Jump to content

How intense were rivalries?


Recommended Posts

While I know the history of many drum corps, including one of my favorites BAC may not be all goodness and glory, describing them in the late 70's as "fringe-type nut cases" as one person does in an earlier post is an exaggeration, even though it's no secret they were a tough, take no prisoners crew. Corpsreps does not have BAC in a show in Bayonne from 1977-79, so if the event did occur, it must have been earlier than the late 70's, unless there are DCE shows not listed, which is a possibility, but by the late 70's, I think BAC was not exclusively a city corps with many, if not most of the members being from the suburbs and from out of state. That being said, the rivalry between the Boston area corps and their New Jersey counterparts was fierce, especially reagrdiung the Bridgemen. The fact that the Bridgemen were a favorite with Bostoin area fans probably didn't help matters.

While the East Coast rivalries were intense, there is another rather heated rivalry, an East Coast/West Coast rivalry from 1980 taht's worth noting. On Youtube there is a clip of the 1980 DCI East contests. 27th has finished their show, a show many who marched in 27th that year believe was their finest show of their finest season. After the corps leaves the field, the color guard captain is interviewed by the host and is asked if she wishes them luck even though they are competitors, of course she says yes, but it's evident she's only being diplomatic. Her yes is polite, but not all that convincing.

Edited by Tim K
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The rivalries were intense between De La Salle Oaklands and Toronto Optimists late 60’s to mid 70’s. We guard girls would go to their rehearsals and overhear what they said about each other; oh my! Meanwhile, in the Junior B circuit, London Midlanders and Scarborough Firefighters had an intense rivalry 1967 – 1970 that I was privy to for 2 years! The antics, the threats, the stare, the glare, oh my! Fortunately, many of us became friends in ensuing years :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpsreps does not have BAC in a show in Bayonne from 1977-79, so if the event did occur, it must have been earlier than the late 70's, unless there are DCE shows not listed, which is a possibility,

Boston Crusaders competed in Bayonne twice in 1977, twice in 1978, and once in 1979. The 1978 and 1979 shows are listed on the fromthepressbox website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've found that there are many instances of shows not listed in the corps reps databases.

Sorry for the threadjack. Carry on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I've found that there are many instances of shows not listed in the corps reps databases.

Sorry for the threadjack. Carry on.

Absolutely.

For example, the dominant Junior Drum Corps in New England in the 50's was the I.C.( Immaculate Conception ) Queensmen from Winchester- Woburn Mass. They routinely beat the Boston Crusaders,St. Mary's Cardinals, Sir Thomas More Cadets, etc and other terrific Corps most of that decade. Nationally, they'd finish in the top 10 at most VFW and American Legion Nationals ( beating likewise terrific national Corps like Racine Kilties, Scouts, Jersey Joe's,Garfield Cadets, Liberty Bell ( Pa)) and so forth. But there's little mention of the I.C. Queensmen from Massachusetts dominance in New England in the 50's on Corpreps..Their members turned 21 and most of them then went and marched with the Lt. Norman Prince" Princemen" Senior Corps in the late 50's ( and the I.C. Queensmen, after a year off,then reformed with much younger kids, with the Princemen staff teaching the younger, newer kids. Also,The Emass Circuit was formed in the basement of the I.C. Winchester parish school. Thats where circuit board meetings were held for 2 decades) ........ We mentioned The St. Kevin's Emerald Knights on this thread. The Priest that started St. Kevin's was Father J.Joseph Kierce. When he was transferred from the I.C. Parish in Winchester, he went to St. Kevins Parish in Dorchester. When he got there, his goal was to duplicate the greatness of what he did with the I.C. Queensmen of Winchester in the 50's at his new St. Kevin's Parish... and he did just that with the St. Kevin's Emerald Knights in the early 60's. Fun thread, with an interesting walk down memory lane here, imo.

Edited by BRASSO
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Absolutely.

For example, the dominant Junior Drum Corps in New England in the 50's was the I.C.( Immaculate Conception ) Queensmen from Winchester- Woburn Mass. They routinely beat the Boston Crusaders,St. Mary's Cardinals, Sir Thomas More Cadets, etc and other terrific Corps most of that decade. Nationally, they'd finish in the top 10 at most VFW and American Legion Nationals ( beating likewise terrific national Corps like Racine Kilties, Scouts, Jersey Joe's,Garfield Cadets, Liberty Bell ( Pa)) and so forth. But there's little mention of the I.C. Queensmen from Massachusetts dominance in New England in the 50's on Corpreps..Their members turned 21 and most of them then went and marched with the Lt. Norman Prince" Princemen" Senior Corps in the late 50's ( and the I.C. Queensmen, after a year off,then reformed with much younger kids, with the Princemen staff teaching the younger, newer kids. Also,The Emass Circuit was formed in the basement of the I.C. Winchester parish school. Thats where circuit board meetings were held for 2 decades) ........ We mentioned The St. Kevin's Emerald Knights on this thread. The Priest that started St. Kevin's was Father J.Joseph Kierce. When he was transferred from the I.C. Parish in Winchester, he went to St. Kevins Parish in Dorchester. When he got there, his goal was to duplicate the greatness of what he did with the I.C. Queensmen of Winchester in the 50's at his new St. Kevin's Parish... and he did just that with the St. Kevin's Emerald Knights in the early 60's. Fun thread, with an interesting walk down memory lane here, imo.

