It's All Coming Back...

A red-letter occasion in the history of the University

1923, Dad’s Day: Billing the event as “Dad’s Day Home Coming,” the University Alumni Secretary sent out invitation cards not only to OHIO alumni, but, also, to the fathers of OHIO students, asking them to attend the weekend festivities of October 19-21. As it turned out, Saturday had quickly become the centerpiece of the Home Coming celebration, and on Saturday, October 20, a “monster thuse (enthusiastic, abbreviated) meeting and sing” or, what would become known as a pep rally was held. Led by the University marching band in front of Ewing Hall on the College Green, the 1923 event featured OHIO students and alumni singing University songs and yelling chants before they joined an estimated crowd of 4,000— “one of the largest ever to witness a game”—for the football game against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, at Ohio Field. Another feature of the weekend, the entirety of which the Alumni Journal referred to as “a red-letter occasion in the history of the University,” were plane flights above Athens. The OHIO student newspaper, known in those days as The Green and White, assured students that “the aviator is a man of experience and the risks which one runs in an aeroplane are reduced to a minimum.” Moreover, according to the newspaper, the price of $2.50 for a flight was quite a bargain, as the usual going rate ranged from $5-$15. In the evening, a college “jitney dance” was held in the men’s gymnasium (present-day Bentley Hall). Jitney dancing, popular in the 1920s and 1930s, involved couples standing around a roped-off area and paying a certain fee, usually 5 or 10 cents, for a ticket to enter the roped enclosure and dance. Between dances, the floor would be cleared as tickets were collected for the next dance. In summing up the events of the weekend, the November issue of the Alumni Journal reported that the weekend had been “successful in all details, but one;” the heartbreaking last-quarter 13-6 loss to Cincinnati. However, according to the report, despite the loss, “a rare display of genuine college spirit” was apparent throughout the game. “To those who witnessed the team fighting valiantly to the final whistle, and the student body loyally backing them, and, at the end, in defeat, rising to sing the Alma Mater song, it must have been evident that although victory is a thing to be coveted and cherished, there is much to reward the vanquished.” The Alumni Journal ended its report by stating that “Alumni who see in Home Coming Day merely a football game are missing their share of the true significance of a day of youth renewed, of college loyalty strengthened, and of friendships and acquaintances increased.”  

Welcome Dads, Hello Grads

1924, The Ox Roast: A sign proclaiming “Welcome Dads, Hello Grads” greeted all who entered the Alumni Gateway for Homecoming in 1924. The Green and White reported that the weekend was “a Huge Success” even though it had rained and snowed all morning on the day of the football game. Undaunted by the OHIO "Fightin’ Fools" last quarter 14-7 loss to Denison (remember that "Bobcats" as the official team nickname, eventually chosen in a student naming contest, was still more than a year in the future), and unmindful of the gloomy weather and resulting mud, “more than 2000 men and women, dads and alumni, students, and townspeople crowded into the east end of the field after the game . . . to get their share of the thousand pounds of roast ox and ninety gallons of steaming burgoo.” After the game and the barbecue, the annual dance was held in the corn-shock-decorated gymnasium, where the pits for both dance bands—Chase’s Aces and Chase’s Collegians--were adorned in school colors. In fact, all weekend long, throughout the town, green and white colors of the University were on display everywhere. First prize for the best decorated fraternity house, judged by a faculty panel, went to Sigma Pi, perhaps because rather than posting a sign exclaiming “Wallop Denison,” as the Phi Delta Thetas had done at their house, the Sigma Pi brothers had “welcomed equally all students, dads, alumni, and the Denison visitors.”

