Marching Chiefs - History

History

The first appearance of a formal band was organized in the late 1930s by Charlotte Cooper, Jean Hitchcolk, Allice Ludlaw, and director Owen F. Sellars. The band, which consisted of less than twenty students, performed at the Odds and Evens intramural football game on Thanksgiving Day 1939. The following year the Florida Flambeau ran an announcement of try-outs for the now established band. In 1942 Sellars took military leave for World War II and Frank Sykora became the interim director. The same year uniforms were purchased and worn for the first time at the inauguration of Doak S. Campbell as the new college president. 1946 saw the first option for students to take marching band for credit.

In 1947 the Florida State College for Women officially became Florida State University and the university was changed to coeducational by an act of the Florida Legislature. With the change to a coed school came the introduction of a male football team which competed in a five-game season. The marching band performed at the games and practiced on Landis Green under Robert Smith. 1949 saw a new director for the band, Robert T. Braungel, and the new, official name of "Marching Chiefs. The name was chosen by a newspaper survey sponsored by the Student Government Association. The first appearance of the newly christened Marching Chiefs was at Stetson University. Dr. Manley R Whitcomb became the new director of the Marching Chiefs in 1953 after transferring from Ohio State University and joining the FSU faculty. Dr. Whitcomb brought with him a talented young arranger by the name of Charles Carter who became the official arranger of the Marching Chiefs. Carter's arrangements gave the Marching Chiefs a distinctive style that survives to this day. Whitcomb also brought with him the traditional eight-to-five step, fast marching tempos, and the high step with arm swing now known as "Chief Step."

The 1949-50 football season saw the Seminoles' and the Marching Chief's first appearances in a postseason bowl game at the Cigar Bowl in Tampa, FL. 1954 marked the Seminoles next appearance at in a bowl at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. The Miami Daily News proclaimed, "FSU's bid to Sun Bowl clinched by Marching Chiefs." In the spring of 1955 FSU received a charter of Kappa Kappa Psi honorary band fraternity. The brothers of KKPsi, as the organization is commonly known, produced a newsletter named The Chieftain which aimed to keep band members informed of upcoming events and activities. In 1956 Charlie Carter arranged J. Dayton Smith's The Hymn to the Garnet and the Gold for band. The Charlie Carter arrangement had its premier performance at the 1958 homecoming game.

The in-state rivalry of the Seminoles and the Gators began with their first match in 1958. It was not until 1964 that the annual game alternated between schools. 1969 saw the beginning of a new tradition for the Marching Chiefs with the newly created Band Alumni Association putting graduates of the Marching Chiefs onto the field for halftime. 1971 was another big year for the Marching Chiefs. It saw Richard Mayo, an FSU alumnus and former drum major, take over direction of the Chiefs in a year in which membership grew to over 200 students. The Marching Chiefs were also finalists in the Best College Marching Band contest on ABC-TV which established their reputation as one of the nation's finest marching bands. It also was the year that the Marching Chiefs took on the titled of "World-Renowned." The Chiefs performed at the International Trade Fair in Damascus, Syria as a guest of State Department. While in the Middle East, Chiefs performed in Amman, Jordan as a command performance for King Hussein.

Color guard auxiliary was added in 1970. 1976 was the one-year term of William Raxdale as director of the Chiefs. He introduced a corps-style drill which included the glide step. The Chiefs performed the same show at every game during the '76 football season. Bentley Shellahamer, another Chiefs alumnus, took over directorship and reinstated the Chiefs' traditional style of marching. In 1978 Chiefs performed their second of many NFL performance during a game for the New Orleans Saints. Chiefs surpassed 300 members during the 1981 football season which was marked by a trip to Ohio State University. Dr. Whitcomb conducted the combined bands in a performance of the National Anthem which Dr. Shellahamer described as the "ultimate experience." 1981 was also the year that alumnus Dave Westberry took on the role of the "Voice of the Marching Chiefs." The next year Andre Arrouet became interim director while Dr. Shellahamer took leave to work on his doctorate at Ohio State.

In 1982, Sports Illustrated featured the Marching Chiefs in an eight page picture spread in which it was declared that, "Florida State occasionally may lose a football game, but never a halftime show" (December 6, 1982). This is the origin of the unofficial nickname of the Marching Chiefs as "The band that never lost a halftime." Also in 1982 was the addition of the yearly Prism Concert to be included with the annual Tri-State Band Festival and Conducting Conference. Dr. Shellahamer resumed directorship in 1984 and Chiefs, along with the Gator Band performed at Super Bowl XVIII in Tampa, FL. 1988 saw the Marching Chiefs hit another membership milestone when it reached 400 students, thus making Chiefs the world's largest collegiate marching band. In 1989 Chiefs got a new director, Robert Sheldon, and new uniforms. Though not successful at the time, there was an effort by band members to dedicate the Chiefs' practice field the Manley Whitcomb Memorial Field.

1991 began the current era of the Marching Chiefs. Patrick Dunnigan gained directorship of the band and was instrumental in the production of the Chiefs' first CD, Our Best Foot Forward. Though currently commonplace, the CD was the first end-of-season CD recording of a college marching band. The next year was Charlie Carter's 40th year at FSU and was celebrated by a special halftime show in his honor. 1993 was another momentous year, beginning with a trip to East Rutherford, New Jersey for the Kickoff Classic against the University of Kansas Jayhawks. Doak Campbell Stadium was also renovated before this season including a section was added in the south end zone for the Chiefs and the new "Elephant Doors" underneath the section. The Homecoming Show celebrated 50 years of bands at FSU. To end the season the Marching Chiefs participated in FSU's first National Championship win over the University of Nebraska Cornuskers.

The Chiefs renewed their "World-Renowned" title in 1997 when they traveled to London, England to perform a halftime show for a game of the World Football League's London Monarchs. The following season Dunnigan took leave to pursue a doctorate at the University of Texas and Dr. John L. Baker served as interim director. In 1998 the Marching Chiefs found themselves heading to Tempe, Arizona for another shot at the National championship but lost to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Fiesta Bowl. The newly hooded Dr. Dunnigan returned for the 1999 season which ended with a National Championship win against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl.

Though the movement had begun long before, in 2002 the Marching Chiefs' practice field was named in honor of Manley Whitcomb. In 2005, a donation of over $350,000 was made to the university by Bill Harkins for a new practice field for the Marching Chiefs. This allowed Chiefs to start off the '05 season with a new, artificial turf field to march on. The field, Bill Harkins field at the Manley R. Whitcomb Band Complex, is an exact replica of the appearance of Bobby Bowden Field on game day complete with Seminole head. This new field replaced a grass field which was known for less-than-ideal conditions. In 2009 The Marching Chiefs hit 460 members allowing it to retain the title as the world's largest collegiate marching band.