The Ohio State Marching Band : 50th Reunion Show

On Saturday, Sept. 22, as part of the Ohio State vs. Tulane football game, The Ohio State University Marching Band and the TBDBITL Alumni Club will celebrate the 50th band alumni reunion. More than 770 alumni of The Best Damn Band in the Land have registered to participate, including more than 662 marched on the field for halftime alongside the current band — creating a combined ensemble of over 850 musicians.

As part of the reunion festivities, 100-year-old Ohio State alumnus Anthony Violi of Steubenville, Ohio, a lifelong music educator who played trumpet in the band from 1937-1942, dotted the i in the home-side Script Ohio at halftime.

In this quadruple Script Ohio, a staple of the reunion game since its first appearance in 1977, the current band will perform facing the student section at the south end of the stadium, while the alumni band simultaneously will perform three separate Scripts facing the north, east and west sides.

While sousaphone players are typically the only ones to dot the i, both in the student and alumi bands, on rare occasions exceptions are made for exceptional individuals.

Violi will join the ranks of other honorary i-dotters selected by the band’s alumni for the reunion game, including former band directors Jack Evans and Paul Droste (along with their wives Carol and Anne, respectively), John and Annie Glenn, and Les Wexner. Others selected as i-dotters for the student band over the years include former coaches Woody Hayes and Earle Bruce, Bob Hope, Jack Nicklaus, and former band director Jon Woods. In all, the honor has been extended to fewer than 20 individuals over Script Ohio’s 82-year history.

The first alumni reunion was held in 1966 with about 200 former band members in attendance and featured the first-ever double Script Ohio. After a brief hiatus from 1968-1970, the Marching Band has held its reunion every year since 1971 — making this year’s the 50th.