Bison Athletic Hall of Fame
Dr. Putnam was a medical doctor turned band director. He joined the NDSU faculty in 1904 and for the next 40 years this peppery disciplinarian developed NDSU’s Gold Star Band into one of the region’s top groups. During his tenure, his enthusiasm at Bison athletic events became legendary and contagious, spurring area sports fans to greater cheering heights. “Doc” wrote the music for NDSU’s alma mater, “The Yellow and the Green,” and for the North Dakota Hymn. In 1935, he became the first North Dakotan to be admitted to the American Bandmaster’s Association. In 1951, the old NDSU library was rededicated and named Putnam Hall.
