traverbanking

The thread is titled 'Some old drum corps photos". It was last updated October 1, 2019.

Even though DCI, from its beginning, did not require color presentations, the U.S. Flag Code was part of the DCI rule book until some time in the late '70s. The flag code required that the U.S. flag be guarded by a corps member carrying a weapon. The U.S. flag must always be the flag furthest to the right. This included flash flags used in the drill by the "working" color guard. In order not to incur penalties due to violations of the flag code, in the early DCI era corps would use a "faux" U.S. flag such as a "76" flag with a "76" in the blue field instead of 50 stars.

Several posters have asked about the rent for LOS. The answer may be 0. When Indianapolis was trying to entice DCI to make a long-term commitment to hold their championship in Indianapolis, I believe they offered DCI a ten-year free stadium rental.That ten-year contract ran out several years ago. DCI signed a contract extension, but I do not know whether the contract extension continued the $0 rental. I believe LOS is owned by the city and can be used for certain conventions that take place in Indianapolis. Few conventions take place during the summer, so DCI fills hotel rooms that would otherwise be empty. DCI fans eat at local restaurants and the corps buy food to feed the corps at local supermarkets. DCI has gone without a lot of their usual income generators during the last year: ticket puchases, souvenir sales, recording sales,Friends of DCI renewals, partners of DCI renewals, etc.

