Old Corps Articles

[Rifuarian]

From time to time I've happened on newspaper articles that offer a glimpse into some eras of drum corps' nearly forgotten past. I thought the folks who regularly read this board might be interested, so I've decided to transcribe a few here.

This one is from the Sept. 21, 1937 New York Times, and is the most comprehensive description of the AL championship I've found:

25,000 See Buglers Pick New Champion

Contest at Polo Grounds Lasts 14 Hours as 58 Legion Corps do Turns for Throng

CALIFORNIA TEAM IS VICTOR

Crowd Thrills to Precision Drilling by 12 Finalists Under Floodlights

In the gargantuan manner in which the Legion does things, the pick of the fife, drum, and bugle corps of the country strutted and tooted from 9 o'clock yesterday morning until 11 o'clock last night at the Polo Grounds to pick a new national champion and the winner of a $1,250 purse.

When the results were announced the silk-clad caballeros of San Gabriel, Calif. who had introduced a carioca step into march manoeuvre, were the winners. They competed against eleven other teams in the finals, after forty-six teams had been eliminated during the morning and afternoon. Twenty-five thousand persons cheered the marching precision and colorful uniforms of the corps last night.

The Commonwealth Edison Post 118 of Chicago, defending champion, with its complicated echelon movements, finished seventh - out of the prize money.

Other Events Are Staged

While the drum and bugle corps were staging their competition at the Polo Grounds, the Legion bands were playing at the Mall in Central Park, the Sons of the Legion Drum and Bugle Corps were playing at Lewisohn Stadium and rifle teams were drilling at the Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory

On the grass carpeted outfield of the Polo Grounds, the brightly uniformed units of all the competitions were massed before a girl drum major twirling a flaming baton for a spectacular finale. Floodlights gleamed on the silver and brass instruments, and picked out flashes of light from the buttons and spurs of various units. Then as the notes of "The Star Spangled Banner" died away the lights were dimmed and in the infield a long [sic] bugler, standing in an island of light in the waste of darkness, blew taps.

The California team which won the drum and bugle corps competition was the least conventionally uniformed of all. Most of the units wore adaptions of standard uniforms in bright scarlets, whites, yellows, and blues.

The San Gabriel Corps, national winners for the second time, wore dark silk trousers cut with a flare at the bottom and with a slash of silk scarlet at the side. These were held with a scarlet silk cummerbund and topped with a white silk blouse. The hats were the flat black Mexican type with a scarlet button.

When they swung onto the field behind drum major Bill Osmond they executed the usual company front and column of squad movements and then broke into open field formations with there backward and sidestep carioca formation, all done in marching cadence of 128 steps to the minute. All the while the drums beat a tattoo and the trumpets played lilting music. Then they massed in the center to play the Military Escort, and swung off the field after the fourteen minute gun.

Each of the smartly drilled units had to pass a minute inspection of uniforms and equipment before going on the field. They were judged on that, they were judged on marching and execution, on general appearance, and judged separately on drum beat and bugle notes. Stops on the trumpets were sealed with adhesive tape to restrict them to the four notes of a bugle and inspected after formation. Ten of the fourteen minutes had to be spent in marching manoeuvres.

Tied for second and third places in drum and bugle corps events, and dividing prizes of $700 and $350, were the groups from East Orange (N.J.) Post 73 and Henry H. Houston 2d Post 3 of Germantown, in Philadelphia.

Miami Outfit is Fourth

Fourth place and a prize of $200 was won by the Miami (Fla.) Harvey W. Seeds Post 29, four times national champions. They wore a white service-type uniform, with Sam Browne belts and white enameled steel helmets. They were winners of a competition at Paris ten years ago and will sail on Friday as guests of the French Government to defend their honors. Their drill was a series of complicated wheels and obliques.

The other posts finished in the following order:

Anderson-Dunn-Kochiss Post 46, Stratford, Conn.

Herbert F. Akroyd Post 132, Marlboro, Mass.

Commonwealth Edison Post 118, Chicago.

Malden, Mass., Post 69.

Old Dorchester Drum Corps Post 65, Boston.

Amon Gray Post 83, LaPorte, Ind.

Curtis J. Redden Post 210, Danville, Ill.

Massillon, Ohio, Post 221.

