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.