This posting from the DCP Historical Forum should help to explain that part of the Boston Crusaders history: sabbath965 DCP Rookie Members 0 10 posts Posted October 13, 2007 The article is long, but well worth it. The author shows what it took one drum corps to stay alive no matter what the risks were. You will shead a tear, for this was one group of amazing people. 1973 Boston Crusaders The following article was originally published in the August 10, 2007 edition of Drum Corps World (Volume 36, Number 10). It is published here at the request of the author. In Memory of Neil O. Connolly The 1973 season was one very difficult, yet special year in the 67-year history of the Boston Crusaders Drum & Bugle Corps. To tell the story of this one season is a feat in itself, for many decades have passed us by and the memories seemingly blend together as one. The Boston Crusaders were hit by two major catastrophes two years before the 1973 season. These two catastrophes almost destroyed any idea of the Crusaders putting a corps together for the 1973 season. First, in the fall of 1971 the Old Post, the Crusaders’ home, burned to the ground, destroying much of their equipment, uniforms, instruments, trophies, memorabilia and many business records. The equipment could eventually be replaced, but the loss of the Old Post was absolutely devastating. A retrofitted firehouse on River Street, in the Lower Mills section of Dorchester, MA, it was the Crusaders’ home for more than a decade; it was the center of their universe. It’s where they gathered, whether they had practice or not. It was their home away from home. The thought was, no longer did the Crusaders have a sure place to practice on Sunday afternoons, no longer did the Crusaders have a place to store the equipment and uniforms, no longer did the members have a place to just kick back, hang around and simply relax. The corps was temporarily given, rent-free, the Salvation Army building in Quincy, MA,by its owner, Cosmo Mignosa. His son Paul was a member of corps. Later that year, the Crusaders participated in a parade down River Street in Lower Mills. As the corps marched past the empty parking lot where the Old Post once stood, the members came to a halt that stopped the parade. With the command of “left face,” members turned toward the Old Post spot, removed their shakos and sang the corps song, GIANT. The corps then proceeded down the street playing Conquest and the parade resumed. Second, in 1972 the Crusaders lost their long-running relationship with VFW Post #8699 from Lower Mills, due to their relationship with the newly-formed Drum Corps International. The corps’ relationship with DCI was in direct conflict with the VFW organization. The first DCI Championships were held at Warhawk Stadium in Whitewater, WI. The Boston Crusaders, one of the founding members, could not attend due to financial hardships of the past season. The decision not to participate in the first year of DCI was frowned upon by the DCI organizers, although [it seemed] they never quite understood the hardship of a self-funded, inner-city drum corps, which was the makeup of the Crusaders at that time. Labor Day, September 2, 1972 the corps had to move out of the Salvation Army. The Boston Crusaders were now homeless. They were a gypsy drum corps. The corps was broke, with zero assets and no place to meet or store their equipment. The Boston Crusaders were about to face one of the biggest challenges they ever faced. Drum corps was different back then, or at least it was for the Boston Crusaders. The season never really stopped for the corps. Members were together 12 months a year, not just during the summer. Now where would the corps go? Where would they meet for a parade or an event? Where would they practice? Where would they park the equipment truck -- a former Sunbeam bread truck that they painted red and white with a big black Waldo on the side. The situation was bleak. Dan Rinaldi, the corps manager, decided he would put all the uniforms, equipment and the truck into his home garage, under lock and key, in Allston, MA. The corps needed to find a new home Again! By the late fall of 1972, the Crusaders had arranged for Friday night full ensemble practices at Boston’s Commonwealth Armory, but thanks to age-outs, the military draft for the Vietnam War and the bleak situation, there were 15 members left in the corps. They marched back and forth in the armory all evening with just a straight beat. It seemed there was no reason now for the corps to have to rent the armory with just 15 members, but they did. It did not matter whether they had 15 or 200 members; this was a tradition, for they practiced Friday nights at the armory for many years into the future. After rehearsal they would gather together and try to figure what to do next? The future seemed very dim, even for the most ardent members. The powerhouse Boston Crusaders corps of the late 1960s and early 1970s was a distant memory. It was at this point that the organization changed its focus from being a nationally competitive drum corps to a drum corps merely trying to survive the season. The members truly lived the words of “GIANT,” the corps song -- “This corps is made of giants. We will never die, for we are Crusaders, true-blue Crusaders, we are Crusaders. Corps we love corps we love.” No matter how low attendance dropped, the Boston Crusaders continued to practice as though they had a full corps. The three greatest assets the corps had left were pride, determination and talent of the remaining members. The 1972 year ended with a management change as the corps director, Danny Dwan, was replaced by George Bevilacqua, a former drum major of the Crusaders from the late 1950s. Drum Major James “G” Watts was able to rally the remaining members and, despite the hardship and difficulty that faced them, planning began for the 1973 season. The first thing that needed to happen was a recruitment drive. Dan Rinaldi was able to attract eight girls from St. Anthony’s color guard in Allston, MA. Jim Centorino was able to attract six Boston College band members from Chestnut Hill, MA. The members themselves tried to recruit any band member they knew and went out of their way to meet others. They placed hundreds of telephone calls, visited high school band practices and knocked on doors. Whatever it took to get new members to fill the ranks, the hard core members never stopped in their efforts to keep the Crusaders alive. Even people with no band or drum corps experience