On this date in Ohio State football: Nov. 27, 1902

Taking a look back at a game Ohio State played on this date:

Ohio State 6, Indiana 6

Setup: Ohio State football in 1902 was a far cry from what it would become a century hence. The Buckeyes' 13th season was the first for coach Perry Hale, who no doubt wanted to enjoy the success of his predecessor, John B. Eckstrom, who was 22-4-3 in three seasons. Hale's team won its first four games before meeting a cold slap of reality from Michigan, which dropped an 86-0 whipping on the Buckeyes. OSU was 6-2-1 heading into a Thanksgiving Day finale against Indiana.

Turning point: Hard to say, really, seeing as how accounts of the game dealt less with the play on the field than the "absolute ignorance" of the officiating — particularly the umpire, Mr. Kelly of Dartmouth — and the "woeful lack of knowledge of the fine points of the game" by Ohio State. Still, OSU apparently had the better of it.

Stars: Hard to say, really, seeing as how statistical measurements had yet to become part of the game's fabric. For the Buckeyes, captain Winifred F. Coover scored the touchdown (worth five points) and Clarence M. Foss had the "goal" — the PAT. Indiana's scorers were, respectively, Knight and Clevenger.

Impact: Hard to say, really. Hale lasted just one more year, but the OSU program slowly grew, joining the Big Ten in 1913 and finally beating Michigan in 1919, after 13 losses and two ties.

Quotable: "The Dispatch would hesitate to charge any official with deliberately doing wrong, but the most considerate thing that can be said of the umpiring of Mr. Kelly in yesterday's game is that he proved himself incompetent." — Unbylined account in the Nov. 28, 1902, Dispatch

rstein@dispatch.com