Floyd Martin, 1923
After receiving a scrapbook that belonged to OSU graduate Floyd Marion Martin, we’ve gained more insight on the work that took place during the construction of the Ohio Stadium. Martin graduated in 1923 with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and was involved in Theta Xi and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, but he also took part in hand-stenciling the seat numbers in the Stadium.
The construction for Ohio Stadium began on August 3, 1921, and by November, the concrete for the first nine rows of seats had been poured by contractors. In all, 75,000 barrels of cement, 22,000 tons of sand, and 45,000 tons of gravel would be used.
Martin’s friends paint seat numbers in Ohio Stadium, 1922
Impressive numbers for an impressive edifice, the first of its kind for a college stadium. But fans needed a way to determine where they were going to sit on those concrete rows. By the next September, the football stadium was ready for seat numbers. Enter Martin and his friends, who were employed to put on the finishing touches.
The original seats that Martin and others worked on were three long strips of wood that ran thirty inches in width and seventeen inches in height. One photo, dated September 15, 1922, shows Martin at work with his friends, Pete, Baird, and Shug. They called themselves “The Royal Order of Stalling Stadium Stencilers”.
By October 7, 1922, the Buckeyes played their first game in the new Ohio Stadium against Ohio Wesleyan, winning the game 5-0.
(Below are a few more photographs from Martin’s album.)
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– Filed by B.T.
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