Ohio State basketball: St. John Arena’s scoreboard gone, but not forgotten
By Eric Boggs
It hung from the ceiling of St. John Arena like a giant memorial. Yes, it was old, outdated, symbol of the past; but that old four-sided megalith was a part of my childhood. A childhood that included memories of Ohio State basketball players Jimmy Jackson, Chris Jent, and Jay Burson.
That scoreboard witnessed not only great basketball during its time hanging around the old arena, but NIT and NCAA tournaments, skull sessions, graduation ceremonies, and one of the greatest commencement speeches of all time when Woody Hayes reminded everyone to “pay it forward.”
And now it’s gone.
It was viewed as a state-of-the-art scoreboard when it was installed in 1987, bringing visuals to the game that reminded you of old 8-bit Nintendo-like graphics. The behemoth weighed an amazing 14,000 pounds as it hung motionless over both men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball games, along with both gymnastics and wrestling events.
Installed by the Whiteway Sign Company, which went out of business in 2014, the Ohio State University Athletic Department’s electronic team was able to hold it together and continue to use it despite not having replacement parts on special occasions, such as when the Ohio State basketball team hosted a home game inside the old arena in 2018 and 2019. It was still functioning and in use for home gymnastics, volleyball, and wrestling events until those programs moved to the Covelli Center in 2019.
Now that the arena no longer holds sporting events, there really is no longer any need for the old girl to hold the 14,000-pound remnant any longer, and so she came down. It’s going to feel odd walking into St. John’s this fall for a Skull Session and not see its lifeless corpse still positioned perfectly in the middle of center court.
Ohio State announced that 11,000 pounds of scrap was recycled. Who knows where some of that scrap will end up after it is melted down and reused? I’d like to think that maybe some of it will end up as a part of a new scoreboard somewhere, flashing scores, highlights, and announcements for some other wide-eyed kid staring at it in amazement. Probably not. More than likely it will just be more material for another smartphone that we seem to replace bi-yearly.
Ohio State did announce however that two corner boards of the old beauty will be housed at the Schottenstein Center and the Covelli Center for historical purposes. That way, old farts like myself can stand in front of “saved” pieces of history and pay our respects, taking a picture with those smartphones made of recycled scoreboard material. Now that’s ironic.
Although the old girl has been torn, shredded, and melted down, St. John’s still stands. Not only does it continue to hold Skull Sessions during every home Saturday during the football season, but the women’s hockey team uses the locker room, and the old offices are used for the track and field programs.
If you would like to pay your respects one last time, Ohio State has kindly posted a short article with pictures from the deconstruction and removal of the once bright board that shined like a lighthouse to many Ohio State basketball fans lost at sea. She may not shine bright anymore, but she will always shine in my heart.
Next. Three Ohio State basketball players who need to make a jump. dark
The Ohio State St. John Arena Scoreboard – (1987-2023.) Gone but never forgotten.