Fall 2023 EditionAlumni & Friends Magazine
Milestones & Directors Through the Years
A timeline of Marching 110 major events and leaders
Jessie Balmert, BSJ ’09 | October 2, 2023
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1923-1925: Raymond Connett, BSED ’31
1923:Student Homer Thomas Baird, GEN ’26, holds the first meeting to create an OHIO marching band.
1923:Homer Baird is elected the first band president.
1926-1928: John Hollingsworth Gill
1926:The band makes its first appearance in the Homecoming parade.
1929-1945: Curtis William Janssen
1931:Kappa Kappa Psi, a national honorary band fraternity, starts at OHIO.
1939:The band plays in Columbus at the inauguration ceremony of Gov. John W. Bricker
1943:Ohio University halts football—and therefore, the marching band—during World War II.
1945:Football returns to Peden Stadium. A 110-member marching band—including female members—performs.
1946-1947: Daniel Martino
1948-1950: Charles Everett Gilbert
1949:The band produces its first album, The Songs of Ohio University. Members sign the first copy for Homer Baird.
1951-1966: Charles Minelli
1951:Director Charles Minelli establishes the first Varsity Show and Band Day.
1951:Homer Baird is elected Honorary President of the Ohio University Bands for life.
1951:Tau Beta Sigma, the national honorary band sorority, starts at OHIO.
1956:Phillip Eugene Saunders, BFA ’59, is the first Black drum major.
The marching band on the field circa the 1950s. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections
1967-1970: Gene Thrailkill, MED ’62
1967:Gene Thrailkill makes the band male-only. He also arranges the University’s fight song and institutes the uniforms, sound and high-energy style that students know today. He names the band the “100 Marching Men of Ohio.”
1968:The band becomes the “110 Marching Men of Ohio.”
1968:A John Higgins arrangement of blues song “Ain’t Been Good” becomes one of the band’s first dance numbers. It is still performed after football games today. The band also adds a fanfare to “Stand Up and Cheer” and a new introduction to “Alma Mater, Ohio.”
1971-1972: Thomas Lee
1973-1989: Ronald P. Socciarelli
1973:“Long Train Runnin’,” featuring the tuba section, and “Cheer,” featuring the trombone and trumpet sections, are ad ded to the band’s dance numbers.
1974:The marching band begins an annual tradition of performing at the Ohio Theatre in Columbus.
1975:Women return to the band again under director Ronald P. Socciarelli, and the band becomes the Marching 110.
1976:The Marching 110 becomes the first marching band in history to perform at Carnegie Hall.
1980:A Geoffrey Horn arrangement of the Styx song “Light Up” is added, featuring the cymbals section.
Members of the 110 practice their high step before a home game in the late 1980s. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections
1990-1995: Sylvester Young
1993:The Marching 110 represents the state in President Bill Clinton’s inaugural parade and plays a concert for the presidential inaugural ball.
1996-present: Dr. Richard Suk
2000:Director Richard Suk institutes the student arrangers’ contest; the band performs the winner’s song.
2000:The Marching 110 is the only Ohio band selected to perform at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
2001:The marching band participates in an emotional performance for the New York Giants’ first game after the Sept. 11 tragedy.
2005:The Marching 110 performs in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as the lead band.
2006:15 band members perform as surprise guests on NBC’s Deal or No Deal.
2010:The Marching 110 participates in the 121st Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California.
2013:The marching band performs in Dublin, Ireland, and at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Italy.
2019:Sophia Medvid becomes the first female field commander of the Marching 110.
2023:The Ohio University marching band celebrates its 100-year history.
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Featured image caption: Scenes from the OHIO marching band's 100-year history. Photo courtesy of the Mahn Center for Archives & Special Collections
