Songs Celebrating 1899 Football Season
We Hail From O. S. U
Melody: "We Sail The Ocean Blue"
We hail from O. S. U.,
And our college, she's a beauty;
We're loyal students, too,
And attentive to our duty;
We will stand ev'ry day by the Scarlet and Gray,
The colors we love so well.
When the 'varsity goes into a contest to win,
We're right there with our yell:
Wahoo! Wahoo! Rip, Zip! Bazoo!
Wahoo! Wahoo! Rip, Zip! Bazoo!
I yell! I yell for the O. S. U.
We hail from O. S. U.,
And our college, she's a beauty;
We're loyal students, too,
And attentive to our duty;
Our college, she's a beauty;
We're attentive to our duty;
Wahoo! Rip, Zip! Bazoo!
We yell for O. S. U.
The O. S. U Football Team, 1899
Melody: "I'm Called Little Buttercup"
A few months ago, we were not the whole show,
But now we are peaches and cream;
'Tis only of late that thro'out ev'ry state,
We are known by our great football team.
There's Tilton and Hager, Scott, Wharton and Sayers,
Lloyd, Westwater, Kittle and Fay,
And both Sigrist brothers, Poole, Wilson and others,
And Hardy who guides every play.
The plays that beat Otterbein, Wittenburg, Athens, The Medics and Western Reserve,
That killed Marietta, went Oberlin better, and gave them what they deserve.
We've never been beaten and yet we have eaten Muskingum and almost ate Case,
Beat, Kenyon, Thanksgiving,
We're thankful for living,
For O. S. U. stands in first place.
The Captain of the O. S. U. Team
Melody: "My Gallant Crew"
Captain:
I am captain of the foot-ball team.
Chorus:
And a right good captain, too!
Captain:
I may be very good, but I wish it understood,
That the coach is a hot-coach too.
Chorus:
You bet our captain's good, and we want it understood,
That the coach is a hot coach, too.
Captain:
Eckstorm trained us up all right,
And the boys played "out of sight,"
We conquered ev'ry team in view,
We are champions of the state,
Other teams think we are great,
For they never scored on O. S. U.
Chorus:
What never?
Captain:
No, never!
Chorus:
What, never?
Captain:
Hardly, ever!
Chorus:
Hardly ever scored on O. S. U.
All:
Then, boys, give a yell and the girl's a scream;
For the coach and the captain of the foot-ball team,
Then, boys, give a yell and the girl's a scream;
For the the captain of the foot-ball team,
This trilogy of songs were written by Charles W. Gayman, in 1899, for The Ohio State University Men's Glee Club. The songs were written to celebrate the successful 1899 football season for Ohio State. These songs use melodies, of three popular numbers, from the Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta H. M. S. Pinafore. One must suspect that these songs were performed, by the Men's Glee Club, as part of a season-ending celebration, as opposed to being song standards of the day.
In regards to the 1899 Ohio State Football Team, they did indeed have an undefeated season and shutout every team on their schedule, except one, Case. They beat 9 teams and tied Case 5 - 5 (one touchdown each; touchdowns were 5 points in this era of college football), for a record of 9 wins, 0 loses and 1 tie. The 1899 team also won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship; the first conference championship for Ohio State.
The 1899 coach, John B. Eckstorm (1899-1901), had 22 Wins, 4 Losses, 3 Ties, or won 81% of the games he coached. He was the first very successful coach in Ohio State history. His winning teams started to bring more and more fans out to the games to the point where they overflowed University Field (later Ohio field) by several thousand. Eckstorm unexpectedly stepped down in 1901. The four prior coaches, from 1889 to 1898, had a combined records of 30 wins, 39 losses and 4 ties. Ohio State will have 18 coaches, between 1889 - 1950 inclusive, earning Ohio State the nickname as the "Graveyard of Coaches". Since, 1951, Ohio State has had only 7 coaches, Wayne Woodrow "Woody" Hayes (1951 - 1978), Earl Bruce (1979 - 1987), John Cooper (1988 - 2001), Jim Tressel (2001 - 2011), Luke Fickell (2011), Urban Meyer (2012 - 2019) and Ryan Day (2019 - Present.
Photo: 1899 Football Team, Courtesy of The Ohio State University Archives
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Webmaster: Nick Metrowsky
The Ohio State University, BA, History, 1979
Life Member The Ohio State University Alumni Association
Life Member of The Ohio State University President's Club
Annual Member of The Ohio State University Varsity "O" Association
Last Updated: 23 September, 2021