were asked to join. The Boston Crusaders were not going to die -- no-way, no-how, not on their shift. The corps managed to get the membership up to 45 for competition throughout the 1973 season. They also had a strong commitment to maintain the Boston Crusader tradition, no matter how difficult things became. Before the 1973 program could begin, they needed to find a new home. Rinaldi had acquired a small brick building, which was a 12-foot by 25-foot hole in the wall; it was along the side of the Charles River in Cambridge, MA. In the early winter months, the corps moved into the Magazine Beach Post. It was a place the Crusaders would now call their home. Members slept there, rehearsed there and sometimes partied there. It was a very cold place, warmed only by portable heaters the members brought in, and they only worked half the time. The corps had members with nick names like Archie, Buck, Dusty, Fitzy, Fly, G, Guto, Poindexter, the Southie Boys and the South Shore Boys; also members like Tony Autori, the Marshall sisters, the Cummings sisters, the Connolly brothers -- a small nucleus of people who would give the shirt off their backs to help one another out, no questions asked. The members were extremely self-sufficient, both from an organizational standpoint and day-to-day logistics. Just getting the equipment truck to and from every rehearsal was extremely difficult because it frequently would not run. In fact, Dusty hand-painted a Mass inspection sticker on the wind shield so that the truck wouldn’t be pulled over for being unregistered. Transportation was difficult; coordinating whether everyone had a ride to a rehearsal, parade or a show took a great amount of effort. All the travel in the greater Boston area and other New England states was done by motorcade. Members paid a dollar a week in dues to help fund their survival. The older folks took care of the younger members, teaching each person what it means to be a Boston Crusader. They also looked out for their health and welfare, helping to make sure everyone made it through the season. Dan and Paul Pitts took care of the drum line instruments, while Terry Connolly was the horn doctor, always able to put the bugles back together with ingenuity and an acetylene torch. Tom Crown mended and put what was left of the uniforms together. The instructors for the 1973 season were -- Brass: Jim Centorino; Percussion: Dan and Paul Pitts; Visual: John " Monty" Montgomery; Color guard: Patty Marshall, Irene Foley; The 1973 repertoire: El Capitan, Yankee Doodle, Six Eighth drum solo, Man of La Mancha, War March-Battle Hymn of the Vikings, Cast a Giant Shadow, Hava Nagila, Meat and Metal Shoes (drum solo), California Dreamin’ and Conquest. “Drumfest” was an indoor concert held every April/May in McHugh Forum at Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA. It was the first show of the year. Junior corps from all over the East Coast were there -- the 27th Lancers, Beverly Cardinals, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, Garfield Cadets to name a few. The rumors before the season started were that the Boston Crusaders had folded. Did they or didn’t they? A lot of people were amazed to see that the corps name was still on the “Drumfest” lineup. It was the Crusaders’ turn to take the floor for competition. Each member came out onto the floor one by one, and then went to parade rest. There was such a lull in the crowd as if to say, “Is that it?” A lot of the crowd was staring in disbelief while the corps was doing their warm-up. You could hear fans saying, “Wow! What happened to them!?” Once the corps hit the first note of the 1973 repertoire, to the very end of Conquest, they were given such a rousing standing ovation. People were in awe that they could put out such a clean, powerful sound for such a small corps. It was now mid-spring. The Boston Crusaders at this time joined two local circuits for competition for the upcoming season -- The C.Y.O and the Mayflower circuits. They would give the corps more local exposure for future membership. The corps moved rehearsals outdoors to a parking lot at Daley Field in Watertown, MA. The field program was almost complete. The corps was now getting ready for their first field performance of the 1973 season. On the days off, members would get together and go to Red Sox baseball games, movies, outdoor concerts and some would even have sectionals. The bond between the members was becoming very strong at this point. The first field show was on Saturday, May 26, 1973. It was in Weymouth, MA. At first, you heard people snicker at the size of the corps. One could see mouths drop. People could just not believe what the corps was putting on the field. The corps entered the stadium, then went to parade rest and stayed that way in true Crusader tradition, without moving, for 45 minutes. Boston was one of the corps everyone wanted to see -- no matter what. The corps was standing on the starting line and was received with a rousing ovation, from beginning to end. The crowd loved them. They got a score of 56.40 and came in seventh out of seven corps. They were up against big-name corps that had 128 members -- allowed at that time under DCI rules. After the Crusaders finished their show, Manager Dan Rinaldi told them that, while they were at parade rest, he was cruising the stands listening to the comments of the crowd. At first the people in the stands didn’t notice, but then one by one they started to notice. There was a kind of hush of almost being in awe -- as if the crowd’s brains were trying to process what they were witnessing. The buzz in the stands was, “Is that Boston?” ”Hey, look! They have not moved in all this whole time!” Comments of “CLASS,” etc. were being heard. Respect was earned. The Boston Crusaders adopted a motto at that show -- “A Winner Never Quits And A Quitter Never Wins / Quality, Not Quantity.” Standing ovations became the norm show after show. The intestinal fortitude the members portrayed day after day was something to behold; for other corps folded at this size. The members knew they had a shot at nothing. They knew deep in their hearts that they were not going to be able to beat other 128-member corps. Ît didn’t matter, though. They did it for themselves and the men and women who came before them who wore the uniform with such great pride and respect. They did it so others in the future could wear the Crusader uniform and someday return the Crusaders to its rightful place as one of the finest drum