Who invented the "pancake" block? Its origins trace to Ohio State.
 
The younger generation would tell you it came from Orlando Pace. Those who have been around much longer? Well, they might just give you a different answer that also stems from Columbus.
 
"I created the pancake," former Buckeyes left tackle Chris Ward said. "Listen, that was created at Ohio State University, in our spring practice. And shortly after that it became an analytical — right now everything is analytical. How many pressures, how many sacks, how many pancakes and dominations did you have and all of that. And I was before that era."
 
Ward may start to get his proper recognition for the move in that regard now, as he can call himself the newest member of the Buckeyes to make the College Football Hall of Fame as the 28th former Ohio State player to enter the Shrine.
 
Ward starred during a run that saw Ohio State win or share Big Ten titles in each of his four seasons on campus. The program made two Rose Bowls, won the Orange Bowl and made the Sugar Bowl, finishing in the top-10 in three seasons and never finishing worse than No. 11 in the AP poll.
 
He was a teammate of Archie Griffin's (HOF Class of '86) during both of the running back's Heisman Trophy-winning seasons, starting at left tackle in 1975. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors three times. He made the Ohio State Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
 
"Every game that I went out at Ohio State and every game that I played at the pros, I went out to destroy the enemy," Ward said. "It wasn't no game to me. It's serious. And that's just the way God built me. I'm built to be a dominator."
 
Dominate he did. The Jets drafted Ward No. 4 overall in 1978, and he spent the first six of his seven total NFL seasons with New York.
 
He credits the Hall honor to the strong upbringing from his parents, with a mother who worked 60 hours a week and a father who worked 100 hours a week. Through it all, they never missed a game despite his father's aversion to flying.
 
"He didn't fly because he was a World War II Veteran and a plane went down, and he wasn't getting on a plane anymore," Ward said.
 
Yet there his father was, through high school and college, at games to watch his son play basketball— where Ward was recruited by Mid-American Conference schools — and football, which became his bread and butter.
 
"My biggest memory of playing at Ohio State is the people I played with," Ward said. "It's your cohorts, your comrades in battle. And right now, I'm going to my 50th high school reunion, (and) one thing that's become common is that every year I get notifications on Facebook that 'so and so' passed away. When I talk to somebody back from Ohio State, a lot of the guys I played next to, they're no longer alive.
 
"And then you have the Jets. When you look at the seven years I played there, it's like, 'Wow, did you hear 'so and so' passed away?' No, I didn't. So (these relationships are) becoming more important to me. People are the most important thing for me. The guys that I played with, that I played against."
 
Becoming yet another Hall of Famer who played for Woody Hayes ('83) only adds to the moment for Ward.
 
"Woody was one of the five greatest coaches of all-time," he said. "I think that's irrefutable."
 
Big in the trenches but even bigger at heart, the 68-year-old Ward has answered the calling in his post-playing life by becoming involved in the ministry. He founded an after-school program, Ward International, that helps disadvantaged youth. He earned both a master's and a PhD from the Ministry Training Institute, and he remains active throughout the state of Ohio.
 
"I just want to be wealthy so I can affect the world positively without all the notoriety," Ward said. "In today's world if you're rich and everybody knows it, that ain't fun. it just attracts the wrong element sometimes."
 
He added: "When I get up in the morning I think about, How can I help somebody?"
 
CHRIS WARD: UP CLOSE
 

• Twice named a First All-American, earning consensus honors in 1976 and unanimous laurels in 1977, while also claiming Academic All-America honors.
• Cleared a path for the Ohio State offense, producing thousand-yard rushers in each of his four years on the line while helping Archie Griffin become the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in history. 
• Helped the Buckeyes produce a 29-3 record and four January bowl game appearances, including two Rose Bowls, and final rankings of No. 3, No. 4, No. 4 and No. 11, respectively, during his time in Columbus.
• Played for College Football Hall of Fame coach Woody Hayes.
• Becomes the 28th Ohio State player to enter the College Football Hall of Fame.