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Todd has been at Ohio State for a long time. He started coaching the baseball team in 1988 - two years before the current class of OSU freshmen were born.
Friday night before the first game of a four-game series with Illinois, OSU honored coach Todd's admission into the baseball coaches hall of fame. Todd has not only been a force guiding the team, but also one of main advocates for building Bill Davis Stadium.
"We are most proud of the lasting achievements of coach Bob Todd that have enabled him to attain the highest coaching honor possible: being enshrined into the American baseball coaches Hall of Fame," director of athletics Gene Smith said.
In all those years OSU has never had a losing season. Coach Todd has set a school record for wins with 879, which surpassed former skipper Karow who was at the helm between 1951 and 1976. Karow coached the Buckeyes to 479 wins in those years and led the team to the College World Series four times.
Saturday, OSU posthumously recognized Karow's accomplishments on the 33rd anniversary of his final home game in the dugout, a 1-0 victory over Michigan. Karow died at the age of 81 in 1986.
"The Ohio State department of Athletics is thrilled to honor the legacy of Marty Karow by retiring his jersey," Smith said.
Karow is the third person to have his jersey retired. The other two honorees were Fred Taylor, Ohio State's first baseball all American and pitcher Steve Arlin who led the team to the 1966 College World Series championship.
"I think that's a great tribute to him," Todd said.
Outside of Buckeye country, Karow led the United States to gold in the Pan-America games in 1967. The U.S. baseball team was the first to defeat Cuba in games. Karow was most proud of this accomplishment.
After the tribute, the Buckeyes came from behind to defeat the Illini.
Andrew Martin can be reached at martin.1633@osu.edu.
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