Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps - History

History

The Boston Crusaders were founded in 1940 as the Most Precious Blood Crusaders, a youth activity of the Most Precious Blood Catholic parish in the Hyde Park section of Boston. The Corps and the parish parted ways in 1956, and the corps took a new name, the Hyde Park Crusaders. During this period, two ardent, if unofficial supporters of the corps were two of the Kennedy brothers, John F. and Ted. JFK was such a staunch supporter that he was made an honorary member of the corps; the then-Senator was responsible for acquiring West Point uniforms that the Crusaders converted to their own colors; in return, the corps honored the newly-elected President Kennedy by being the first drum and bugle corps to march in a Presidential Inauguration Parade.

By 1959, the corps had become the Boston Crusaders, although they often were (and still are) referred to as "BAC" or the Boston Area Crusaders, and BAC was one of the East Coast powerhouse corps of the 1960s. They won the first CYO National Drum and Bugle Championship in 1964 and repeated as CYO champions in 1967 & '68. The corps was a finalist at VFW Nationals in 1969 & '70 and would have won the 1967 American Legion Junior Championship, if the powers-that-be had not voided the scores for the corps' inspection, allowing the Cavaliers to outscore them.

In 1971, the Boston Crusaders, along with the 27th Lancers, Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights, Blue Rock, and Garfield Cadets formed the United Organization of Junior Corps (also known as the "Alliance"). This action was taken in reaction to the rigid, inflexible rules of the American Legion and VFW (the primary rule makers and sponsors of both corps and shows) and the low or nonexistent performance fees paid for appearing in the various competitions. The corps felt that not only were they having their creative potential as artistic performing groups stifled, but they were being financially starved. (A similar group of Midwestern corps, the Midwest Combine, was formed by the Blue Stars, Cavaliers, Madison Scouts, Santa Clara Vanguard, and the Troopers.) The Alliance members felt that the corps should be making their own rules, operating their own competitions and championships, and keeping the bulk of the monies those shows earned. For the 1971 season, the corps stuck together, offering show promoters the five corps as a package. Despite pressure on show sponsors, judges, and other drum corps, the corps were booked into a number of shows together.

In 1972, the Garfield Cadets, along with the nine other corps from the Alliance and the Midwest Combine, plus the Anaheim Kingsmen, Argonne Rebels, and De La Salle Oaklands were founding members of Drum Corps International, which remains as the sanctioning body for junior corps in North America. That summer, there was a fire in the corps hall that destroyed much of the corps' equipment. The corps was forced to withdraw from many of its scheduled contests, and at one point, could claim only nineteen active members. Rather than attending the first DCI World Championship in Whitewater, Wisconsin, BAC returned to the field to compete at CYO Nationals, where they finished ninth of thirteen corps and solidified their reputation as, "the corps that would not die."

Disaster struck again a decade later when, while on a 1982 tour in the United Kingdom, the corps' funds were embezzled, leaving members and staff stranded and financially insolvent in England. The debts incurred in getting the corps home to Boston left the Boston Crusaders organization bankrupt, with its assets seized to satisfy its creditors. Once more, the corps refused to die, fielding a small unit in 1983 as the Boston Drum and Bugle Corps after the members had re-acquired the organization's truck, uniforms, and equipment by "less than legal means". During the months they were without their name, the corps worked to repay their debts and returned to the field as the Boston Crusaders in 1984.

Through the years, BAC had fostered a well-earned image of toughness. Prior to DCI Prelims in Miami in 1983, a gang of street thugs were harassing corps as they prepared to enter the Orange Bowl Stadium. The Boston Crusaders, "...as adept with fists as with bugles..." solved the problem by chasing the gang away. However, this attitude was not conducive to attracting sufficient numbers of talented members to be a truly competitive corps, and in combination with a reputation for being troublemakers, the corps was relegated to middling rankings within DCI through the 1980s and '90's.

Under corps director Jim Cronin from 1996 to 2000, the corps adopted a new philosophy of “professionalism, accountability, and responsibility” for its members. In 1999, the Boston Crusaders finally earned a place among DCI's Top Twelve Finalists. They have returned to Finals in every year since, placing as high as fifth in 2002.

Historically, the Boston Crusaders have often been drum corps innovators. They were the first corps to march double tenor drums in 1967; the first to march tympani in 1969; the first with slides on their horns to allow playing a chromatic scale; and, although they were penalized for it in every show, the first to use a synthesizer in 1985.