The Neutron Man (March 30, 1942 – October 7, 2004), real name Orlas King, was a popular Ohio State Buckeyes fan for over thirty years. Always seated by the marching band, King would burst into his original dances whenever the Ohio State University Marching Band would play the “ Neutron Dance”.

Early life

King grew up in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery county in the U.S. state of Ohio. Almost entirely in Montgomery County, it is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 57,862 (down slightly from 58,453 in 2010), maki ...

where his father was a tool and die maker. Every year he and his father would travel to

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, to

Ohio Stadium Ohio Stadium is an American football stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on the campus of Ohio State University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is also the site for the university's Spring Commencement c ...

to watch a Buckeyes home football game. King attended

Kettering Fairmont High School Kettering Fairmont High School is located in Kettering, Ohio, United States. It is home to approximately 2,500 students, making it the 6th largest high school in Ohio. History The original school was part of the Van Buren Township Schools and ...

and played football. Later, King went on to play football on a scholarship at the University of Dayton.

Football games

King started dancing at Ohio State home football games in 1972. At that time he was known as the B Deck Dancer. He remained the B Deck Dancer until the mid-1980s when the Ohio State Marching Band introduced its rendition of the

Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, bl ...

’ “Neutron Dance”. The spectators established a connection between the song and King and began to chant, “Neutron Man, Neutron Man”. From that point forward, the Neutron Man would dance at every Ohio State home football game during the third quarter break. King eventually began to wear his scarlet and gray beret and his very own Ohio State Buckeyes jersey with “Neutron Man” printed on the back.

Contributions

Until his death in 2004, King promoted and contributed to the Ohio State Marching Band and Ohio State Cheerleading programs. He helped to raise money for both groups and, being the owner of several restaurants, frequently catered lunches for the students after the marching band and cheerleading tryouts. Spawning from his popularity, a Neutron Man Beanie Baby was even created. A portion of the money generated from sales went to a cheerleading scholarship.

The Neutron Man Memorial Fund

The Neutron Man Memorial Fund was established by his widow, Debbi L. McComb, to benefit the Ohio State Marching Band and the Ohio State Cheerleading programs.

References

External links

The Neutron Man Memorial Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neutron Man Dayton Flyers football players Spectators of American football Ohio State Buckeyes football 1942 births 2004 deaths