The Rifle Drill Team Competition, in which eight teams competed, was won by Newton Post 48 of West Newton, Mass., with 90 points. The defending champion, Wollston Post 295 of Wollston, Mass., was second with 88.5

In the band competition the bands had to play a Rimsky-Korsakoff melody and a selection of their own choice. Vesey Walker was chairman of this event. The bands and the order of finish follow:

1. St. Louis Musicians Post 394.

2. Syracuse Post 41.

3. Columbus (Ohio) Franklin Post 1.

4. New Orleans Post 125.

5. Canton (Ohio) Post 44.

6. Richmond (Ind.) Harry Ray Post 65.

7. Oconomowoc (Wisc.) Post 91.

8. Norwood (Mass.) Post 70.

9. Peoria (Ill.) Post 2.

2d and Last Add Legion Drums competition for the Cleveland Trophy, a trophy as large as some of the participating drum majors, and $150 was won by Des Moines, Iowa. Syracuse won second prize of $100 and Baltimore third prize of $50. Other competitors in the order of their score were Lowell, Mass.; Washington; Worcester, Mass.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; Welson, Mo.; Murphysboro, Ill.; West Springfield, Mass.; Wallingford, Conn.; Buffalo; Altoona, Pa.; Bradford, Pa.; Youngstown, Ohio; LaGrange, Ga.; and Gulfport, Miss.

The Jackson (Mich.) Zouaves presented their specialty, a complicated drill in which the finale is the scaling of a high wall.

Lawrence McNally of the Manhattan Borough President Post 84 was general chairman of the competition. Judges of the drum and bugle corps competition were Captains D.G. Erskine, C.E. Hart, W.S. Matthews, J.S. Roosma, W.J. Sexton, George A. Heyer, Lieutenant J. Riesta, Sergeants Charles Nabor and Emil O. Dintsch, and Frank Martin, Burns Moore, and Sanford Moeller.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Rifuarian

[baja]

From time to time I've happened on newspaper articles that offer a glimpse into some eras of drum corps' nearly forgotten past. I thought the folks who regularly read this board might be interested, so I've decided to transcribe a few here.

This one is from the Sept. 31, 1937 New York Times, and is the most comprehensive description of the AL championship I've found:

25,000 See Buglers Pick New Champion

Contest at Polo Grounds Lasts 14 Hours as 58 Legion Corps do Turns for Throng

CALIFORNIA TEAM IS VICTOR

Crowd Thrills to Precision Drilling by 12 Finalists Under Floodlights

In the gargantuan manner in which the Legion does things, the pick of the fife, drum, and bugle corps of the country strutted and tooted from 9 o'clock yesterday morning until 11 o'clock last night at the Polo Grounds to pick a new national champion and the winner of a $1,250 purse.

When the results were announced the silk-clad caballeros of San Gabriel, Calif. who had introduced a carioca step into march manoeuvre, were the winners. They competed against eleven other teams in the finals, after forty-six teams had been eliminated during the morning and afternoon. Twenty-five thousand persons cheered the marching precision and colorful uniforms of the corps last night.

The Commonwealth Edison Post 118 of Chicago, defending champion, with its complicated echelon movements, finished seventh - out of the prize money.

Other Events Are Staged

While the drum and bugle corps were staging their competition at the Polo Grounds, the Legion bands were playing at the Mall in Central Park, the Sons of the Legion Drum and Bugle Corps were playing at Lewisohn Stadium and rifle teams were drilling at the Sixty-ninth Regiment Armory

On the grass carpeted outfield of the Polo Grounds, the brightly uniformed units of all the competitions were massed before a girl drum major twirling a flaming baton for a spectacular finale. Floodlights gleamed on the silver and brass instruments, and picked out flashes of light from the buttons and spurs of various units. Then as the notes of "The Star Spangled Banner" died away the lights were dimmed and in the infield a long [sic] bugler, standing in an island of light in the waste of darkness, blew taps.

The California team which won the drum and bugle corps competition was the least conventionally uniformed of all. Most of the units wore adaptions of standard uniforms in bright scarlets, whites, yellows, and blues.

The San Gabriel Corps, national winners for the second time, wore dark silk trousers cut with a flare at the bottom and with a slash of silk scarlet at the side. These were held with a scarlet silk cummerbund and topped with a white silk blouse. The hats were the flat black Mexican type with a scarlet button.

When they swung onto the field behind drum major Bill Osmond they executed the usual company front and column of squad movements and then broke into open field formations with there backward and sidestep carioca formation, all done in marching cadence of 128 steps to the minute. All the while the drums beat a tattoo and the trumpets played lilting music. Then they massed in the center to play the Military Escort, and swung off the field after the fourteen minute gun.

Each of the smartly drilled units had to pass a minute inspection of uniforms and equipment before going on the field. They were judged on that, they were judged on marching and execution, on general appearance, and judged separately on drum beat and bugle notes. Stops on the trumpets were sealed with adhesive tape to restrict them to the four notes of a bugle and inspected after formation. Ten of the fourteen minutes had to be spent in marching manoeuvres.

