Gary Matczak Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 I remember some great Championship competition at the stadium in Erie. . .that bowl like stadium? I can't remember the stadium name but I liked the site. I remember that stadium...It was either 79 or 80 when the announcer announced us wrong...what the heck was that?!?! OH the WEST SHORE LINERS!!! hahaha!!! ,................there used to be a corps from the area called the North East Shoreliners,................LOL,..............that corps folded in 1968,........................he was propobly having a flashback!,...........LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 Okay, tried to edit it and it keeps taking me into Ben's reply!!! Weird. What I meant to say what about a half mile on the left.I attended a number of the RCA meetings. If I remember correctly, Chuck Saia probably has a lot of corporate historical knowledge of RCA. . .as would Hershman. It was actually a very good circuit, large membership, like Jim says, like the training ground for DCA hopefuls. Some great competition especially between Westshore and Erie. I remember some great Championship competition at the stadium in Erie. . .that bowl like stadium? I can't remember the stadium name but I liked the site. what year(s) are we talking about here 73?,......... 74?,..........prior? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted May 28, 2004 Share Posted May 28, 2004 RCA Patch on eBay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ellis Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 (edited) When Steve Vickers was putting together the first History of Drum Corps volume a couple of years ago I wrote a piece on the Red Carpet Association that I don't believe was ever published. Contributors to my research included Jeff Ream, Jeff Davis and Ron Allard. I also have a spreadsheet with all scores from the RCA shows. Here is the history article: The Red Carpet Association was formed in the fall of 1968 as a circuit for senior drum and bugle corps, providing an alternative to the relatively new Drum Corps Associates circuit. The Red Carpet Association provided a competitive arena for corps that did not attain membership in the more exclusive DCA circuit on a competitive basis, or were not interested in being members of DCA for other reasons such as geographical location and the expense of traveling to DCA contests. The Red Carpet Association sponsored contests and held a championship show each year from 1969 through 1977. The circuit included corps from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland and Ontario, Canada. Three corps appeared in all nine RCA championship shows. The Guelph Royalaires were the most consistent competitor in the circuit, with two wins (outright in 1969 and tied with Erie Thunderbirds in 1974) and five second-place finishes in nine appearances. The Hanover Lancers appeared nine times with an average placement of 6.4, and won the final RCA Championship in 1977. The Dunkirk Patriots appeared nine times and averaged 8.7 in placement. The honors for best winning percentage went to the Rochester Phoenix – one appearance and one win, for an average placement of first. In existence for just two years, the Phoenix won the 1975 RCA championship by over four points in their first year on the field and went on to a top-five finish at DCA. The other two corps to win circuit championships were the Pittsburgh Rockets and the Erie Thunderbirds. The Pittsburgh Rockets appeared six times with an average placement of 2.5 and deserve special recognition for winning three in a row (1970, 1971 and 1972). The Erie Thunderbirds had an enviable record as well, appearing seven times for an average placement of 3.1. Erie won outright in 1973 and 1976 and tied with the Guelph Royalaires for first in 1974. The corps that showed the most improvement was the Johnsonburg Diplomats. They competed four times, placing 14th in 1972, 11th in 1975, second in 1976, and third in 1977. The dubious honor of the lowest average placement went to the Versailles PA Vigilantes, who finished 13th in their only appearance. The Red Carpet Association served the needs of its member corps in several different ways. Corps such as the Rhode Island Matadors and the Rochester Phoenix used Red Carpet as a stepping-stone to reach DCA membership. Corps like the Pittsburgh Rockets, Hanover Lancers, Guelph Royalaires and the Erie Thunderbirds competed successfully in both RCA and DCA. The Hamburg Kingsmen found a home in Red Carpet after failing to retain their DCA membership at the end of the 1974 season. Many other corps found that the level of competition and the location of the shows that were sanctioned by RCA was right for them and competed just in RCA. It is interesting to note that the Syracuse Brigadiers appeared just one time, during their attempted comeback in 1973, and finished in fourth place. The Brigs went on to finish 13th at DCA that year, just missing a membership position, and subsequently folded. The Brigs returned to the competitive field many years later and are now one of the strongest and most consistent senior