72 Kingsmen were not the best corps that year!

[asvab]

Not to jump in this battle of SCV losing, but I've got (as well as corpsreps) Vanguard losing to the Blue Stars a week before championships.

August 10

West Allis, WI

  1. Blue Stars--89.40

  2. Vanguard--87.60

  3. Kingsmen--85.50

  4. Troopers--83.70

  5. 27th--82.85

  6. DPVanguard--82.70

  7. Garfield--78.55

  8. Scouts--78.45

  9. St. Patrick's--72.05

10. Racine Scouts--70.05

DCI has a long history of corps crashing at the end.  BD:88/95/98, SCV:72/83/87. Star:92/93 Scouts:74.  It happens.  It still kills me about 88 BD and the bad draw they got.  Ya suck it up and move on.

Go Devils,

Gregg 

w/Stp:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Maybe this is just semantics, but some of those corps you mentioned didn't exactly crash. 87 SCV and 88 BD put on great performances IMO. They just got beat.

[jwscv87]

Mike if you would take the time to read all my posts you'll notice you're preaching to the choir. The reason for my orginal post was because of all the people voting the 72 Kingsmen as best in the decade. They were the best that night, but certainly not the decade! Oh to the cat who says we lost to Blue Stars in Denver, I believe it was a tie (could be wrong since that was over thirty years ago).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think your interpretation of why people are voting the way they are might be off base. The caveat that each corps will only be shown once changes the way people think about this thing. Lots of people are likely to just vote for the corps they want to see. The Kingsmen of 72, whether they were the best corps of the season or not, were deemed the best corps of that night. That makes them the first DCI champion, and that carries some historical significance regardless of what happened the rest of the season. I know that I would like to see them, and that doesn't mean I love SCV any less! :P

People have all kinds of reasons for voting for the corps they want to see. I'm going to vote for 84, 85 or 86 Suncoast (can't decide which yet) and I am not going to claim they were one of the three best shows of the decade. I happen to love those shows and would like to see them on the big screen.

I certainly understand your "any given night" comments. I have experienced myself, but I still think it is the right way to crown the champ. You've to pull it off that night.

[audiodb]

I don't know where you got the scores

From Drum Corps News.

but I don't believe them! I was there and I would remember.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, good, because we're missing some of the scores from NoCal shows in 1971. Since you were there, too, you should remember them.

(/sarcasm)

Seriously, though, none of us should expect to remember what happened 33 years ago with infallible accuracy. That's why we save those back issues of Drum Corps News, etc. I kept a diary of my tour, and I can't believe half of what I wrote....

(And if you did jot down any scores from NoCal shows in 1971, I really am looking for them. Many of those scores were not published anywhere.)

[ffernbus3]

Still looking for 71 scores...but did unearth this gem fom 74.

SCORES FROM FIRST GOLDEN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, SANTA BARBARA, CA: 22 JUNE 1974

1. Los Angeles Queensmen 74.45

2. Brentwood Imperials 61.95

3. Santa Monica Emerald Knights 53.50

4. Fresno Ferns 50.55

5. S. Los Angeles Warriors 48.50

(I have the caption sheets around someplace).

There never have been a lot of contests in Santa Babylon, uh, Santa Barbara. A color guard contest in 66 the Kingsmen Guard went to and that's about it? Too bad, such a nice stadium at SBCC with a gread view of the ocean just across the street.

Meanwhile, whatever 71 scores I can find I will post......look at http://www.xkingsmen.com as there are important facts about The Kingsmen's achievments there.

RON HOUSLEY

Now celebrating our 37th

year of Simply Unreal

Drum Corps!

http://www.cafepress.com/fresnoferns

[Tansea]

Still looking for 71 scores...but did unearth this gem fom 74.

SCORES FROM FIRST GOLDEN STATE CHAMPIONSHIP, SANTA BARBARA, CA: 22 JUNE 1974

1. Los Angeles Queensmen 74.45

2. Brentwood Imperials 61.95

3. Santa Monica Emerald Knights 53.50

4. Fresno Ferns 50.55

5. S. Los Angeles Warriors 48.50

(I have the caption sheets around someplace).

There never have been a lot of contests in Santa Babylon, uh, Santa Barbara.  A color guard contest in 66 the Kingsmen Guard went to and that's about it?  Too bad, such a nice stadium at SBCC with a gread view of the ocean just across the street.

