Brutus Buckeye
One of the more visible symbols of Ohio State athletics is Brutus
Buckeye, the school’s mascot. In 1965, an art student designed and
introduced the first Brutus, while the name was chosen in a contest.
The mascot began as a hardened papier mache affair that looked like
a bowling ball with legs. In 1975, a radical new Brutus was designed
with a prune-like head and a man’s body. That attempt was booed off
the field and was re-worked, giving way to a mascot comparable to
the beloved present-day Brutus.
The original choices for Ohio State’s mascot included a ram, an
elk, a moose and the leading candidate, a male deer. Due to the
skittish nature of deer, the idea of a mascot was tabled until
January 1941 when “Chris,” a German police dog owned by an assistant
cheerleader, made an appearance at a basketball game. The dog’s
career was short-lived and OSU remained without an official mascot
until the 1960s.
The Brutus Buckeye Tree Timeline
1965
October 30 - A Buckeye mascot first appears at the OSU vs. Minnesota
Homecoming game. The idea and design for the mascot came from Ray
Bourhis, who then got help making the nut from his student
organization, Ohio Staters, Inc. This large paper-mache shell was
well received by the thousands of Ohio State fans at the game. The
mascot was a smiling nut with human legs.
November 13 - Because of weight and size, the original model,
only two weeks old at this point, was replaced by a 22 lb.
fiberglass shell that included big furry eyebrows. The rest of the
features remained the same. This new nut made its debut at the OSU
vs. Iowa game, which was also Dad's Day at Ohio State.
November 18 - The Ohio State mascot finally receives a name! A
campus wide contest to determine the name for the new born nut was
held and judges announced that the winning entry was "Brutus
Buckeye," submitted by Kerry Reed.
December - The responsibility of caring for Brutus was turned
over to "Block O," a student spirit organization.
1974
December - After a Big Ten Football Championship season and an
upcoming trip the Rose Bowl, Keith Burkes, OSU mascot for three
years, is told that "Block O" will not pay for him to bring Brutus
to life in Pasadena.
1975
January 1 - As a result of featured articles in The Columbus
Dispatch and significant public outcry, the Ohio State Athletic
Department stepped in to send Keith Burkes on his way to California.
Brutus' care gets transferred to the OSU Cheerleading Program where
he remains an active member.
Spring - The cheerleaders select a member of their squad to
perform as Brutus.
September - A new version of the mascot costume appeared first at
an away game vs. Michigan State, and then at a home match against
Penn State. Students, alumni, and fans did not like the small head
that rested on the shoulders of a human. The size was not the
problem, however. Due to the squinting eye and vicious sneer that
replaced the once-friendly appearing nut, the university banished
the new persona, and Ohio State's huge fiberglass friend was
resurrected.
1977
September - Another attempt at putting Brutus on a diet fails. The
smaller version, which closely resembled the original, might have
lost a few inches in size, but put on nearly 60 lbs. in weight! The
version retained the happy face, which went to waist level of the
performing person, but added a ball cap to rest on top of Brutus'
head. The model was well received by fans, but not necessarily by
those who looked after Brutus!
September - The first female performer, Sandy Foreman, dons the
Brutus gear in one of the most difficult seasons ever: she was the
first to bear the burden of the new 80 lb. costume!
1981
Spring - 45 people compete in the first ever separate mascot try
outs. The mascot remained a part of the cheerleading squad, however,
instead of an existing cheerleading member being chosen to be
Brutus, different requirements were created, and a separate try out
was held. This is the current process for mascot selection.
September - Brutus starts this season in a new costume. The large
head resting on the shoulders of a person had a friendly appearance,
and was generally welcomed at Ohio Stadium. The change was needed
because the older version was too heavy for the performing person.
October 30 - Now old enough to drive a car, Brutus looked back on
a fun, but not always easy sixteen years of life. Nut-napped or lost
a half a dozen times, left our hero thankful he still looked so
good!
1982
September - Though the new head was accepted at OSU, Brutus' uniform
from the neck down in need of a change. Over the winter, Brutus
worked out at the gym and lost his bell shaped appearance. He
returned to Ohio Stadium with a trim figure, sporting a scarlet and
gray striped shirt with "Brutus" on the front, and "00" on the back.
His pants were scarlet, with the name of his great school
embroidered on the sides.
1987
Fall - The university trademarks a picture of Brutus that is now
produced on countless products.
1992
Fall - Brutus receive a minor facelift, but no noticeable changes.
1998
Fall - Over the summer Brutus hit the gym and beefed up some in the
upper body, and went tanning in Florida. The new tan and facial
touch ups introduced on the new head were well received by fans who
had felt that Brutus had been looking a bit tired.
1999
Brutus writes his first book, The Spirit of a Buckeye: Brutus
Buckeye's Lessons for Life.
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