corps in the country. The Crusaders held there own field show on July 1, 1973. The corps was able to acquire Quincy Stadium in Quincy, MA. It was a local Mayflower Circuit show. It rained most of the morning, then the clouds parted and the skies cleared to a beautiful, bright Sunday afternoon. The stadium’s concert side was full with jubilant fans. All different class corps performed in competition. The Crusaders then took the field for exhibition. They gave a very exciting and gripping performance. The reaction of the fans at their home show was simply amazing. Things were starting to fall into place a bit easier now that they were coming into the second half of the season. The corps went on to the World Open at the Manning Bowl in Lynn, MA. The Boston Crusaders performed early that Friday morning, August 3. They got their best score of the season, a 68.05, and came in 17th place out 31 corps. No finals for them this year at the World Open. It was like a dagger in the heart not to be there. The Boston Crusaders were a perennial favorite at the World Open Finals for many seasons, up until that one. The members of the corps were enjoying the season so far. There was much camaraderie throughout the ranks. They were all they had, no chaperones, no one to greet them after the show to give them water or no cooking team to feed them. They fed themselves or fed other members who had no money. The second DCI Championships were being held August 16 and 17 at Whitewater’s Warhawk Stadium for the second year in a row. The corps director, George Bevilacqua, chartered a plane from Boston, MA to Whitewater, WI, with each and every member paying their own way. Dan Rinaldi paid for Joe “Bananas” Bertolami’s plane ticket. Joe, who was an avid fan and a follower of the corps for many a decade, always asked, “How many horns we got?” and “We gonna get some more?” By being able to go on the plane with the corps, Joe was so ecstatic that he would be able to see them perform. After traveling all night and getting very little sleep, the corps performed in the Thursday morning prelims. As the Crusaders entered Warhawk Stadium to line up, the crowd seemed like they were becoming numb to the performances on the field. When the Crusaders began their show with four powerful cymbal crashes by Buck and Trent, heads from the crowd turned, people again could not believe what they were seeing and hearing. It was by far the corps’ best performance of the season. People in the stands were screaming and yelling. They were amazed at the corps’ performance. The Boston Crusaders had survived. With a score of 57.00, the Crusaders placed 37th out of 63 corps. No DCI finalist!!! It was the end of the season. The members knew that though all the difficulty, along with blood, sweat and tears, they endured in this one special season, it was all well worth it in the end. The drum corps world knew that the Boston Crusaders had passed the test. They would all do it again as many of the members did year after year until they aged out. Somewhere in their souls, the 1973 Boston Crusader members knew that what they were doing was bigger than themselves. The Crusader tradition of dedication, pride and achievement was not to be lost. The corps has never lived in the past, they remember, they rejoice, but they always move on. The Boston Crusader tradition continues today with the corps returning to national prominence, placing in the DCI top-10 for the past eight years. Before each and every show, the Crusaders remove their shakos and sing the corps song, Giant. “This corps is made of giants. We will never die.” Thanks to the 1973 Boston Crusaders, the song and the legend continues. The author wants to sincerly thank Barbara “Fly” Archambault, Kevin “Archie” Archambault, Tony Autori, Trent Bradbury, Neil Connolly, Patty Marshall Stine and Jim “G” Watts, for all their help with this article. Without them this would not have been possible. Quote GuyW DCP Veteran Members 3 516 posts Location:San Bernardino CA (was San Diego) Posted October 13, 2007 It's impossible not to be impressed by such loyalty and dedication! Thanks, Crusaders for the life lessons... Quote G-BUGLE CORPS! ANYTHING ELSE IS JUST........marching band... CODI DCP Veteran Members 1 160 posts Posted October 17, 2007 Being a former member of "The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps" during the 1960's!! Congratulations!!! This young group of men and women are the heart and soul of this fine corps. I can't remember the year but it was during the mid 70's, it was a show at Manning Bowl and there was a rain delay, and "Boston" was to go on next and they were told to go back under the cement stands until the weather broke. They stood at "attention" for over 45 minutes and did not move. People were shocked, they could not believe what they saw, as they walked by eating burgers, hot dogs, and a coke. Boston was not at the top, but they were at the top with class and determination!!! To all the individuals who were named in the article, my hat goes off to you. Also through the years there were some other individuals, who will remain nameless, but know who they are, who kept "The Giant" living, my hat goes off to you!!! Now that the old staff has been replaced, namely "Howard"(Hope you have a good time with Garfield), I only hope the new staff will welcome back the alumni from the 50's, 60's, and and the heart and soul of the corps the "70's"!!! Neil Connolly was a "True Crusader", and I salute him!!! A true "Giant"!!!! "Just thinking of the good old years"!!!! Digga 50's, 60's, 70's Quote 11 years later... Luc D DCP Rookie Members 0 1 post Posted September 9, 2019 What an impressive and inspiring story. Respect from Montréal! Note: We would love to see BAC in Montréal for a possible competition in the near future... Keep that in mind. 😉 Quote Reply to this topic... Go to topic listing Next unread topic Recently Browsing 1 member traverbanking Unread Content Mark site read Home Drum Corps International (DCI) Corps Discussions Historical Junior Corps Discussions 1973 Boston Crusaders Please review Drum Corps Planet's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The contents of this site are copyright (C) 2005-2017 DCP Partners, LLC and all rights are reserved. Requests for use may be directed to the DCP Office. Drum Corps Planet™ and the DCP logo are trademarks of DCP Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Theme Privacy Policy Contact Us The contents of this site are owned by DCP Partners, LLC

