Who puts more smiles on the faces of Ohio State fans than anyone? Brutus Buckeye, of course! Widely touted for his game-side antics, Brutus is also the welcome face of Ohio State at charity functions, parades, weddings and other large-group gatherings, with his favorite activity being visiting and cheering up hospital patients.
Elected to the Mascot Hall of Fame in 2007, Brutus has repeatedly rocked the finals of the UCA D1A Mascot Finals, most recently in 2019. Test your Brutus I.Q. by playing this Brutus Battle of the Wits with friends and family.
Questions.
1. Before Brutus Buckeye appeared on the scene, who or what was Ohio State’s mascot?
a. A flag featuring a red cardinal and a red carnation – the State’s official bird and flower – used in the 1920’s until the stock market crash
b. Nothing, Ohio State was mascot-less
c. Ohioans started calling themselves the Buckeyes in the 1840 election of President William Henry Harrison, so when Ohio State fielded its first football team in 1890, the team paraded a male deer on the sidelines
d. A trained German Shepard named Chris who performed tricks at football and basketball games, circa 1941
2. Brutus was created by two students who were:
a. Ohio Staters members who had grown up in the Columbus area
b. Both from out-of-state
c. Dating each other and had their pictures taken in an intimate pose for the MAKIO
d. Both prior high school mascots
3. The first Brutus was created out of:
a. Chicken wire and papier-mâché
b. Styrofoam
c. Fiberglass
d. Silly putty stretched and dried over an exercise ball
4. How did Brutus get his name?
a. Coach Woody Hayes named Brutus after his dog
b. Student Kerry Reed won a campus-wide Name the Mascot Contest
c. Governor James A. Rhodes was given the naming honor
d. The cheerleader who wore the first head said, “This is a brute!”
5. How many females have played the role of Brutus?
a. Ten
b. Three
c. One
d. Fifteen
6. In what year did Mary Burnett Brown wear the only feminine characterization of Brutus and pass out Dum Dum lollipops to the crowd?
a. 1981
b. 1973
c. 1999
d. 2001
7. After Block “O” took responsibility for Brutus, which organization served as Brutus’s “foster parents” when he was damaged from kidnapping or travel issues?
a. Delta Tau Delta (Delts)
b. Beta Theta Phi (Betas)
c. Smith-Steeb Hall
d. Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKES
8. At what football game in 1965 did Brutus make his first appearance?
a. Season Starter – North Carolina
b. Big 10 Opener — Indiana
c. Homecoming — Minnesota
d. THE Game — Michigan
9. In the 2006 Homecoming parade titled “Where’s Brutus?”, Brutus co-creators Sally (Huber) Lanyon and Ray Bourhis:
a. Rode on a float with the original Brutus head
b. Walked with a group of Brutus alumni
c. Rode on a float with the homecoming King, Queen and Court
d. Rode in the rumble seat of a Model A nicknamed Brutusmobile
10. Who was the first Brutus(es) to go to the Rose Bowl, and what year?
a. Keith Burkes, 1973
b. Alan Kundtz and Dave Hocevar, 1969
c. Sandy Glowacki Foreman, 1977
d. Jack Tamburello, 1971
Answers:
About the authors:
Sally (Huber) Lanyon, ’67 BA, Sociology, is co-creator of Brutus Buckeye with Ray Bourhis, and writes stories about Brutus at www.thebrutusblog.com.
Jim Baer, ’69 BME, president of Block “O” and Pi Kappa Alpha, whose 1965 photo of the original and un-named mascot is one of the few, and definitely the best, field shot of Brutus.
Photo Credit: OSU Archives used with permission by James B. Baer, ’69 BME.
