1968 VFW Prelims to Finals

[BariBrian]

I remembber your preformance in Ithaca that day. To this day, it is still one of my favorite shows

[Donny Drum Corps]

Not mine...I marched Purple Lancers that year LOL...

But a funny story as well, before the Purple Lancers I marched in another upstate NY corps called St. Joseph's from Batavia NY. The only corps in the whole country and Canada that St Joe's had NEVER beat was the Cavaliers. Purple Lancers were beating the Cavaliers steadily throughout 73 and 74, (until DCI that is). My brother and those older St Joe's guys were bittersweet about another corps from upstate NY beating the Cavaliers.

Donny

[Fran Haring]

And, we had a lot of young kids, and only a handful of savvy veterans. The clock was really, really ticking.

I saw the Cavies in the Midwest that summer.... at the Key to the Sea show, I believe it was..... and I was really struck by how young that corps was that summer.... and how well they could perform, even with all the new blood in the ranks. I mean, the local-circuit "neighborhood" NJ junior corps I was with had more older members than did the Cavies, or at least it sure seemed that way.

We could see then that the Cavies' 1974 show had "finalist corps" written all over it. Just a matter of you guys getting it together, which you did!

[JonW]

Wow. That is a magnificent story Paul, thanks for posting it again!

During the 73-75 seasons we had competed against your corps numerous times, but never had caught you. Your corps along with Phantom, Blue Stars, Madison, Kilties and the newly formed THING/Pioneer - we assuredly had our hands full.

Your tale resonated with what we were going through also, except we didn't have a Frog... we did catch many of the corps we gunned for but, attained only 31st in '73 and 29th in '74... no money to finish '75, tour cancelled 2 weeks shy of finals. We lost many vets at the end of '75 and '76 easily reflected that.

We had some excellent talent in all catagories but could not seem to put together that singular show that would ignite us all together. We had some stellar vets (and even made the 1974 Legacy DVD, all of about 32 seconds!) and a healthy dose of determination... but could not secure that elusive 25 placement.

Things were, to put it mildly, rough for the next couple decades but, the Americanos did put it together again and eventually attain a Div.III DCI Championship. I would definately have preferred to see us gain the success that the Cavs have achieved, but I'm mighty pleased that our little northern WI corps did eventually achieve the division pinnacle.

I am also mighty glad to see the Cavaliers are still there, competing at an extraordinary level, reigniting decades old passions, pleasures and memories.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Tin Guardian

[bill]

Penalties, real or preceived, would have not elevated RA to win in 68. The score sheets and recap bear that out.

I will always remember the tiny error that would have changed the history of the Royal Airs. Going toward the finish line the American flag was behind the corps. A flag penalty was inevitable, however the drum major gave the corps a "mark time march!" to avoid the penalty, a command only heard be those in the middle if the line. The line bowed as we discovered the command; heads turned and some music stopped. The command of "Forward march!" was then given by the drum major and again the same unfortunate results; bowed line, heads turning, some music interrupted. Unfortunately all of this was for nothing as the American flag was still behind the corps as we approached and crossed the finish line. Results were: unit penalties in M & M for the first command. Unit penalty in Horns; unit penalty for the second command in M & M and in horns and we received the flag penalty anyway. Without the results of these penalties the RA would have won Nationals again. Additionally this was the last season for us. I often wonder what would have become of the Royal Airs if we had not had to worry about the placement of the American flag. Would the RA have continued..and for how long?

[HornsUp]

Penalties, real or preceived, would have not elevated RA to win in 68.

However . . . . DQ, for their overage soloist, would have made a BIG difference.

[A Cavalier TDY]

I marched in the Cavalier corps in 1974 that passed several corps for the first time all year at DCI prelims. Having missed finals the year before myself, I can feel how awful it must have been to see a corps you thought you had crossed off your list move ahead at the worst possilbe moment in the season. I agree that it sucks. But, let me try to explain why I think (subjectively, of course!) that it may well have been legit. I'll post below a long passage from an even longer article I wrote several years ago for the Cavaliers history section of our website. Don't know that it provides proof that we were deserving, but it's at least a sincere insiders view of what transpired that afternoon. ... SPLOOIE!

Paul,

I LOVE that story and would have loved to see Prelims that day. My only recollections of the corps that year was seeing you from back field at a show in Toronto and the one you spoke about in North Tonawanda. When I saw that young group of guys in Toronto, I knew I had to be part of that corps!

Unfortunately, I only found out recently the REAL reason my corps (i.e. Seneca Princemen) didn't go to Ithaca that year. We rented buses from Grey Coach and there was a fear that they would be on strike and we'd be left 'deserted'. We came home and ended up playing an exhibition for an RCA show in Guelph the same night as Finals. Too bad. We might have won Class A that year.

My first year with the Cavaliers was 77. Like 74, we were 'behind the proverbial eight ball' going in to Prelims. We had major problems with the show and with personnel that season. We had even pulled out of competition for 1 1/2 weeks mid season and 'the word on the street' was we had folded. Going in to our last contest before DCI, there were 17 corps who had broken 80. We played one HELL of a good show at Prelims in Boulder and came out of it with an 85. Unfortunately, we 'let down' a little at Finals, but at least we were in.

