On a fall Saturday in Huntington, the sights and sounds of game day are everywhere. Fans in green file into the stands as players warm up on the field. Then, as the clock counts down to kickoff – a familiar sound.
The steady beat of the drumline’s cadence. The heartbeat of game day atmosphere at the Joan. When the Marching Thunder takes the field, energy rises. For fans, it’s part of the tradition – the soundtrack of tailgates, touchdowns and memories made with family and friends.
“The marching band has become synonymous with game day atmosphere,” said Dr. Christopher Schletter, director of athletic bands at Marshall. “We are the positivity, the encouragement, the sound, spirit and energy of an athletic game. But we are not that without the amazing students that come from all walks of life.”
Starting with a small ensemble of 20 in 1902, the band has grown in size, scope and spirit. What began as a modest part-time collection of musicians under G.B. Able eventually became a permanent ensemble in 1925 under John O. Muldoon. Directors came and went – Harry E. Mueller from 1928 until 1946, then Earl Workman, Thomas O’Connell and others – each leaving their imprint. Through war, social change and cultural shifts, the band adapted. One notable change came in 1951, when women were first invited to join the band on the field.
Along the way, traditions took root. In 1935, music student Ralph A. Williams wrote “Sons of Marshall,” the fight song that became a rallying cry for generations of fans. Today, it is inseparable from the Marching Thunder’s performances, often belted out just as loudly by fans in the stands.
The band’s name has shifted over time, too. In the late 1970s, during a halftime show against Ohio University, the group earned the nickname “Big Green Marching Machine” for its size and powerful sound. In 1993, the name briefly changed to the “Marching Hundred” to honor the number of members that year, but an announcer mistakenly called them the “Marching Thunder.” The misstep stuck – and today, the Marching Thunder is still how the world knows Marshall’s band. Schletter says that while the name may be long-running and well-known, the look of the band has not remained the same over the years.
“While Marshall does not have a single long-standing uniform, that doesn’t mean it lacks identity. In reviewing the last four generations of Marshall’s uniforms with an eye toward preservation, I noticed that each reflected where the state of collegiate and competitive marching bands was at the time. Further, across the past five decades, the band’s uniform has consistently been on the cutting edge of uniform design and development in the marching arts area.”