Camera Will Click Steadily Taking Movies of Homecoming Activities

1927, Homecoming, the Movie: “CAMERA WILL CLICK STEADILY TAKING MOVIES OF HOMECOMING ACTIVITIES” was The Green and White headline announcing the beginning of 1927 Homecoming weekend at Ohio University. According to the story, pictures of events including the annual parade, the football game vs. Wittenberg, and the Homecoming Dance would be taken and then shown at the Majestic Theater the following Wednesday and Thursday in a production called “Chronicles of the Day.” A title board and Klieg lights were borrowed and added to other movie-making apparatus for the occasion. Cameras would roll from the opening whistle of the first annual freshmen vs. sophomores sack rush since the event was postponed by bad weather in 1924, through the most popular dance couples strutting “their stuff a la Greta Garbo and John Gilbert” in the Men’s Union (where Schoonover Hall now stands).

The rules for the sack rush, meanwhile, were explained in detail in Friday’s Green and White. Two captains had been selected and their job was to recruit 30 “brave and true” male college students for each side. Three sacks weighing 250 pounds each would be placed on a center line equally spaced from each opposing team. When the whistle was blown, the teams would break formation and run to the sacks, as each team attempted to drag or carry the bags to their side of the field. After twenty minutes, the side having at least two of the three sacks in a specified zone on their side of the field was declared the winner. Although this activity sounds like it would be fun and wholesome enough, the competition apparently more often served as an excuse for the two classes to engage in all-out bloody brawls on the field each year, which is most likely why the freshmen proudly boasted that they had on their side three Lamda Chi brothers who weighed altogether 600 pounds. According to the newspaper, this put the odds heavily (no pun intended) in favor of the freshmen. As it turned out, this prediction was spot on, as the post-Homecoming report noted that the “disastrous sophomore defeat” would be on full display in the film, as would the “claret flow from several of the young gladiators’ nostrils” and all of the “tumbling, grumbling, and even mumbling of those [sack rush] contestants who were, by force, necessitated to kiss Mother Earth.”

Meanwhile, also during Homecoming weekend in 1927, “two picturesque pirates” greeted all comers as they stepped into the women’s gymnasium on the Friday night of Homecoming weekend. According to The Green and White, these pirates announced “the wonders to be found” at the fourth annual Women’s Athletic Association (WAA) Carnival. Besides the pirates, decorations included “a drop ceiling of cornstalks [which] allowed only a dim light to be cast over the dance floor where numerous couples were dancing to the music of Bobbie Gardner’s Orchestra.” In the pool room, sororities and other organizations had constructed and elaborately decorated their various booths in a competition for loving cup prizes that were awarded for originality and profit. For entertainment, the Ohio Aquatic Club put on a swimming and diving exhibition.

Other events for the 1927 Homecoming included luncheons for parents and others at the various Greek houses; the annual parade which was led off by the Wittenberg and Ohio marching bands; a dual concert given by the OHIO glee clubs in Ewing Auditorium; and the Homecoming Dance at which the 11-piece Woodie’s Collegians would supply the music.

Speaking of the University auditorium, which in 1927 was in Ewing Hall, The Green and White also contained a story about the erecting of a new Alumni Auditorium. According to the story, 450 tons of steel including a main girder spanning 107 feet—four feet longer than the largest single railroad bridge girder in Ohio--to support the balcony, would be up in less than three weeks. Contractors were certain that construction of the new building, for which plans had been underway since 1922, would be completed before its due date of September 1928.

The spirit grew . . . like an electric current that flowed through and affected every person

1929, the new Ohio Stadium: The dedication of a brand-new state-of-the-art football stadium was the highlight of the 1929 Homecoming.  Constructed at a cost of $185,000, the new facility, which was called, for now, simply, “Ohio Stadium,” would accommodate 14,000 fans, making it the second largest college stadium in the state.  Several hours before the annual parade and football game, the 1929 festivities began on Friday evening with the traditional so-called “Thuse meeting” (pep rally) in front of Lindley Hall where the yell master led alumni and student body alike in several songs, cheers, and chants.  As the student newspaper summarized the event, “the spirit grew . . . like an electric current that flowed through and affected every person.”  For those who were not too electrified by the spirit to enjoy more entertainment for the evening, at 8:30 in the brand-new Alumni Auditorium, there was a performance of Fulton Oursler’s Broadway play “Behold This Dreamer.” This production was one of several dozen plays put on every year by Playshop, an experimental theater program for Ohio University students conducted by the University Dramatic Art Department under the direction of OHIO alum Vincent Jukes.  Playshop’s successful appeal to drama students was featured in articles and photographs in several popular trade magazines such as Theater Arts, Drama Magazine, and Players Magazine.