Since leaving the corps, I've found out a lot about its great history from guys who marched before me. I look at the current corps and am SO proud to say I am a Cavalier.

Jeff

[Fran Haring]

However . . . . DQ, for their overage soloist, would have made a BIG difference.

Imagine that.... overage members in junior corps in the 1960s.

I'm shocked.

[Fran Haring]

However . . . . DQ, for their overage soloist

Heh... when I first read that, I thought it said "average soloist."

I mean, just because the guy wasn't a great player... wouldn't a DQ be a bit harsh? LOL

[esch]

I marched in the Cavalier corps in 1974 that passed several corps for the first time all year at DCI prelims. Having missed finals the year before myself, I can feel how awful it must have been to see a corps you thought you had crossed off your list move ahead at the worst possilbe moment in the season. I agree that it sucks. But, let me try to explain why I think (subjectively, of course!) that it may well have been legit. I'll post below a long passage from an even longer article I wrote several years ago for the Cavaliers history section of our website. Don't know that it provides proof that we were deserving, but it's at least a sincere insiders view of what transpired that afternoon.

============================================================================================

Our score had seemed to plateau at about a 75 for what seemed liked three full weeks. We couldn’t seem to go anywhere. We either didn’t have the drill one night, or our horn line was too weak the next, our GE was lacking, we weren’t “sophisticated” one night, the drum line was too “old fashioned” yet another night. And, we had a lot of young kids, and only a handful of savvy veterans. The clock was really, really ticking.

It was now a few days before DCI prelims, and our dream was unraveling. Comparing scores from around the country, we had AT LEAST 15 or 16 corps solidly ahead of us, with another five or six nipping at our heels. One bad show and we were probably doomed. You could see and feel some of the guys starting to crack.

Now we were down to our last show before prelims – North Tonawanda, NY. We would see the Blue Devils at this show. We had not beaten them all year. They were one of the many new “upstart” corps in 1974. We seemed to have picked a bad year for a comeback. If we were to have a chance at making Finals, we needed to make a statement, and make it now. Tonight – we MUST beat the Blue Devils. If we could, we might set the stage for passing the six or seven corps we’d need to beat (most for the first time all year!) if we were going to get into the night show on Saturday.

But it was not to be on that night. Blue Devils soundly defeated us, by over two points. We gained no ground on the other smaller corps behind us either. You could now see it on a lot of faces in the younger guys in the corps – and some of the older guys. You could see what we had held off all year – you could see defeat.

We dragged our sorry souls into the gym at the end of the night. It was pretty quiet. We gathered for our “don’t stay up too late” talk from our corps manager Danny Heeres, (who, by the way, turned out to be a great guy, a great manager, a great leader, and a great inspiration to me when I later became manager of a new start-up corps, Spirit of Atlanta, a few years later). As Danny was finishing up his comments, without any of our usual smart-### remarks flying fast and furious, as all Cavalier corps have been famous for over the years – a solitary figure then came into the room. It was our drum instructor Jim "Frog" Roussell. And he was not the same person we had ever seen before.

Frog was a chain-smoking, hard-talking, ex-Marine, Chicago cop, 6’4” stalking, sonofa##### when he wanted to be. And boy, he apparently wanted to be all that and more that night. He lit into us like we had never heard before. He was red-faced, foul-mouthed, spitting, biting mad. He was old-time Cavaliers. He was a street kid from the word go. He never saw a fight he couldn’t win. But he was looking at a roomful of losers and he was mad!

He told us why we were good enough to be in Finals. He told us about who we represented. He told us that he had been willing to go to war with us all year long, but now he wondered if we were still willing to go to war with him. And then he uttered the saying that is still repeated and still resounds throughout the ranks of each new Cavalier corps every year. “There are more than a hundred of you swinging dicks out there, and you can do anything you want to do. Do you plan on finishing this job or not!!”

With the same passion he “spat” his challenge at us, we spat it back at him with a roar and a standing ovation. We were BACK. We were NOT done. We could do it! We couldn’t wait for prelims . . .

Now we simply had to find the last bits of drive in our hearts, and finish this job. Despite all our renewed enthusiasm, a few of us older vets still had a knot in our collective stomach. Some of the members of the Management team had ashen expressions on their faces we had not seen before. Remember, in these early days of DCI, if you did not make Finals two years in a row you lost the opportunity for guaranteed shows the next year, along with prize money. The corps really was not in a position, financially, to make it without being a DCI corps. If the Cavaliers didn’t make Finals this year, the corps might still remain hopeful and try to come back again in 1975, but the reality was – no Finals in 1974, probably no Cavaliers in 1975.