Tied for second and third places in drum and bugle corps events, and dividing prizes of $700 and $350, were the groups from East Orange (N.J.) Post 73 and Henry H. Houston 2d Post 3 of Germantown, in Philadelphia.

Miami Outfit is Fourth

Fourth place and a prize of $200 was won by the Miami (Fla.) Harvey W. Seeds Post 29, four times national champions. They wore a white service-type uniform, with Sam Browne belts and white enameled steel helmets. They were winners of a competition at Paris ten years ago and will sail on Friday as guests of the French Government to defend their honors. Their drill was a series of complicated wheels and obliques.

The other posts finished in the following order:

Anderson-Dunn-Kochiss Post 46, Stratford, Conn.

Herbert F. Akroyd Post 132, Marlboro, Mass.

Commonwealth Edison Post 118, Chicago.

Malden, Mass., Post 69.

Old Dorchester Drum Corps Post 65, Boston.

Amon Gray Post 83, LaPorte, Ind.

Curtis J. Redden Post 210, Danville, Ill.

Massillon, Ohio, Post 221.

The Rifle Drill Team Competition, in which eight teams competed, was won by Newton Post 48 of West Newton, Mass., with 90 points. The defending champion, Wollston Post 295 of Wollston, Mass., was second with 88.5

In the band competition the bands had to play a Rimsky-Korsakoff melody and a selection of their own choice. Vesey Walker was chairman of this event. The bands and the order of finish follow:

1. St. Louis Musicians Post 394.

2. Syracuse Post 41.

3. Columbus (Ohio) Franklin Post 1.

4. New Orleans Post 125.

5. Canton (Ohio) Post 44.

6. Richmond (Ind.) Harry Ray Post 65.

7. Oconomowoc (Wisc.) Post 91.

8. Norwood (Mass.) Post 70.

9. Peoria (Ill.) Post 2.

2d and Last Add Legion Drums competition for the Cleveland Trophy, a trophy as large as some of the participating drum majors, and $150 was won by Des Moines, Iowa. Syracuse won second prize of $100 and Baltimore third prize of $50. Other competitors in the order of their score were Lowell, Mass.; Washington; Worcester, Mass.; Milwaukee, Wisc.; Welson, Mo.; Murphysboro, Ill.; West Springfield, Mass.; Wallingford, Conn.; Buffalo; Altoona, Pa.; Bradford, Pa.; Youngstown, Ohio; LaGrange, Ga.; and Gulfport, Miss.

The Jackson (Mich.) Zouaves presented their specialty, a complicated drill in which the finale is the scaling of a high wall.

Lawrence McNally of the Manhattan Borough President Post 84 was general chairman of the competition. Judges of the drum and bugle corps competition were Captains D.G. Erskine, C.E. Hart, W.S. Matthews, J.S. Roosma, W.J. Sexton, George A. Heyer, Lieutenant J. Riesta, Sergeants Charles Nabor and Emil O. Dintsch, and Frank Martin, Burns Moore, and Sanford Moeller.

By posting here you are indeed offering us a glimpse of drum corps either never known by many of us or as you say nearly forgotten. Please continue. The article mentions drum & bugle corps performing at the Polo Grounds. As a boy my grandfather took me to see the Mets, a brand new major league baseball team at the Polo Grounds sometime in the early 60's. I'd like to know more of this history. Thanks for sharing.

[ajlisko]

By posting here you are indeed offering us a glimpse of drum corps either never known by many of us or as you say nearly forgotten. Please continue. The article mentions drum & bugle corps performing at the Polo Grounds. As a boy my grandfather took me to see the Mets, a brand new major league baseball team at the Polo Grounds sometime in the early 60's. I'd like to know more of this history. Thanks for sharing.

I think what the article showed also, especially to the DC history buffs, is a unique way to discover articles on national competition ... research the archives of the local newspapers in the cities where the AL and VFW nats were held in a particular year ... you just might find a gem like this ...

