Most Famous Show Ever?

[Ghost]

[ It wasn't the first time a corps outgrew a parish: Holy name Cadets, became Garfield Cadets, MPB Crusaders became Boston Crusaders, later St. [/size] Andrew's Bridgemen became just the Bridgemen .[/font]

Most Precious Blood Crusaders to Hyde Park Crusaders to Boston Crusaders to Boston to Boston Crusaders. There may have been a period where they were called The Crusaders (instead of Boston), but will need more knowledgeable folks to verify this.

[Tim K]

Most Precious Blood Crusaders to Hyde Park Crusaders to Boston Crusaders to Boston to Boston Crusaders. There may have been a period where they were called The Crusaders (instead of Boston), but will need more knowledgeable folks to verify this.

I know I don't have to give a former member of BAC a history lesson, but if you said "Crusaders" in Massachusetts, or at least in the CYO circuit, everyone knew who you meant, just as if anyone ever said Lancers it was known you were talking about the 27th variety and not Norwood's 21st. BAC never needed a name. With those classic red and black uniforms and the intimidating stare BAC had as they entered the comeptition area, everyone knew who you were!

[LancerLegend]

Most Precious Blood Crusaders to Hyde Park Crusaders to Boston Crusaders to Boston to Boston Crusaders. There may have been a period where they were called The Crusaders (instead of Boston), but will need more knowledgeable folks to verify this.

I will stand corrected on these details - but this is what I remember.

BAC went to Europe in the middle 1990's. My understanding was that the corps ran out of money. (In between the lines, rumors were that someone embezelled - aka stole - the funds.) Members were literally stuck in Europe with no flight home. Alumni stepped in and rescued the members, and there was an ensuing lawsuit.

When the alumni rescued the corps - the were some legal issues regarding the name of The Boston Crusaders - probably due to outstanding debt. The next year or two, the corps was named The Crusaders to avoid creditors from killing the efforts of the alumni and members.

Again - I will stand corrected on these details - but that is what I remember and was told. Hopefully craiga will chime in.

[LancerLegend]

Fascinating discussion about the sit down. I had never heard a lot of the background before.

So we have the '66 Reveries, the 27th Lancers, the 83-85 Garfield Cadets and 91-93 Star all bing mentioned prominently in this thread.

Anyone else see a pattern here?

On face value - it might seem that one Mr. George Zingali might have been a common thread. However, prior to him marching with the 27th Lancers in 1973, George was a clarinet playing member of St. Anthony's Band from Revere. I was so very fortunate to have marched with George in the 1973 season, been taught by him in 74, 76, 77 (I was a weak sister in 75) and then had a chance to teach with him in 1980 and 1981.

However, one person that might have a connect to the 66 Reveries, might be Peggy Twiggs. She was a former Reverie, became an original member of the 27th Lancers, and taught Cadets. I marched and taught with her in 27th. I don't believe Peggy went to Star.

The third leg is Marc Sylvester. He came from St. Joe's Band, Medford - and joined 27th for the 1977 season. He marched and taught with Zingali and Peggy in 27th and Cadets.

Is there some other theme or angle I am missing?

[craiga]

I will stand corrected on these details - but this is what I remember.

BAC went to Europe in the middle 1990's. My understanding was that the corps ran out of money. (In between the lines, rumors were that someone embezelled - aka stole - the funds.) Members were literally stuck in Europe with no flight home. Alumni stepped in and rescued the members, and there was an ensuing lawsuit.

When the alumni rescued the corps - the were some legal issues regarding the name of The Boston Crusaders - probably due to outstanding debt. The next year or two, the corps was named The Crusaders to avoid creditors from killing the efforts of the alumni and members.

Again - I will stand corrected on these details - but that is what I remember and was told. Hopefully craiga will chime in.

Happy to chime in....