On Saturday, thousands of OHIO alum and students showed up to help dedicate the new field despite a relentless rain that “poured and drizzled so coldly and so steadily down” that it “rushed down the gutters, ruined new hats, soiled silk hose, took the press out of trousers, made furs hang limply on feminine necks, and took the starch out of collars on masculine necks.”  On their way to the 1929 Buckeye Conference title, the Bobcats defeated the Big Red of Miami 14-0 that rainy afternoon.  

Finally, after the game, plans were announced for future games to include “a representative uniformed cheering section” composed of 280 green and white-dressed men “seated in the men’s section of the stadium” in the formation of a big “O” to lead and organize the crowd cheers.  Equipment to outfit the group was “being made in the Domestic Science Department.”

We Foresee Victory

1937, the annual Homecoming Carnival: As mentioned earlier, the Women’s Athletic Association’s (WAA) Carnival, where sororities competed with one another by decorating their various booths had quickly become a major event during OHIO homecomings of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1937 the carnival was held in the men’s gymnasium (modern day Bentley Hall) to accommodate the larger crowds that were predicted due to increased interest each year. With the general theme of the event listed as “Frontiers of America,” Greek organization talent and creativity were on display everywhere in the gym, as “a covered wagon on the prairie at sunset brought the Chi Omega sorority the $10 first prize” in the booth decorating contest. The Green and White described the winning scene as “rosy cheeked maids in sunbonnets [selling] straw flower corsages from the rear of the wagon,” while painted sand on a sunset scene canvas background “blended in with the real sand on the floor” under the wagon. Beyond the covered wagon scene, Alpha Gamma Delta took second place with a depiction of Calamity Jane’s Bar, where patrons “paid to fire cork guns at a picture of Wild Bill Hickock.” Those who were skilled enough shooters to hit the bull’s eye painted on Wild Bill’s back were rewarded with a pair of miniature dice for their effort. The next day, in the annual float parade, OHIO sororities were still showing off their creative spirit as the Pi Beta Phi won first prize for the most beautiful float on which “damsels gazed into a large crystal ball in keeping with the parade theme “We Foresee Victory.” The ball, five feet in diameter, was actually a large round object encased in pieces of mirrors to achieve the effect of representing a crystal ball. The Beta Theta Pi men won the cup for the most unique float, as eleven men, symbolically representing the Miami University football team—the 1937 Homecoming opponent—wore barrels around their waists as their football breeches hung from a clothesline on the float. Another trophy was awarded to the Theta Cho fraternity for their “Moon Over Miami” float display which included sawdust on the floor representing a sandy beach, and blue crepe paper having the effect of ocean waves. In the sky was the face of the moon on which the letter “O” represented the eyes, the letter “H” represented the forehead, the letter “I” represented the nose, and the letter “U” represented the mouth. Thus, Ohio U was therefore the moon over Miami, even though this particular Miami was from the other side of Ohio, far from the beaches of South Florida.

For the first time since 1897 OHIO's football season would be canceled

1943, No Homecoming: Influenced heavily by the U. S. Army’s decision that the men in its college training units should not participate in intercollegiate sports, Athletic Director Don Peden, OHIO President Gamertsfelder, and the athletic board of control determined that, for the first time since intercollegiate football was introduced at Ohio University in 1897, OHIO’s football season would be canceled.  This was not a hard decision to make.  With only 200 men enrolled at OHIO, it would have been difficult to put together enough players to scrimmage across from one another during the week, let alone being able to field a competitive team.  With football being considered as the centerpiece of every Homecoming, the decision to cancel Homecoming was inevitable.