It's important to remember that during the '70s. '80s and '90s, a separate judge was hired for the championship to judge color guard. This judge's score was NOT added to the other judges' scores.

I believe he marched with Blue Rock.

.

Your timing couldn't be better. This year (2021) marks the 100th anniversary of the first national championship of drum and bugle corps which took place at the American Legion national convention in Kansas City, Missouri in 1921. We know which post finished first and which post finished second. Both posts are still active American Legion posts. 1. General George A. Custer Post 54 Battle Creek, Michigan 2. Sangsmor Post Springfield, Illinois

The partnership pool is the division of each year's profits to finance the DCI office and the world class corps. Open class corps ,Soundsport and Drum Line Battle see very little of this money.

That thread disappeared because one of the frequent posters to that thread posted that he was being stalked in other social media by an anti-vaxer and he requested that mods delete that thread to protect his safety.

The 55-minimum is for new Open Class corps seeking evaluation, Currently-competing corps still have the 30-minimum.

Riverside Amusement Park (now Six Flags New England) in Agawam, Massachusetts hosted drum corps competitions which took place on the infield of their auto racetrack.

i believe that I have read that the 1955 VFW Nationals in Boston were affected by corps deciding not to travel to Boston because of fears of polio. There were only 11 corps in junior corps prelims, most of them from Massachusetts.

The eligibility rule is that 22-year-olds can march if their birthday occurs between June 1 and the night of finals. That is, about of one-fifth of 22-year olds can march. Because the 2020 season was canceled, people who were accepted into a corps and would have aged out in 2020 were given a one-year extension.

The biggest factor was the start of the school year. Some southern states moved their school calendar to start on August 15th. When this happened, DCI moved their championship from the third weekend in August to the second weekend.

Tom Peashey was the color commentator for the PBS broadcast by the the upstate New York (Syracuse or Rochester) station that produced it. There was no national broadcast, just local broadcast. It was recorded by that station. Several years later, Tom went to the station to try to get a copy made of the recording. When the station examined their archive, they learned that the station had re-recorded over the 1974 DCI championship.

The Bridgemen's defense was as follows: The overage member never marched a contest as a 22-year old. He would turn 22 while on tour and the Bridgemen had a spare with them on tour to take over the spot when the ageout turned 22. The problem was that DCI, at a rules congress had changed the eligibility rule. The rule in effect in 1977 said no 21-year old could march in any contest if he/she turned 22 at any time before the day of finals. The Bridgemen claimed not to aware of this rule change.

The answer to the Bergman trivia question: Bergman's film "Smiles of a Summer Night" was adapted by Sondheim into the musical "A Little Night Music". That musical contains the song "Send in the Clowns".

The IOC is always concerned about the total number of athletes participating in a particular Olympic Games. All athletes have to be taken care in the Olympic village with dorm rooms and meals for the two-week duration of the Games. Currently, the team sport with the largest number of athletes per team allowed is ice hockey (20 members). Drum corps upper limit is 150 x the number of countries. Ain't gonna happen.

It was probably the DCI Executive Board who voted to implement this. The DCI Board of Directors will have their annual meeting in January, at which time they may vote to overturn or modify it.

My guess is that both corps were in violation of the rule that existed back then that a certain minimum percentage of each senior corps had to consist of military veterans.

2020 DCA is August 29 and 30. That is the weekend before Labor day weekend.

The Saturday contest in Alabama was a DCI contest with DCI judges. Those judges gave recorded feedback to the DCA corps who appeared in exhibition. The Sunday contest in Georgia was a DCA/DCI contest with DCA judges for the DCA corps and DCI judges for the DCI corps.

The worst aspect of Annapolis was the stadium management (per Maryland law) taking control of the prelims contest away from DCA during the rain/lightning storm. DCA should not hold a contest in a state that gives the stadium management that power.

Pioneer announced several months ago that the trip to DCA in 2019 was to allow their members to compete in the Individual and Ensemble competition (as Pioneer Alumni, presumably). No evaluation is needed for I & E.