Doug Malone brings about 250 buckeyes to each home football game at The Ohio State University.
Those 250 buckeyes get distributed one by one: He hands them out to all the players, coaches, kids and first-time game-goers.
“I’ve seen grown men cry walking into the stadium,” Doug said.
Doug will toss those grown men a buckeye.
The buckeye tradition started with his dad, Ronald Malone, who passed away in 2016.
Doug was a fan of Ohio State Football before he had cable. He would watch a replay of the games every Sunday after they happened on Saturday.
“Even though we knew the outcome of the game we just wanted to watch,” Doug said.
Doug and his family spent their Saturdays watching football highlights and listening to the game on the radio. Eventually, they got cable and their Saturdays started to revolve around the weekly Ohio State game.
In 2004, Malone became a redcoat with his dad. Redcoats assist Ohio State game attendees by scanning tickets and helping people to their seats. Malone didn’t expect his dad to want to be a redcoat with him since he was retired, but he agreed to it since his Saturdays revolved around Ohio State games anyway.
“Dad always said ‘I wanna leave my mark,” Doug said.
In 2005, the University of Texas played Ohio State at The Shoe. Before the game Doug and Ronald walked by the locker room.
“Does anybody have a buckeye? Coach Fickell needs a buckeye in his pocket for good luck,” one of the equipment managers said.
Ronald happened to have a buckeye with him and threw it to Coach Luke Fickell, who held various coaching positions at OSU between 2002-2016.
Ronald then came up with the idea to pass the buckeyes out to all the players and coaches at every home game. Doug questioned his dad’s ambitions because he knew that he would have to collect a lot of buckeyes to pull it off. But, once his dad got approval to pass the buckeyes out he did it at every game.
Every home game the football team attends the pep rally and then walks to the stadium. When Doug spots Brutus marching through the crowd that is his cue to get ready to pass out buckeyes.
When he hands out the buckeyes he fist bumps with one hand and holds on to the bag with his other hand. Doug has to hold on tight as the players swing by for a buckeye
“They will knock it out of your hand if you’re not careful,” Doug said.
Ronald was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 2015, he began to feel the effects and struggled with his diagnosis. At his last game, he showed Doug the mark he stood on under the rotunda.
“I think you’re ready,” Ronald told his son.
From then on, Doug — a longtime Granville resident — has taken on the buckeye tradition.
Ronald and Doug had many interactions with Ohio State football legends. Doug said Jim Tressel — head coach for the team between 2001-2010 — would not take a buckeye from his dad.
“All my ‘lucky buckeyes’ are behind me,” Tressel would say to the Malones.
Doug saves the large buckeyes he finds for the coaches. Ryan Day is sometimes astonished by the big buckeyes Doug hands him.
Ronald said he handed Urban Meyer — head coach at Ohio State from 2012-2018 — a buckeye each week, and when Ronald was at the OSU James Cancer Hospital, Meyer paid him a special visit along with wide receiver Austin Mack.
Doug said that his dad had developed a relationship with Fickell. Ronald passed away the week Ohio State was playing the University of Cincinnati at home. Even though his dad just passed away, Doug went to the game and did his buckeye duty. Fickell came up to Doug and asked how his dad was doing. Doug broke the news that he had passed away that week.
Doug has brought his two daughters into the fandom with him. They love to cheer for the Buckeyes too. They wanted to add to the tradition by writing messages on all of the buckeyes, like: “OH-IO,” “Ohio against the world,” and “Go Buckeyes.” At the last home Michigan game in 2022, they wrote “redemption” on all the buckeyes. Unfortunately, Ohio State lost that game.
“I don’t know if I’m ever going to use that one again,” Doug said.
Doug is grateful that he is able to collect so many buckeyes. This year, he has not been able to collect as many buckeyes, possibly due to the drought.
“I’ve always believed that buckeyes are lucky,” Doug said. “That’s what Dad said.”
If you would like to help Doug by providing him buckeyes, reach out to The Reporting Project at thereportingproject@denison.edu.
Caroline Zollinger writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.