1944, Cancelled Again:  Once again, football and Homecoming were cancelled.  Nevertheless, the former Women’s Athletic Association, renamed in 1943 as the Women’s Recreation Association (WRA), once again held its always-successful fund-raising carnival, this time as a holiday celebration.  Originally organized in conjunction with the founding of OHIO’s Department of Physical Education for Women in 1923, the WAA had begun when the University men began using the newly constructed Men’s Gymnasium (today Bentley Hall) thereby leaving the gymnasium on Park Place exclusively for women's use. The WRA, which served as an incubator for many women's athletics, owned and operated a small cabin for gatherings on the outskirts of Athens, just off Route 50, which was open to all university coeds for a small fee.

There had never been such a crowd on Court Street

1946, Postwar: The November 1946 Ohio Alumnus reported that the first postwar Homecoming weekend was “highly successful in every aspect but one—the outcome of the football game,” which OHIO lost to nemesis Miami 23-16 in front of a crowd of 12,236 students, alumni, and fans, “a figure never before reached at Ohio Stadium.” According to the magazine, “longtime observers of the local scene were unanimous in their belief that there had never been such a crowd on Court Street as greeted the Saturday morning Float Parade.” Besides the OHIO marching band and the local Athens High School Band, 18 campus organizations made up “the longest and probably best parade in Homecoming history.” 

Marching Band leads the way

1955, Marching Band leads the way: With the OHIO football team losing the 1955 Homecoming game 20-14 to Kent State, the annual parade and the marching band were considered to have been the highlights of the weekend. On Homecoming Friday night, the marching band split into three groups which led groups of OHIO students and alumni up Athens streets to the annual pep rally at the new University Student Center (which became the first Baker Center and which is today Schoonover) from three locations: Phi Mu House on North College Street, the Science Building on President Street, and Scott Quad. Saturday morning, thirty-eight floats representing all manner of student enthusiasm and participation lined the streets of Athens. Floats depicted Kent State’s football team as a mummy; a huge piggy bank that showed that Boyd Hall was “banking on OU;” a giant vacuum cleaner sweeping up a Kent football player as “OU sweeps to victory;” and a dragon which puffed smoke and proclaimed that “OU’s got Kent Draggin.” Bands and floats alike, following a new parade route “to avoid congestion on Court Street.” marched down College Street, turned left at the corner of College and Union, circled the College Green by way of Union Street, University Terrace, and Park Place, and on down to Ohio Stadium. At halftime, the Charles Minelli-directed marching band performed music genres representing the circus, the military, high school, and German music, and they marched into formations that included a trapeze, a soldier walking with a gun, AHS, as a salute to Athens High School, and a beer stein.

Les Carney accepted a plaque for placing second in the 200-meter dash in the 1960 Olympics

1960, Peden dedication, an Olympic Track Star, and a mascot: Ohio University football coach Bill Hess led the cheering and chanting at the annual Friday night pep rally at the West Portico of Memorial Auditorium in October 1960. The next morning, the Miami football team was depicted as a victim on several of the thirty-six parade floats that were either pulled, driven, or pushed through the parade route. After the parade, according to the Ohio University Alumnus magazine, “whiffs of piping hot cream chicken over Chinese noodles, Waldorf salad, and date nut sandwiches whet the appetites” of the 800 alumni who stood in line for the annual Homecoming luncheon. Afterward, 15,167 students and alum, the largest crowd ever at the 31-year old stadium, looked on as OHIO beat Miami for the first time in 18 years, 21-0. At halftime of the football game, Les Carney, OHIO’s first African American athletic scholarship student, accepted a plaque from Athletic Director Carroll Widdoes for placing second in the 200-meter dash in the 1960 Olympics, and the stadium was officially named in honor of Don Peden for his 31 years as coach of the OHIO football team. 

