A Buckeye who left Ohio State’s 1968 national championship team to join the United States Army has been awarded honorary Gold Pants.
Several Buckeyes gathered at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Tuesday to honor the life of Pfc. Rick Hausman. A walk-on for Woody Hayes, Hausman answered the call to serve in the Vietnam War in 1968, leaving an Ohio State team that went on to beat Michigan and win a national title. Two months after he arrived in Vietnam, Hausman was killed in action, earning a posthumous Silver Star for valor in combat.
More than five decades after Hausman made the ultimate sacrifice, the Gold Pants Club announced it would welcome Hausman into the club as an honorary member.
"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," said Jim Lachey, a former Ohio State All-American and current president of the Gold Pants Club. "(This is a) long overdue pair of Gold Pants.”
Gold Pants for PFC Rick Hausman, who was part of the 1968 squad that ultimately beat TTUN & then won the National Championship. Instead of playing in Pasadena, he joined the Army, KIA in Vietnam 71 days after he arrived. https://t.co/GMfaIBJ6e7 pic.twitter.com/nG8vEV3vlp
— Stacia Naquin (@StaciaWSYX6) May 8, 2024
Lachey 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 Stacia Naquin of ABC6 that they are thankful their brother's life can and will be remembered by past, present and future Buckeyes.
“He was a very loving brother,” Lisk said. "He was tough on the football field, but he was extremely loving off the field."
According to ABC6, Tuesday's ceremony at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center was the latest in a series of events honoring Hausman's life. Last week, Hausman was inducted into the Ohio Military Hall of Fame. His family also helped create the Rick Hausman Silver Bullet Award for Leadership, which will be presented annually to the top Ohio State ROTC cadet.
Later this year, Hausman will receive a 1968 championship ring from Ohio State.
