TCU Horned Frog Marching Band

The earliest incarnation of the TCU Horned Frog Marching band was the Texas Christian University Military Band, established in 1904 by Charles V. Kirkpatrick. The campus fire of 1910, which led to the university's relocation to Fort Worth, TX, slowed the growth of the band until J. E. King revived it in 1921 by introducing regular rehearsals and performances.

The band came into its own in the 1930s and 1940s under the direction of Claude Sammis, thanks to the innovative arrangements of popular music by assistant director Don Gillis. These arrangements were so popular that at a game at Madison Square Garden, the band allegedly held the attention of the football crowd for over an hour after the game.^[6]

A pivotal figure in the history of the band is James A. Jacobsen, director from 1955 to 1981. Most notably, Jacobsen introduced the "moving diamond" (or step-two) drill move, which was featured on television in 1958 and became a staple of marching band repertoire.^[7] After Jacobsen left in 1981, he was succeeded by Curtis Wilson, who began the band's transition to corps style marching.