Buckeye's around the world greet each other with O-H! I-O! and O-H-I-O rings out loud and clear in the Horseshoe on gameday, as well as lesser venues overrun by Buckeyes. It got its start, however, in a venue that is arguably as great, if not greater, than the Horseshoe.
The time was 1942, the place the Pacific, and the venue was the USS Lexington (CV-2). Serving onboard were a number of young men from OHIO, who would chant O H I O S T A T E. As with many sons of OHIO, some returned home and enrolled in OSU.
Matthew Sidley, a cheerleader, was one of the bluejackets from the Lady Lex. OSU was playing Indiana on Nov. 1, 1947 and losing. He decided to teach the crowd to chant O H I O S T A T E in an effort to fire up the team. The chant was shortened to O H I O when the full cheer proved to hard to make work in the stadium. Unfortunately, OSU lost that game but a new tradition was born. Linebacker Dick Flanagan, who went on to an 8 year NFL career, called it a turning point in Ohio State football.
As for the Lady Lex, she was lost during the Battle of the Coral Sea; an new Essex class carrier, CV -16 was named in her honor.
Oh, and one more thing: the O H I O hand signs? Yes, the same sailors created those as well.
