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Best Rifle Line: 1976 Buckeye State Caballaros


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Being from Erie, I saw BSC a bunch of times in that era,..........The conical sound projectors on the snare drums was an innovation that I think is a better concept than scoops,...........anyway, you should visit corpsreps.com and send in updates for the corps page, as there is no info at all on 76, no corps history, just a few photos,..............

That's pretty pretty awesome that someone would remember and recognize the snare projectors that we used that year. They were the invention of the Cabs drum instructor.

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Before 1980 it was a tick if someone dropped a rifle, flag or instrument. Only 27th, Phantom and Cavaliers and the Kilties tried anything more than single tosses and various "artistic maneuvers."

In 1976 The Class A Corps Buckeye State Caballaros performed quite possibly the first ever color guard equipment exchange in such songs as "Hill Where The Lord Hides" and "If" in an era when not only did rifles have to be caught, but thrown, caught in unison with the same heights. Not like the last nearly three decades where precision or even dropping doesn't have any effect on the score. (1988 Bluecoats Autumn Leaves at 3:14)

Despite maneuvers thought impossible BSC didn't get hardly a single tick and got 2.0 in virtually every show.

It's sort of a tragedy that we competed in Class A before crowds usually less than 5,000 in small stadiums like George Finnie. To use the concept of UNIQUE VISITORS versus repeat visitors to drum corps crowds, it's unlikely that we had any more than 14,000 "unique spectators" that summer. Thirty five years later there are probably less than 10,000 of those spectators who are still alive who remember us. But, I'm sure they talk about us feeling grateful to have been in a crowd that summer to see such a daring rifle line.

I have judges tapes where the judges state in no uncertain terms that we were the best guard of all time to the date. I sat in the crowds that summer hearing members in Marion, Butler and Toledo of SCV, 27, Phantom proclaim to collectively paraphrase, "We wish we were as good as this Caballaros Corps from Cleveland." The crowds were blown away wondering how they did it. So, this isn't just my family related opinion but that of judges, fans and members of other corps.

I heard as a younger sibling spectator that some spectators questioned why they let the rile line assume such a physical injury risk. Not even considering the ticks.

It's a shame that we didn't go to Philadelphia.

We (they, my siblings) did a rifle exchange like Phantom did in 1980 at about 2:14 back to back turn around, when dropping a rifle counted and couldn't be retrieved. Some of the judges seemed to have heart attacks seeing what we (they) had just done over and over. From Symphonic Dance #3 "Fiesta" all the way through to the final push in "If."

If you judge the terms "All Time" by what was done at the time based on the rules (or in the present case, lack of rules), then there is nothing that can be less disputed then the best rifle line ever being the 1976 Buckeye State Caballaros: Danny, Cecil,Marianne, Laura, Marcia, Pam, Donna, Carolyn, Barb (?),Donna et al.

There are no videos of BSC on The Legacy Collection. A video would paint a thousand words.

I wish Drum Corps International would put together DVD's of non top 12 corps-even Class A, Division II and now called Open Class Corps so those corps few people are still alive remember, like the 1966 IC Revieres can enjoy. If anyone has a home movie that was transfered to VCR and now is on DVD of the 1976 BSC, it would be a great service to Drum Corps education to post it here and for DCP to allow it to remain.

Hopefully, if DCI doesn't start a non top 12 Legacy Collection, at least people can google this posting which is the real reason why I am posted it. Hopefully, "Best Drum Corps Rifle Line" will yield this posting.

Steve Bayt

marching member 1977-1981 of the corps with the best all time rifle line.

I hate to burst your bubble, but rifle lines were tossing rifles in the mid sixties, and with 11 pound real rifles, Kilties most notably. Troopers also did it with their toy rifles, but they were regularly ridiculed by the units carrying real rifles. The Mariners tossed real, heavy sabers across the field to each other, which beyond being difficult, was highly dangerous. I'm sorry, but you can't claim to be the best line or the first to exchange equipment.