Thanks for the great words about Fr. Kierce. I didn't know "Jumpin' Joe" as he was affectionately called from his drum corps days, but I am lucky enough to have known him as a priest and later as my employer (I taught at St. Kevin's School in the late 80's/early 90's) and a mentor in the priesthood. I can't fill in details regarding the Queensmen days but I do know he was ordained in 1943 and went from Winchester to Dorchester in 1946 at the personal request of the pastor, the formidable Msgr. Augustus Dalton. He remained at St. Kevin's for most of his years as a priest. He officially "retired" as pastor when the parish was merged with St. Paul's beginning in 1993, an event that had to happen but broke his heart, but he remained a force in Dorchester for many years later.

He never took "no" for an answer and chances are if you knew him, he volunteered you to do something you didn't want to do, but you agreed, knowing he never said no to anyone who needed him.

Fr. Kierce didn't talk about the Emerald Knights all that often, and when he did he always gave credit to Ed Rooney, but knowing what I know now about all the behind the scenes things Fr. Kierce did to keep the school open, help people find jobs, help people who went to jail reestablish their lives or find scholarships for kids who otherwise could not dream of college to attend his beloved Alma Mater Holy Cross, he probably deserves more credit than he'd ever accept.

Edited by Tim K
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the great words about Fr. Kierce. I didn't know "Jumpin' Joe" as he was affectionately called from his drum corps days, but I am lucky enough to have known him as a priest and later as my employer (I taught at St. Kevin's School in the late 80's/early 90's) and a mentor in the priesthood. I can't fill in details regarding the Queensmen days

Father Kierce allowed the I.C. Queensmen, Winchester- Woburn, Ma. to take in those ouside the parish. The 50's dominant Queensmen had marchers from the defunct Sacred Heart Drum and Bugle Corps in Malden, Ma. for example. And this helped the I.C. Queensmen win 3 straight Class A Emass. Titles. Once Father Kierce left for St. Kevin's, the new Pastor of the I.C. Queensmen came in ( Rev. Herbert K.A. Driscoll ) and he was great with the reformed I.C. Queensmen, except for one caveat, he would not allow any marcher not in the parish or in the communities of Winchester or Woburn to march the Queensmen.( they did have a couple, but by and large, ousiders were forbidden ) The I.C. Queensmen had a couple of pretty decent years again in the mid 60's, but could not regain their Eastern Mass. Jr. Drum Corps dominance like they had in the 50's with that Parish- Local requirement.

Father Kierce passed away just a few years back, no ? He lived a long life if I recall.

Edited by BRASSO
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Father Kierce allowed the I.C. Queensmen, Winchester- Woburn, Ma. to take in those ouside the parish. The 50's dominant Queensmen had marchers from the defunct Sacred Heart Drum and Bugle Corps in Malden, Ma. for example. And this helped the I.C. Queensmen win 3 straight Class A Emass. Titles. Once Father Kierce left for St. Kevin's, the new Pastor of the I.C. Queensmen came in ( Rev. Herbert K.A. Driscoll ) and he was great with the reformed I.C. Queensmen, except for one caveat, he would not allow any marcher not in the parish or in the communities of Winchester or Woburn to march the Queensmen.( they did have a couple, but by and large, ousiders were forbidden ) The I.C. Queensmen had a couple of pretty decent years again in the mid 60's, but could not regain their Eastern Mass. Jr. Drum Corps dominance like they had in the 50's with that Parish- Local requirement.

Father Kierce passed away just a few years back, no ? He lived a long life if I recall.

Fr. Kierce died in 2006. It's funny, there was someone at the funeral who had a brother who was an Emerald Knight and he wanted to join as well, but he was only about 9 years old and had march with the feeder corps, but he was not allowed because he did not live in the parish, a rule that was relaxed for the senior corps but not the feeder units, so he went to his pastor (neighboring St. Peter's) and asked the parish boundaries could be changed so he could join the Emerald Knights. He did join St. Peter's band and played the drums, but went to the Emerald Knights as soon as he was old enough.

I know the IC Queensmen still competed in the late 1970's. They were a "prep" unit in CYO. I can't recall if they were all that competitive, but I do recall they had to dress more formally after competitions, sat together to watch the remaining shows, and seemed to be disciplined.

Edited by Tim K
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

We competed against the Queensmen in '78 and '79 in Class B in both the EMASS and CYO circuits as well as the World Open.

At that point they were a bit small but still very good.

One of our drum majors from '79 had been with them the year before.

Class outfit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...