The Script That Became a Legend
Pay Homage to the Script That Became a Legend
1932. Michigan–Ohio State rivalry. The University of Michigan Marching Band performed an "Ohio" formation in cursive script during a game at The Shoe. This version moved directly into the letters and lacked the floating, stylized motion that would later define Script Ohio.
Then, on October 24, 1936, The Ohio State University Marching Band performed the first true Script Ohio during a game against the University of Pittsburgh in front of 44,000 fans in The Shoe. Eugene Weigel, the band’s director from 1933 to 1939, charted the formation by hand. He drew inspiration from the marquee sign of the Loew’s Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus. With no position charts, the drum major guided the band in real time.
The very first person to “dot the i” was John W. Brungart, a trumpet (or cornet) player from Coshocton. Within a few weeks, the honor shifted to sousaphone players, establishing the tradition as it exists today.
By 1937, the Associated Press had credited Script Ohio as the first moving-script writing formation ever seen on a football field. Band directors from across the country reached out for instructions on how to recreate it. It was a seismic, earth-shattering moment in the marching band world. Complete pandemonium. Collegiate bands everywhere had to tear up whatever plans they had and start from scratch. Script Ohio - the future - was here.
The Formation That Elevated the Script
Michigan’s band spelled "Ohio" in 1932. But it was The Ohio State University band in 1936 that added movement, float, and pageantry. The design felt immediate. The precision unmatched. It looked like art in motion.
The Dot That Defined the Tradition
When John W. Brungart first dotted the “i” in 1936, it was with a trumpet, not a sousaphone. A few games later, the honor went to a sousaphone player—and the rest is history. That single gesture turned a formation into a ritual, and a drill into a legacy.
After 1936, inquiries poured in. The Associated Press heralded Script Ohio as the earliest known moving script drill. By 1939, it was the band’s most requested and celebrated formation. Its visual influence soon spread into logos, apparel, and Buckeye identity across generations.
Pay HOMAGE today with our Script Ohio tee. For those who know every curve, every count, and every tradition by heart.
