News & Views Thursday, March 28, 2024

OSU Fight Song! Thursday, August 16, 2012

“Across the Field” is OSU’s football fight song (Sometimes people call it “Fight the Team”.) It was composed by William Doughtery–a student–who wrote it as a pep song for a pep rally for the 1915 Illinois game.

The sheet for “Across the Field” was in print through Morris Music for many years, but has not been printed as a sheet for a long time. It is now available in print and included in a collection of college fight songs called “34 Hit Parade Extras, College Songs on Parade“. It is also in a book of college fight songs called “College Songs for School Bands” in condensed score form, so it can be played on the piano.

As a curiosity, an image of another Dougherty football song, from 1929, has been included. It was published by The Ohio State University Association. The song never caught on; it is not as melodic as “Across the Field”, and the words are not as appealing.

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