The Europe tour was 1982, and yes, due to some villainy, the corps members were stranded in Europe at the end of the trip and sought assistance from the US embassy, among others. They were able to compete at DCI nationals, but the corps for all intents and purposes folded immediately after the season ended (and the talk around the activity was that BAC had finally died). That fall, a group of members, alums, and staff(including myself at 23 years old) were able to find enough equipment and recruit enough members to field a corps for the 1983 season...it was reorganized under the name "The Boston Drum & Bugle Corps" so it would not be held responsible of the old corps' debts, including a whopper of an airline bill. The bad news was that the corps was NOT allowed to take part in Drum Corps East, which would have been its natural circuit. DCI, to its credit, DID allow Boston to compete in what was then the "Open" class(World Class now) with BD, Garfield, Cavies, SCV, etc, but the corps would be treated as a brand new corps and go on first at every show. That summer, Boston's first show would be Allentown prelims, which was early July. The entire corps totalled 51 members who rode on one rented coach, and the staff was in a 12 passenger van pulling a UHaul trailer with equipment and food. We had no housing, so we drove all night from Boston and slept on the grass outside J. Birny Crum til morning. I still get chills when I recall the corps marching into the stadium (at a 6 pace distance single file) and the audience standing and screaming their approval. That drum corps ended up scoring above many 128-member corps, even though they only had 19 horns. I still remember the announcer on the PA saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am supposed to announce this next unit as "Boston" but you know who they are...Theeeee BOSTON CRUSADERS!" Steady growth followed the corps the next three years and it reclaimed it full name in 1986, continuing to claw its way upward ever since.

Edited April 7, 2012 by craiga

[esch]

Happy to chime in....

The Europe tour was 1982, and yes, due to some villainy, the corps members were stranded in Europe at the end of the trip and sought assistance from the US embassy, among others. They were able to compete at DCI nationals, but the corps for all intents and purposes folded immediately after the season ended (and the talk around the activity was that BAC had finally died). That fall, a group of members, alums, and staff(including myself at 23 years old) were able to find enough equipment and recruit enough members to field a corps for the 1983 season...it was reorganized under the name "The Boston Drum & Bugle Corps" so it would not be held responsible of the old corps' debts, including a whopper of an airline bill. The bad news was that the corps was NOT allowed to take part in Drum Corps East, which would have been its natural circuit. DCI, to its credit, DID allow Boston to compete in what was then the "Open" class(World Class now) with BD, Garfield, Cavies, SCV, etc, but the corps would be treated as a brand new corps and go on first at every show. That summer, Boston's first show would be Allentown prelims, which was early July. The entire corps totalled 51 members who rode on one rented coach, and the staff was in a 12 passenger van pulling a UHaul trailer with equipment and food. We had no housing, so we drove all night from Boston and slept on the grass outside J. Birny Crum til morning. I still get chills when I recall the corps marching into the stadium (at a 6 pace distance single file) and the audience standing and screaming their approval. That drum corps ended up scoring above many 128 members corps, even though they only had 19 horns. I still remember the announcer on the PA saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am supposed to announce this next unit as "Boston" but you know who they are...Theeeee BOSTON CRUSADERS!" Steady growth followed the corps the next three years and it reclaimed it full name in 1986 and continued to claw its way upward ever since.

I got chills just reading about it!

[dckid80]

On face value - it might seem that one Mr. George Zingali might have been a common thread. However, prior to him marching with the 27th Lancers in 1973, George was a clarinet playing member of St. Anthony's Band from Revere. I was so very fortunate to have marched with George in the 1973 season, been taught by him in 74, 76, 77 (I was a weak sister in 75) and then had a chance to teach with him in 1980 and 1981.

However, one person that might have a connect to the 66 Reveries, might be Peggy Twiggs. She was a former Reverie, became an original member of the 27th Lancers, and taught Cadets. I marched and taught with her in 27th. I don't believe Peggy went to Star.

The third leg is Marc Sylvester. He came from St. Joe's Band, Medford - and joined 27th for the 1977 season. He marched and taught with Zingali and Peggy in 27th and Cadets.

Is there some other theme or angle I am missing?

Thank for the history Jim. I was kind of thinking that it all started with George B. His influence looms large in our activity. He took chances that others might not have and we are richer for it.

Edited April 7, 2012 by dckid80

[Tim K]

Happy to chime in....