Edited by alankarls
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I hate to burst your bubble, but rifle lines were tossing rifles in the mid sixties, and with 11 pound real rifles, Kilties most notably. Troopers also did it with their toy rifles, but they were regularly ridiculed by the units carrying real rifles. The Mariners tossed real, heavy sabers across the field to each other, which beyond being difficult, was highly dangerous. I'm sorry, but you can't claim to be the best line or the first to exchange equipment.

I like my bubble. I don't want it burst. It's a good bubble. Bubbles are good to have. We were the best-bubble or no bubble. Don't burst my bubble. It's my bubble and I like it very much.

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Lawrence Welk did pretty good with bubbles...still is on PBS!

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I really miss all the real precision from back in the 70's. You don't see that anymore. Now it's all scatter drill and a bunch of dance. ( not that there is anything wrong with that it's just different)

As long as this thread has been resurrected and we're putting precision pics up:

Kingsmenrifles.png

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Before 1980 it was a tick if someone dropped a rifle, flag or instrument. Only 27th, Phantom and Cavaliers and the Kilties tried anything more than single tosses and various "artistic maneuvers."

In 1976 The Class A Corps Buckeye State Caballaros performed quite possibly the first ever color guard equipment exchange in such songs as "Hill Where The Lord Hides" and "If" in an era when not only did rifles have to be caught, but thrown, caught in unison with the same heights. Not like the last nearly three decades where precision or even dropping doesn't have any effect on the score. (1988 Bluecoats Autumn Leaves at 3:14)

With all due respect that particular issue in the 1988 show was caused by the wind tunnel effect at the stadium. When the outside door opened to let in a corps it was usually no problem since the inside door to the field level was still closed, however, when BD entered the inside door was opened prior to the outside door being closed causing a wind tunnel effect which blew right accross the field at the time when the guard did their lay down toss. If you watch the video you can see as soon as the rifles leave their hands all of them immediately go flying about 3-4 steps down the field. This was the only time that the rifle line had this issue the whole season.

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I really miss all the real precision from back in the 70's. You don't see that anymore. Now it's all scatter drill and a bunch of dance. ( not that there is anything wrong with that it's just different)

there is very little scatter drill, back in the 80's & early 90's the scatter drill became popular but you don't see it much anymore. I know Madison did it back in 2011.

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With all due respect that particular issue in the 1988 show was caused by the wind tunnel effect at the stadium. When the outside door opened to let in a corps it was usually no problem since the inside door to the field level was still closed, however, when BD entered the inside door was opened prior to the outside door being closed causing a wind tunnel effect which blew right accross the field at the time when the guard did their lay down toss. If you watch the video you can see as soon as the rifles leave their hands all of them immediately go flying about 3-4 steps down the field. This was the only time that the rifle line had this issue the whole season.

Thank you for providing the answer to one of the biggest mystery in Drum Corps. I have been wondering about this for about 4 years when the Ohio University Library started carrying The Legacy Collection and was trying to figure out a song I had in my head since "the late 1980's." I went through Sky Riders, Freelancers, etc. trying to figure out where Autumn Leaves came from. I didn't think that that many riflers can all of a sudden collapse simultaneously when the rest of the show was really great.

While I have your attention. Do you agree with me that the 1988 reboot was much better than the 1987 ? In my opinion the 1988 version is much more jazzy and has much more contrast. The 1987 seems a bit stiff.

Edited by CaballarosJr.
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That's pretty pretty awesome that someone would remember and recognize the snare projectors that we used that year. They were the invention of the Cabs drum instructor.

It is a fantastic idea,...........does anyone have a photo of these to post up?,.............were the cones made specifically for this purpose, or were they made for some other purpose and adapted?

Edited by Gary Matczak
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I hate to burst your bubble, but rifle lines were tossing rifles in the mid sixties, and with 11 pound real rifles, Kilties most notably. Troopers also did it with their toy rifles, but they were regularly ridiculed by the units carrying real rifles. The Mariners tossed real, heavy sabers across the field to each other, which beyond being difficult, was highly dangerous. I'm sorry, but you can't claim to be the best line or the first to exchange equipment.

Hamburg Kingsmen (DCA corps) also had a 3 man rifle line that used M1s with bayonettes, as a kid in the 60s, I was amazed and scared at the same time,............

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