Fall 2023 Edition
Alumni & Friends Magazine
Milestones & Directors Through the Years
A timeline of Marching 110 major events and leaders
Jessie Balmert, BSJ ā09 | October 2, 2023
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1923-1925: Raymond Connett, BSED ā31
1923: Student Homer Thomas Baird, GEN ā26, 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: 51ĀŅĀ× halts footballāand therefore, the marching bandāduring World War II.
1945: Football returns to Peden Stadium. A 110-member marching bandāincluding female membersāperforms.
1946-1947: Daniel Martino
1948-1950: Charles Everett Gilbert
1949: The band produces its first album, The Songs of 51ĀŅĀ×. 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 51ĀŅĀ× Bands for life.
1951: Tau Beta Sigma, the national honorary band sorority, starts at OHIO.
1956: Phillip Eugene Saunders, BFA ā59, 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 ā62
1967: Gene Thrailkill makes the band male-only. He also arranges the Universityās fight song and institutes the uniforms, sound and high-energy style that students know today. He names the band the ā100 Marching Men of Ohio.ā
1968: The band becomes the ā110 Marching Men of Ohio.ā
1968: A John Higgins arrangement of blues song āAināt Been Goodā becomes one of the bandās first dance numbers. It is still performed after football games today. The band also adds a fanfare to āStand Up and Cheerā and a new introduction to āAlma Mater, Ohio.ā
1971-1972: Thomas Lee
1973-1989: Ronald P. Socciarelli
1973: āLong Train Runninā,ā featuring the tuba section, and āCheer,ā featuring the trombone and trumpet sections, are ad ded to the bandās 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 āLight Upā 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 Clintonās inaugural parade and plays a concert for the presidential inaugural ball.
1996-present: Dr. Richard Suk
2000: Director Richard Suk institutes the student arrangersā contest; the band performs the winnerās song.
2000: The Marching 110 is the only Ohio band selected to perform at the Macyās Thanksgiving Day Parade.
2001: The marching band participates in an emotional performance for the New York Giantsā first game after the Sept. 11 tragedy.
2005: The Marching 110 performs in the Macyās Thanksgiving Day Parade as the lead band.
2006: 15 band members perform as surprise guests on NBCās 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. Peterās Square in Vatican City, Italy.
2019: Sophia Medvid becomes the first female field commander of the Marching 110.
2023: The 51ĀŅĀ× 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