corps. The following were the show locations and champions for each year that the RCA was in existence: August 16, 1969 Allentown PA Guelph Royalaires August 29, 1970 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets August 28, 1971 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets August 21, 1972 Erie PA Pittsburgh Rockets August 25, 1973 Erie PA Erie Thunderbirds August 24, 1974 Erie PA Guelph Royalaires, Erie Thunderbirds (tie) August 23, 1975 Hamilton ONT The Phoenix August 28, 1976 Hamilton ONT Erie Thunderbirds August 27, 1977 Jamestown NY Hanover Lancers What follows is a complete listing of all of the corps that competed in the RCA championship shows. It is believed that a preliminary competition was held at one or more of the RCA Championship shows, but no scores were found during the research that was conducted for this article. Phoenix Rochester NY Royalaires Guelph ONT Pittsburgh Rockets Pittsburgh PA Westshoremen Harrisburg PA Canada's Marching Ambassadors Toronto ONT Erie Thunderbirds Erie PA Canadian Commanders Burlington ONT Syracuse Brigadiers Syracuse NY Connecticut Yankees Stratford CT Brass Inc. St. Paul MN Hamburg Kingsmen Hamburg NY Emmaus Sentinels Emmaus PA Rhode Island Matadors Providence RI Grenadiers/Yardmen Kingston ONT Hanover Lancers Hanover PA Kawartha Kavaliers Lindsay ONT Dansville White Sabers Dansville NY Johnsonburg Diplomats Johnsonburg PA Maumee Demons Maumee OH Gardner Guards Altoona PA Suburban Knights Getzville NY Dunkirk Patriots Dunkirk NY Imperial Knights Sudbury ONT Esquires Westmoreland PA Garden Statesmen Dover NJ York White Roses York PA Vern Acklin Cavaliers Verona PA Freestatesmen Cumberland MD Vigilantes Versailles PA Edited May 29, 2004 by Roger Ellis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 29, 2004 Author Share Posted May 29, 2004 (edited) Thank you Roger . I have to look thru the History of DC books again but I don't remember any mention of the RCA in either of them. I remember Westshoremen competed in RCA shows 75-77 (mostly 76) until we made full DCA membership in 77. Only RCA Championship I was at was Erie in '76. It was a ten corps show but there was no Prelims. Edit: Ooops, just read Rogers sig and he already knows about '76 RCA... Edited May 29, 2004 by JimF-xWSMBari Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 Thank you Roger . no doubt! Roger is the man on this stuff,................ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ripper Posted May 29, 2004 Share Posted May 29, 2004 I am pretty sure York White Roses were from Toronto not PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimF-LowBari Posted May 29, 2004 Author Share Posted May 29, 2004 I am pretty sure York White Roses were from Toronto not PA Oh man how to explain this one with out reaching for the asprin. In 1976 the Hershey Chocolatiers and York White Roses (both PA) merged to form the "Hershey Chocolatiers-York White Roses". Pretty sure HC-YWR was the offical name as I heard it all year at the shows. The corps did the exhibition at the Hershey DCA show that year and that's how they were announced (I was in the stands that night). According to Rich Sennett (Hershey DM) the York part was dropped when the corps competed at DCA Prelims held at Hershey. I have no idea what resources the two corps had when they merged. Hershey ran the DCA show for years and have no idea what was going on in York. Also have no idea what name the corps used in 1978 (Ohhhh JaminBennnnn). Problem is if you look in the DC Web Pages the corps is listed as either HC or YWR and hardly ever the merged name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzgok Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I am pretty sure York White Roses were from Toronto not PA Oh man how to explain this one with out reaching for the asprin. In 1976 the Hershey Chocolatiers and York White Roses (both PA) merged to form the "Hershey Chocolatiers-York White Roses". Pretty sure HC-YWR was the offical name as I heard it all year at the shows. The corps did the exhibition at the Hershey DCA show that year and that's how they were announced (I was in the stands that night). According to Rich Sennett (Hershey DM) the York part was dropped when the corps competed at DCA Prelims held at Hershey. I have no idea what resources the two corps had when they merged. Hershey ran the DCA show for years and have no idea what was going on in York. Also have no idea what name the corps used in 1978 (Ohhhh JaminBennnnn). Problem is if you look in the DC Web Pages the corps is listed as either HC or YWR and hardly ever the merged name. Having seen them at many parades and many shows, they were from York, PA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Matczak Posted May 30, 2004 Share Posted May 30, 2004 I am pretty sure York White Roses were from Toronto not PA nope, ask Dan Rippon of 5 Star,............I saw them in Erie for RCA championships in 75 and 76, definitely York, PA,.............says so in the program book I'm looking at now,..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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