There are 25 days that separate us from Ohio State's march to Blacksburg. To help pass the time until the Buckeyes put the Sandman to bed I will countdown Ohio State's top 100 players according to the rubric* listed at the bottom of this article.
 

NO. 25 TOM SKLADANY, P/K (1973-76)
Born: 1955 (Bethel Park, PA)
High School: Bethel Park

OHIO STATE CAREER

• The Buckeyes were 40-5-2 with Skladany on the team.
• 1973 Big Ten Title.
• 1974 Big Ten Title.
• 1975 Big Ten Title.
• 1976 Big Ten Title.
• 1974 Defeated No. 7 USC 42-21 to win the Rose Bowl.
• 1976 Defeated No. 12 Colorado 27-10 to win the Orange Bowl.
• 1975 Defeated No. 7 Penn State 17-9.
• 1976 Defeated No. 7 Penn State 12-7 in Happy Valley.
• 1974 Defeated That Team 12-10.
• 1975 Defeated That Team 21-14.

HONORS

• 1976 Captain.
• 1976 All-American.
• 1976 All-Big Ten.
• 1975 All-American.
• 1975 All-Big Ten.
• 1974 All-American.

NFL DRAFT
Round 2 to the Cleveland Browns with the 46st pick of the 1977 draft.
 

Skladany's Ohio State career per The Ohio State Team Guide:

OSU’s most recent three-time All-American, Tom Skladany was a punter and kicker between 1973-76 and the first kicking specialist ever to receive a football scholarship at Ohio State. He proved his worth immediately, landing the job as the Buckeyes’ No. 1 punter as a freshman. He also kicked off as a freshman and sophomore.

As a junior and senior, he added PATs and field goals to his list of responsibilities. Skladany averaged 45.6 yards per punt as a sophomore and was named to the Football Writers All-America Team. He was a consensus All-America choice the next two years, again leading the country in 1975 with a 46.7 average. 

As a senior, he averaged 42.3 yards per kick and finished his career with a 42.7 average on 160 punts. That’s good for second on the all-time list, as is his yardage figure of 6,838. Skladany was co-captain of the 1976 squad, the first specialist ever chosen as a Buckeye captain. 

The six-year NFL veteran was a 1991 inductee to the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to see Skladany play for the Buckeyes. He finished his Ohio State career the year I was born.

I think he might have been fairly good considering he was named an All-American three times and All-Big Ten twice. Skladany was also the first specialist to be given a scholarship to Ohio State.

Skladany and the NFL Draft per Blair Conway:

Skladany was drafted by the Browns in the second round (pick 46) of the 1977 draft. They would not pay him second round money so he sat out 1977. He was traded to Detroit in 1978 and paid correctly.  

Fortunately The Buckeye Grove had this article on him:

In this edition of Time and Change we have the chance to visit with the greatest combination punter/kicker in Ohio State history, Tom Skladany. Skladany was an All-American for the Buckeyes from 1974-1976 and played six years in the NFL for the Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles.

During Skladany's career with the Buckeyes the team went a very impressive 40-5-2.

Skladany is also mentioned throughout the Ohio State record books in the top five of most kicking and punting categories but in my opinion the most impressive record that still stands is the longest field goal of 59 yards versus the University of Illinois in 1975.

Skladany then talked about his game-changing play in The Game in 1974:

It was late in the fourth quarter and the score was close like most of the Ohio State Michigan games were back then. We were leading 14-12 and we had fourth down on our own seven-yard line.

90,000 people in the stadium were at fever pitch and I had to punt from eight yards deep in the end zone. If I have a bad punt, they would get a chance at a field goal to win the game. "I go into the game and I couldn't feel or hear a thing. I caught the snap, I made the punt and thought it might have been blocked because I didn't even feel it come off my foot. I didn't come to until I felt my team mates slapping me on my helmet and shoulder pads on the sideline.

"I had hit a 63 yarder and we went on to win the game. One of the writers wrote after the game that, 'Ohio State won 14-12, by two feet? Tom Klaban's (four field goals) and Tom Skladany's".

For more information on other players who wore No. 1 go here.

Sources- The Ohio State Team Guide, Blair Conway, The Buckeye Grove and Wikipedia

ALL PLAYERS COVERED TO DATE