Speaking of “firsts,” although the University had decided, by way of a student naming contest, on the bobcat as its team mascot back in 1925, the first time that a bobcat mascot appeared at a game in the flesh, or, more precisely, in the wool, to help rally the crowd was at the 1960 Homecoming game when the men of Lincoln Hall introduced the character as a symbol for the University’s sports teams. Dan Nichols, a student living in Lincoln Hall, dressed up and paraded around the stadium in a furry bobcat suit, attired in a green OHIO sweater and ballcap atop a paper mache head. For decades afterward, although there were several makeovers to the Bobcat costume ranging from the original cute and comical Mr. Bobcat suit to the present-day Rufus the attack cat, one thing did not change for 35 years: even though the women’s dorm Howard Hall introduced a Bobkitten companion to the Bobcat in the mid-1960s, the wearer of the Bobcat costume was always a male student living in Lincoln Hall. Finally in 1995 a female (unnamed) won the tryouts for the honor of representing the University as its mascot.

Advance leaks of secret Homecoming information

1964, Pole-sitting: Homecoming tradition was broken when the Homecoming Committee, accusing The Post of past advance leaks of secret Homecoming information, refused to release queen and court selections in advance so it could make The Post‘s traditional special late Friday Homecoming edition. As a result, an entire one-third of The Post’s front page which had been reserved for the queen and court announcement was left blank. 

Nevertheless, Homecoming 1964 was a success with 56 parading units, 36 floats, and marching bands from The Plains High School, Rome Canaan High School, Athens High School, the Lincoln Hall band, the Bush Hall band, and the Phi Kappa Sigma Mumblers. The parade began at 9 AM on Morris Ave, traveled to East State Street, then to College Street and Baker Center, turned left to University Terrace, rolled down to Park Place on its way to Richland Avenue and Peden Stadium. It took 35 minutes to pass any one point.

After the parade, the Bobcat football team beat Miami 10-7, and, in the evening, the Grover Center gymnasium hosted an 8 PM concert by the Four Preps, followed by the annual Homecoming Dance at 10 PM. The theme of the dance was “say it with flowers,” as crepe paper flowers adorned the gym, and flowered archways greeted guests at various entrances.  

One annual Homecoming event that did not survive to the end of the 1964 Homecoming Weekend was the Delta Tau Delta fraternity pole-sitting tradition.  Begun in 1952, this tradition had continued until 1957 when a group of power saw-wielding Phi Delts had threatened to cut the pole down with the Delta Tau Delta brothers atop it.  The Delta Tau brothers on the ground countered with a few dozen eggs and a small-scale riot ensued.  The police had subsequently ordered the Delta Tau Delta brothers to come down off the pole to avoid further incident.

But the tradition was revived in 1961, and the Delta Tau Delta brothers were up there again in 1964, assisted by a cherry picker machine which had helped the brothers to place a makeshift platform on top of the 35-foot pole, and had delivered sleeping bags, blankets, hats, coats, gloves, and safety belts to them. From the platform the two brothers reported to The Post that they could see the Hocking River for miles, as well as the entire West Green. However, less than 24 hours after the pole sitters took their positions, University health officials ordered them to come down, and the pole spent the rest of the weekend shrouded in mourning black and adorned with a black wreath and a sign which read “The University kills another tradition.”

Here she is...

1971, Miss America comes home: A sauerkraut eating contest, games of chance, body painting booths, a kissing contest, and a return visit from OHIO alum and recently crowned Miss America 1972, Laurie Lea Schaefer, were weekend highlights as Oktoberfest became the theme for OHIO Homecoming in fall 1971. An estimated crowd of 13,000 showed up for the Friday night Oktoberfest event, which, patterned after a German carnival, featured some 30 booths that were set up in front of old Baker Center. A three-hour kiss won first prize in the kissing contest. Parks Hall defeated Phi Delta Theta and Crook Hall defeated Jefferson Hall in the tug-of-war contests. Sixteen ounces of beer in 6.5 seconds was the winning chug in the female category of the beer-drinking contest, while one pitcher in 12 seconds won it for the males. However, it was remarked afterward that the actual fastest time of the night was recorded for the “guy who ran across the stage without any clothes on,” this being the era of streaking. The weekend, which was without a parade, was not without controversy, as student groups protested the return of Ms. Schaefer because of a Columbus Dispatch interview in which they believed the new Miss America had disingenuously portrayed herself as “puritanical” and “apple pie,” thereby perpetuating “this nation’s commercialism and sexist ideals.” One group went so far as to organize a Mr. America contest, which was won by a bearded student wearing nothing but underwear and a sash. When Ms. Schaefer presented an award at midfield at halftime of the football game, she was roundly booed by students in attendance. 

