KeithHall Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 What top 12 corps started out at the bottom, or near the bottom, of drum corps? I would have to say the only top 12 corps today would have to be Bluecoats. But what other corps from previous years had a not so successful season? Glassmen maybe? Others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithHall Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Blue Knights 1975 maybe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 "Start at the Bottom:" Denver's Blue Knights started "Way Down" and worked themselves into a "Top Twelve" finisher. Going "Way Back" Hutchinson KS Skyriders made it into the "Top Twelve" after years of struggle. Elphaba WWW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Suncoast Sound started out in 40th place in '79 and made it as high as 5th. Blue Stars started out near the top with 2nd in '72, dropped as low as 37th in '82 and back into the top 12 in recent years. Boston Crusaders were at 39th place in '73 and have made it into the top 5 a couple times. Cascades were dead last (45th) in '77 and made finals in 2002. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cixelsyd Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 I think the ultimate examples of "starting at the bottom, making top 12" would have to be Seattle Cascades and Dutch Boy. Cascades are well known for having presevered after a last-place finish in the 1977 open-class prelims. But back then, the last-place open-class corps could be an above-average competitor in the overall activity. Cascades started at the true bottom back in the mid-1960s as the feeder corps for the Seattle Thunderbirds, splitting in 1968 and growing from there. No matter how you parse the history, Dutch Boy worked their way up from the bottom. Like the Cascades, the corps that eventually made 12th place at DCI began as a feeder corps. That began in 1977, but their parent corps (Kitchener-Waterloo Northstars) folded two years later, and the feeder program stuck together and grew in both age and size. Looking further back, the origins of the parent Northstars (Flying Dutchmen and Dutch Boy Cadets) both began in the lowest classes of Ontario competition (novice and/or standstill) and worked their way up from there. Technically, the Blue Stars also grew from a feeder corps first competing in 1983 to the finalist we see today, after their parent corps folded following the 1982 season. There are a number of other corps who climbed from humble competitive beginnings to the top 12, such as: Anaheim Scouts (Kingsmen and Velvet Knights) Argonne Rebels Blue Knights Bluecoats Dubuque Legionnaires (Colts) Sacramento Capitalaires (Freelancers) Maumee Suns (Glassmen) Guardsmen Kilties And while Carolina Crown was an excellent first-year corps in 1990, remember that they finished last in DCI open-class. So they actually rose from last place to champion over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Thunder Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 If you want to go pre-DCI.... Phantom Regiment scored 25.35 on July 4, 1969, in Rockford. Madison scored 46.27 on July 3, 1967 in Racine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 (edited) "Name Change Anyone": Pre DCI: The Alamo Rangers became the Chicago Royal Airs, winners of the 1965 VFW, CYO and American Legion national Championships. The Sunnyvale Sparks evolved into the Santa Clara Vanguard. I believe the Blue Devils Drum & Bell Corps turned into the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps. Elphaba WWW Edited March 18, 2016 by elphaba01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tapper7 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Kind of a poor topic, members tend to get ###### when you trash their corps. I'm thinking of 4 div1 corps I won't name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindap Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Kind of a poor topic is true. These many threads over many years are depressing. I've lost my train of thought many times. So sad. Too bad. I'm an optimist with stories that have no place here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fran Haring Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 I'm an optimist with stories that have no place here. Toronto or Seneca? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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