:-)

[Rifuarian]

By posting here you are indeed offering us a glimpse of drum corps either never known by many of us or as you say nearly forgotten. Please continue. The article mentions drum & bugle corps performing at the Polo Grounds. As a boy my grandfather took me to see the Mets, a brand new major league baseball team at the Polo Grounds sometime in the early 60's. I'd like to know more of this history. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! There are hundreds . . . probably thousands of undiscovered articles out there from the inter-war era, and I've barely begun to scratch surface. This one is by far most detailed I've found. I'll post some for later, for sure. There's one great article about a drum corps from Colorado playing at the NYSE, during the same AL convention described above. For now, here is a photo of the San Gabriel Caballeros celebrating their victory (from the Sept. 26, 1937 New York Times):

A picture of the champion drummer, from the same issue:

Senior corps (made up of genuine doughboys) was still the main show in the AL, but (if the information on Drum Corps Wiki is correct) the first junior nationals (Sons of the American Legion) were held at this same convention. Here's a little a snippet I found, much less detailed than the description of the senior show, but still interesting. From the Sept. 23, 1937 New York Times:

JUNIOR MUSIC GROUPS VIE

Pennsylvania's Drum and Bugle Corps Win Chief Prize

Pennsylvania won the first two places in a contest of the American Legion's Junior Drum and Bugle Corps. First place went to the corps from Gallitzin with a rating of 94.3; second, to that from Bristol, with 92.2. Third place went to the group from Portland, Me., with 90.3

In another contest the quiet of Central Park was broken by the rolling of the best drummers in all the Legion. Robert von Deck of Manchester, Conn., was acclaimed the master drummer. He had a score of 97.6. Second place was won by Edward Pierce of Hackensack, N.J. and third, by Lynn Smyser of Chicago.

Edited January 19, 2010 by Rifuarian

[HornsUp]

For a fascinating set of articles about the earliest decade of competitive drum corps, visit http://racinekiltiealumni.org/Boys_of_76.html

Kiltie historian George Fennell has spent countless hours researching the history of our activity. Besides this website, he has published several books crammed with photos of Racine's marching units.

Another great site is http://www.osmondpostcadets.com/

It contains quite a bit of material from the decade following WWII.

[JimF-LowBari]

Thanks for the info, getting into reading about the 'tweener years (my term for between the wars) and this is great. Library of Congress website has a 1929 pic of the "Miami Corps" (guessing AL Post #29 Harvey Seeds) at Chicago.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query

Have to type "bugle corps" in the search query box. Tried the link directly to the pic but it's too long.

Edited January 19, 2010 by JimF-3rdBari

[audiodb]

JUNIOR MUSIC GROUPS VIE

Pennsylvania's Drum and Bugle Corps Win Chief Prize

Pennsylvania won the first two places in a contest of the American Legion's Junior Drum and Bugle Corps. First place went to the corps from Gallitzin with a rating of 94.3; second, to that from Bristol, with 92.2. Third place went to the group from Portland, Me., with 90.3

What paper was this from, and when? Was this also part of the 1937 AL Nationals? If so, the earlier detailed account of a junior contest would have been the SAL (Sons of the American Legion) contest, with this being the contest for other post-sponsored junior units. Prior to WW II, there were enough SAL units to justify a separate contest just for them.

[audiodb]

By the way, there were not 58 corps competing in the senior contest - correct total is 47. Contest results obtained from the American Legion show that 46 corps competed in prelims; the defending champion (Commonwealth Edison in this case) wasn't required to do prelims.

[audiodb]

I think what the article showed also, especially to the DC history buffs, is a unique way to discover articles on national competition ... research the archives of the local newspapers in the cities where the AL and VFW nats were held in a particular year ... you just might find a gem like this ...

:-)

Exactly.

Looks like George Fennell has already done this for the 1920s. For anyone inclined to go hunting for other pre-WWII articles, this might help you narrow your search.

1930's senior contest was held October 8 in Boston, MA.

1931 AL convention was in Detroit, MI (haven't found a date yet).

1932 convention was in Portland, OR, Sept. 12-15.

1933 was in Chicago, IL, Oct. 2-5.

1934 Miami, FL, Oct. 22-25.

1935 St. Louis, MO, Sept. 22-26.

1936 Cleveland, OH. Senior contest held on Sept. 23.

1937, as noted above, was in New York, but the dates don't jive. The Sept. 31 article referred to the contest as if it took place the previous day, yet the Sept. 26 photo shows the winning corps celebrating. The convention supposedly ran from Sept. 20-23, per the AL convention program.

1938 was in Los Angeles, CA, Sept. 19-22.

1939 was in Chicago, IL. Senior contest held on Sept. 25.

1940 Boston, MA, September (don't have dates).

1941 Milwaukee, WI. Senior contest held on Sept. 15.

[JimF-LowBari]

Looks like George Fennell has already done this for the 1920s.

Have Georges book on the Boys of '76 which covers until 1946. As Boys of '76 attended almost every AL National during that time there is more AL info there. Also a lot of mid-west goings on then which this eastcoaster never dreamed of. (OK only thing I've seen of the area is O'Hare Airport.)

And can't forget www.srcorps.com which has online info on AL/VFW Nationals Prelims/Finals.

Edited January 19, 2010 by JimF-3rdBari