Also, for the first time ever, a small but separate Homecoming was observed by the University’s African American students, as the Dean of the University Center for Afro-American Studies Harry Morgan suggested that “traditionally Homecoming planners ignore minority tastes,” when they feature bands such as The Carpenters (1971) and Three Dog Night (1970). Instead, Cleveland’s East High School Marching Band was invited to help celebrate the momentous occasion.

Judged not for beauty, poise or talent, but by how much money they could raise in the drive to support a charity

1975-1978, Black Homecoming continues: The Ms. Black Homecoming Queen Pageant, co-sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the Black Student Programming Board began in 1975. Judged not for beauty, poise or talent, but by how much money they could raise in the drive to support a charity, each of the 13 queen candidates represented various organizations on OHIO’s campus. They were introduced on Homecoming Friday Night at a dance in Nelson Commons, and on Saturday they were presented in the Homecoming parade and at halftime of the football game. Saturday night at the Homecoming Ball it was revealed that winning candidate Veronica Shappell had raised $471 for the United Negro College Fund, and the four runners-up had raised from $128 to $300. Sandra “JJ” Jackson, the winning candidate the following year, raised $496 for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). 

Sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board (BSCPB), The Third Annual Black Homecoming held in 1977 featured a Disco Fashion Show, which was focused on raising money for the American Cancer Society. The BSCPB sponsored a float in the Homecoming parade which carried the 1977 queen candidates. After the football game, the Gospel of Voices sponsored a Potluck Dinner, and the Black Homecoming Queen, who raised over $500 for the American Cancer Society, was crowned at the Homecoming Ball in Shively Cafeteria. As the Afro-American Affairs student newspaper reported it, “The dance was a gala event, with a capacity crowd. Ladies in their after fives and gents in their three-piece suits stepped soulfully to the music until 2AM. Entertainment was provided by the Morning Maniac band from Cleveland, with a repertoire consisting of mainly Top 40 tunes.” In 1978, queen candidates raised money for juvenile diabetes and were sponsored by Farley’s Clothes Store, Phi Beta Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta, Your Father’s Mustache, Ohio University Forensics Club, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Phi Alpha, Sigma Theta, and The Clothes Hanger. As part of Black Homecoming 1978, a “Midnight Special Disco Cabaret” featured live music at the Athens Armory from 11PM to 5:30AM. Admission was $2, chicken and potato salad were served, and $23 was awarded to the “best dressed male” and “the lady with the nicest legs.”

Spanning the Globe

1983, marching band anniversary: Several floats exhibiting the “Spanning the Globe” theme rolled through Athens on parade celebrating the 1983 Homecoming.  Meanwhile, more than 100 marching band alumni returned for Homecoming 1983, which celebrated its 60th anniversary, and featured founding band director Homer Baird, a 1926 alum, and Ray Connett, a 1931 alum.  The band rested and refueled at a luncheon at Konneker Alumni Center before heading to Peden Stadium for the game.  Other events during the weekend were an Ohio University Theater presentation of their production of Moliere’s Tartuffe, and popular trumpet player Chuck Mangione performed in Memorial Auditorium.  Not performing in the auditorium, however, was the Ohio Ballet, which canceled its show due cold temperatures in the building.