Meanwhile, whatever 71 scores I can find I will post......look at http://www.xkingsmen.com as there are important facts about The Kingsmen's achievments there.

RON HOUSLEY

Now celebrating our 37th

year of  Simply Unreal

Drum Corps!

http://www.cafepress.com/fresnoferns

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I remember that show....

Ummmmm, Mr. Housley, I would humbly like to offer my services as the towel and oil boy for the Fresno Ferns colorguard for the coming season. I will send any references you may need, if required.

[LancerLegend]

Wow - anyone that was at the 72 CYO Nationals and watched Kingsmen disembowel the undefeated 27th Lancers (who smoked Blue Stars at Shriners's on 6/17) will understand that the Kingsmen had that cut throat attitude.

I am not saying SCV was not on another planet. Their show design had to be performed perfectly to be understood. Kingsmen show was simple but immediately effective and identifiable by the audience.

For those of us that marched during that era - many of us hated the dreaded day time - sweltering heat of prelims and we knew we could kick it up a notch at finals.

I loved 27th, but Kingmen had me throwing babies. The rest - IMO - were boring.

[ffernbus3]

Again, I have to agree with that! As far as being more competent and educated musicians in the strictest sense of the word, Santa Clara was head and shoulders above what I had grown up with in Southern California between 1959 and when I migrated north in 72: a great musical program that was more like a "music dept." than what drum corps had been to me up until then.

Not to say Kingsmen didn't have skills, mind you, but they were more "execution" skills up until the stellar horn line of 74, which I think was the most "musical" Kingsmen horn line and a more complete mix of brass and percussion as an ensemble.

Also not to take anything away from The Kingsmen's musical program, but I do think the strength of vision that Gail Royer had for what drum corps could become, coupled with his musical depth, that made SCV the better corps between the two....and this is also to take nothing away from Rocco Oliverio, as his vision was to produce a winning, National Champion drum and bugle corps: he succeeded!

RON HOUSLEY

[lp1955]

Wow - anyone that was at the 72 CYO Nationals and watched Kingsmen disembowel the undefeated 27th Lancers (who smoked Blue Stars at Shriners's on 6/17) will understand that the Kingsmen had that cut throat attitude.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I was at that show we went on early in the show.I went in the stadium to the top of the stands about the 50 When the Kingsmen came on the knocked me off my feet what a powerfull horn line what a show they were really on that night. I can see how they wone the first DCI if the Vanguard was off that night.

[ffernbus3]

Good place to point you to the Kingsmen Drum & Bugle Corps Alumni site: http://www.xkingsmen.com

Pretty much the whole Kingsmen history is on .mp3 from about 64 or 65 and 76 and 77 were just added recently: I haven't heard the last two yet but I burned all the other years into a 2 disc set for myself and play 70-74 way too much but never get tired of it.

Lotsa great pics and other memorabelia, too.

RON HOUSLEY

67 Anaheim Kingsmen

lead baritone squad

[tkelly21]

Well here is a response that is sure to irritate some people, I can't take anymore of this.. I was in Santa Clara from the start, 1967. From the outset our goal was to beat the Anaheim Kingsmen. The Kingsmen had defined what class was and actully taught us all about that at a standstill in Pinole, CA. in early 1968. If you want the particulars about the defining moment in Santa Clara becoming the class corps they are today, you can e-mail me and I will give you the details.

We didn't look any farther ahead than Anaheim. Once we beat the Troopers, Cavaliers and everyone else in 1970 our focus was still on the Kingsmen. As they will tell you the whole country had this bad attitude about anything from California, it was all hippies and weirdo's. To tell you the truth we didn't care or worry about the 27th Lancers, the Cavaliers, Crusaders or anyone other than the Troopers and as always the Kingsmen. Of all the corps that are gone now, forget Spirit of Atlanta and the Bridgemen. The Anaheim Kingsmen had that mystique about them. They had those cool blue cadet uni's. I read a post once saying they had gotten the Blue Rocks uni's by mistake, rubish. They were always cool blue and cool Southern California blue.

Our goal was always to beat Anaheim, and that is what drove us because we were so tired of people whining about California. We all knew we were the 2 best drum corps in America.

Anaheim clutched up to win the first DCI championship, they did it that night. Maybe the forces of nature knew they weren't long for this world and gave them something that would go down in drum corps history, and it was only right.