The Europe tour was 1982, and yes, due to some villainy, the corps members were stranded in Europe at the end of the trip and sought assistance from the US embassy, among others. They were able to compete at DCI nationals, but the corps for all intents and purposes folded immediately after the season ended (and the talk around the activity was that BAC had finally died). That fall, a group of members, alums, and staff(including myself at 23 years old) were able to find enough equipment and recruit enough members to field a corps for the 1983 season...it was reorganized under the name "The Boston Drum & Bugle Corps" so it would not be held responsible of the old corps' debts, including a whopper of an airline bill. The bad news was that the corps was NOT allowed to take part in Drum Corps East, which would have been its natural circuit. DCI, to its credit, DID allow Boston to compete in what was then the "Open" class(World Class now) with BD, Garfield, Cavies, SCV, etc, but the corps would be treated as a brand new corps and go on first at every show. That summer, Boston's first show would be Allentown prelims, which was early July. The entire corps totalled 51 members who rode on one rented coach, and the staff was in a 12 passenger van pulling a UHaul trailer with equipment and food. We had no housing, so we drove all night from Boston and slept on the grass outside J. Birny Crum til morning. I still get chills when I recall the corps marching into the stadium (at a 6 pace distance single file) and the audience standing and screaming their approval. That drum corps ended up scoring above many 128-member corps, even though they only had 19 horns. I still remember the announcer on the PA saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am supposed to announce this next unit as "Boston" but you know who they are...Theeeee BOSTON CRUSADERS!" Steady growth followed the corps the next three years and it reclaimed it full name in 1986, continuing to claw its way upward ever since.

I've heard the story about the ill-fated European tour and the story about the announcer saying the "Boston/ "Boston Crusaders" line, and knew 1983 was tough, but I never heard about the camping out, U-Haul aspect at DCI East. Thanks for sharing. BAC stories are always among the best.

[84BDsop]

I still remember the announcer on the PA saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am supposed to announce this next unit as "Boston" but you know who they are...Theeeee BOSTON CRUSADERS!"

Joe Bruno, by any chance??

[MsBusDriver]

Happy to chime in....

The Europe tour was 1982, and yes, due to some villainy, the corps members were stranded in Europe at the end of the trip and sought assistance from the US embassy, among others. They were able to compete at DCI nationals, but the corps for all intents and purposes folded immediately after the season ended (and the talk around the activity was that BAC had finally died). That fall, a group of members, alums, and staff(including myself at 23 years old) were able to find enough equipment and recruit enough members to field a corps for the 1983 season...it was reorganized under the name "The Boston Drum & Bugle Corps" so it would not be held responsible of the old corps' debts, including a whopper of an airline bill. The bad news was that the corps was NOT allowed to take part in Drum Corps East, which would have been its natural circuit. DCI, to its credit, DID allow Boston to compete in what was then the "Open" class(World Class now) with BD, Garfield, Cavies, SCV, etc, but the corps would be treated as a brand new corps and go on first at every show. That summer, Boston's first show would be Allentown prelims, which was early July. The entire corps totalled 51 members who rode on one rented coach, and the staff was in a 12 passenger van pulling a UHaul trailer with equipment and food. We had no housing, so we drove all night from Boston and slept on the grass outside J. Birny Crum til morning. I still get chills when I recall the corps marching into the stadium (at a 6 pace distance single file) and the audience standing and screaming their approval. That drum corps ended up scoring above many 128-member corps, even though they only had 19 horns. I still remember the announcer on the PA saying "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am supposed to announce this next unit as "Boston" but you know who they are...Theeeee BOSTON CRUSADERS!" Steady growth followed the corps the next three years and it reclaimed it full name in 1986, continuing to claw its way upward ever since.

Great Story Craiga. I found myself standing and cheering for BAC. The other thing that hits me about this story is the support and appreciation of the crowd for the Corps. Drum Corps people are special people, there is no doubt. We are all family and we all appreciate any Corps who is willing to go the extra mile, pull themselves up by the boot straps, and all the typical cliches to get themselves back onto the field. I for one have enjoyed BAC over the last decade or so. I really hope they can make it to the Championship ring one day.