The alumni spirit returns to Athens

1984, skydivers and jazz:  OHIO Homecoming 1984 kicked off on Friday with the Wilfred Konneker Golf Classic followed by OHIO President Charles Ping’s State of the University Address.  Friday evening and Peden Stadium were the settings for the annual Homecoming pep rally which over the years had begun including a bonfire.  Saturday’s activities began with the annual parade, the route of which had once again begun including Court Street.  Before the football game, the Homecoming crowd cheered wildly as skydivers dropped out of the sky and into Peden Stadium to deliver the official game ball.  After the game, which OHIO lost to Kent State, came the Homecoming Ball again sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board, and the announcement 1984’s Black Homecoming Queen had raised $573.24 for the Blackburn-Spencer scholarship fund. Other weekend events included a 5K run which raised money for the Senior Class Scholarship fund and a Dizzy Gillespie jazz concert.  In keeping with the “Spirit of Athens” theme for the 1984 Homecoming, the 1985 yearbook proclaimed that “all in all it was possible for everyone to catch the spirit sometime during the weekend.”

Times Change, Memories Remain

1992, halftime hijinx: “Times Change, Memories Remain” was the theme of the 1992 OHIO Homecoming, and when people reminisce back to the 1992 Homecoming, one memory that will likely remain above all else is the incident involving the Alumni Marching Band during halftime of the football game against Miami.  The weekend began innocently enough with the Konneker Golf Classic, President Ping’s annual address in Irvine Hall, the National Alumni Awards Banquet, a pep rally/bonfire in Peden Stadium parking lot, and a Friday night dance at the Ohio University Inn.  Homecoming Saturday 1992 also began typically with a spectacular parade, which began on Morris Avenue, ended at the Convocation Center, and included creative floats, music by various bands from as far away as Logan, Ohio, and even some political campaigning; this being just a few weeks before the hotly contested 1992 presidential election.  An Octoberfest-style luncheon called “Convofest” featuring a Dixieland jazz band was next. But even the return of MacGyver—OHIO alum Richard Dean Anderson—could not top the entertainment provided at halftime of the football game by the OHIO marching band alumni and the Miami football team.  Things went smoothly at first when the Alumni Band performed their few numbers.  However, due to logistics the regular Marching 110 got onto the field late and was running over time, when the visiting Miami team came out onto the field for its post-halftime warmups.  As the Miami team punted and threw passes into the band’s marching space, one alumni band member intercepted one of the balls and was tackled by a Miami assistant coach.  A melee approaching brawl status ensued until players, coaches, alumni band members, and OHIO security intervened.  For the band having remained on the field too long, the OHIO football team was assessed a 15-yard penalty on the kickoff for delay of game, and eventually lost the game 23-21.  For those for whom the halftime band activity had not provided enough entertainment, the Chicago Blues performed that evening at Memorial Auditorium, while the Katzz, one of Cleveland’s most popular R&B bands, played at the Black Student Cultural Board-sponsored Homecoming Ball in Nelson Commons which was an annual fundraiser for the Blackburn/Spencer Scholarship for minority students.

Leave your Mark

1997, down go the goal posts: Events of 1997 Homecoming featured President Robert Glidden’s address on Friday afternoon followed in the evening by a pep rally, featuring the marching band, cheerleaders, and the OHIO Dance Club, and capped off at 10:30 by fireworks. On Saturday, after the parade, the Marching 110, the alumni band, clowns, and cheerleaders entertained a large crowd along the Hocking River in what was called the Big Top Extravaganza. By the 2 PM kickoff of the football game, it was standing room only at Peden Stadium for the record crowd of 23,101, as the Bobcats, ranked 36th in the nation at that time, took on the Bowling Green Falcons. After the game, in which the Bobcats shutout the opposition 24-0, bringing the team’s record to 6-1 for the season, the students rushed the field and tore down both goalposts. Saturday night blues-folk musicians Leon Redbone and John Hammond entertained alumni and students in Grover Center.