was cold but fun.”
Dr. Goudy remained in Columbus where he completed his residency at Riverside Methodist Hospital. In September 1992, he joined the staff at Galion Community Hospital and opened his internal medicine practice in town – and just an hour’s drive from main campus.
Since then he has amassed an enormous collection of Ohio State memorabilia: gold pants and Big 10 championship rings, a ticket stub and program from the 1950 “Snowbowl” against Michigan and drum major batons and drumhead hats from the Jon Woods era directing “The Best Damn Band in the Land.”
His Portland Way South office is decked out with Ohio State artwork – prints of former coaches, a collage of Brutus Buckeyes and photographs of the marching band’s traditional Script Ohio formation. Even an autographed picture of linebacker A.J. Hawk, who played on the BCS National Championship team in 2002.
Dr. Goudy flew to Tempe, Arizona, for that double-overtime thriller to see his undefeated Buckeyes beat the Miami Hurricanes, then rooted for his team when they clinched the 2014 National championship in Arlington Texas. He has also followed them to Big 10 championship appearances.
A lifetime member of the OSU Alumni Association, he was instrumental in bringing OSU running back and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin to Galion for a United Way kick-off when he served as president of the United Way board and chaired the organization’s annual campaign.
Because Dr. Goudy will always be true to his alma mater. And he’ll never forget the words of his favorite Buckeye coach, the one who inspired him and many others during his 28-year tenure – “You can never pay back, so you should always try to pay forward.”
Like the great institution known for its rich heritage, Dr. Goudy is rooted in O-H-I-O spirit and fanfare.
“I guess it’s the tradition,” he said. “Tradition keeps me coming back.”
