Total number of distinguished alumni: 450 Notables: Bob Knight Jesse Owens George Steinbrenner Ohio State has a strong tradition of athletic excellence, which is reflected in its list of noteworthy alumni. Owens is renowned for his performance in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he won four gold medals. Knight played college basketball at Ohio State and was a member of the 1960 national championship team. He’s best known for winning three national championships as the head coach of Indiana. Before he became the owner of the New York Yankees, Steinbrenner earned his master’s degree in physical education from Ohio State in 1955. He served as a graduate assistant to Woody Hayes and the Buckeyes football team during their national championship run in 1954. Under Steinbrenner’s ownership, the Yankees won seven World Series titles from 1973 to 2010. Other distinguished Ohio State alumni include Jack Nicklaus, golf’s all-time leader with 18 major championships, and R.L. Stine, the writer and creator of the children’s horror-fiction series “Goosebumps.”
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