And that is what was likely on the minds of many members that afternoon as we strode on to the field for prelims in Ithaca. It was likely on the minds of some of the judges that afternoon as well. By a pure stroke of “Providence” (luck would not have been enough!) many of the prelim judges were fond of our show that year. Somehow the planets had seemed to align pretty nicely for us. All we had to do was perform our best show of the year. All we had to do was save the Cavaliers from folding. No problem. After all, there were a hundred of us swinging . . .

Standing on the back sideline, preparing to march into history – or infamy, I saw Paul Wotejna, the on-field drums execution, judge walking toward us. Most judges kept their distance from you before the show actually started. Paul was making a beeline for us. He got in front of us and just stood there for a moment. He was probably looking at the two 15-year old snare drummers in our line, along with some even younger kids in the tenor line and bass drum line. He may have been looking into the eyes of great Cavalier drummers of the past. Mitch Markovich, Greg Pacer, Jim “Frog” Roussell. But there were a handful of us drummers still left from 1973 who weren’t all that thrilled to see him. That year at DCI prelims, Wotejna judged us then too. I hate to try to see inside a man’s soul, but that previous year he had absolutely ripped us apart when he judged us. We were not a very good snare line that year (only three of us), but we had at least gotten to the point that we were “only” making about 20 ticks (mistakes) per show. Despite our best snare show of the year, he “found” 44 ticks. We missed Finals by only a few tenths of a point. Maybe that’s just the way he heard us that day. Maybe the Cavaliers had repeatedly beaten him when he marched or some corps that he instructed, and he was out for revenge. Again, I try not to judge a man’s soul. But, as he still stood there staring at us a year later in the same situation, we’ll never really know what he was thinking, but we’ll never forget what he then said.

“I’ll give you my best, boys. You give me yours – and you’ll be fine.”

I swear we all grew five inches taller at that very moment. I glanced at Don McWhorter, who joined the corps in 1965, and had never seen someone so focused. I looked at Bob Shreffler, the rookie next to me, and one of the two 15-year old “whiz kids” in the snare line. He gave me a big smile. No worries here, he seemed to say.

And all at once it began.

Scott Wagner, our drum major, saluted the crowd, spun around and pointed to the triple tenors. They miraculously began their flourish of flying, drum-to-drum singles flawlessly. The new fanfare that Bob Rada had written for the horn line literally screamed out of the bells of the bugles. It was absolutely electric. The large prelims crowd, not particularly concerned about this “has been” corps on the field, began to pay attention. The horn line and guard then began the opening strains of Carmen with such force and assuredness, that the on-field horn judge, Dave Richards, threw his clipboard into the air and applauded as it dropped to the Astroturf at his feet. Now the crowd was watching. Something special seemed to be happening. It was us. The Cavaliers were back!

Once again, as we came forward in the opening phrases of the first drum solo, up in the GE box was our favorite drum judge of all time, Gus “Cosmo” Barbaro. He was a huge man, with the most animated Italian hand movements you ever saw. You could actually hear him yelling up in the box. He was pointing at us and cheering. Later, listening to his GE tape, we would find that he was saying “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, America and apple pie! Unbelievable!!”

The show only got better from there. Thirteen minutes went by in a heartbeat. It was our best. Frog would be proud. Management would be proud. We were proud. All Cavaliers, past and future, would be proud. Oddly, walking off the field wasn’t a scene of jubilation or high-fiving. There was an eerie quite among the guys. We now had to wait 20 minutes to hear our score. Our last score had been another mid-seventy. We would probably need a 79 to make Finals. We’d have to pass a half-dozen corps to sneak in to the last precious spot. 12th place was our dream. Had we done it?

The corps after us finished their show. Now it was time for the announcer. We waited to hear “We have another score to announce.” When those words came, most of us were assembled together in the back stands. Most of the crowd was looking right at us. Word seemed to have filtered out that this score might mean more than just a score. It might mean everything to the Cavaliers.

“We have another score to announce. For the Cavaliers. Eighty-one point six five. 81.65.” Pandemonium! Pandemonium! Absolute joy! We did it! We had added five points to our best score – in only two days. We ultimately would leapfrog all six or seven corps we needed to – and then some. We took 9th in prelims. We beat the Blue Devils by a full point. The 27th Lancers had been 3/10 of a point behind us two days earlier. They would end up 8 full points behind us in 20th place. Others were left in our wake as well. It had been a comeback performance for the ages. Miraculously, with a somewhat lackluster Finals performance the next night, we moved up to 8th place – ending all doubt about the corps’ future.

None of us from the 1974 really know if we “saved” the corps. We did what Frog had told us we could do, however, and we left nothing on the field that afternoon in Ithaca. Personally, I finally won that “championship” I had thought I might get by marching in Kingsmen or Santa Clara. My “trophy,” however, was life-long friendships with Don McWhorter, Bob Shreffler, and a hundred other “swinging dicks”, along with my age-out belt buckle still proudly displayed - and these memories. SPLOOIE!

Paul, I remember that performance like it was yesterday... the first time I had ever seen the Cavaliers from the stands... and you guys were bloody RIVETING at prelims..... still one of my favorite performance stories of all time.