The Brigadiers

The Syracuse Brigadiers Drum and Bugle Corps is a precision musical/marching organization that is historically significant to the City of Syracuse and the Central New York region.

The corps began life in 1938 as a junior corps organized by the Polish Legion of American Veterans (PLAV) Post 14 in Syracuse. After World War II the original corps was reorganized as a senior drum and bugle corps. In field competition, this new senior corps captured the title of PLAV National Champions every year that the contest was held.

In 1954, The Boys from Syracuse, The Cortland Moose, and The Sons of American Legion Post 41 drum corps all merged under the name The Syracuse Brigadiers. This was the first step in their climb to international fame.

The Syracuse Brigadiers won the coveted title of New York State American Legion Champions from 1955 through 1960 and then again in 1964 and 1967. Under the sponsorship of PLAV Post 14 and American Legion Post 1677, the Syracuse Brigadiers were finalists in the American Legion National Championships every time they entered, were runners-up three times, and were international champions in 1957 and 1958.

During the 1968 season, although the Brigs membership was devastated by the tragic deaths of two of their members in an automobile accident after a rehearsal, the corps still came within a few tenths of a point from being crowned DCA World Champions.

The quality of the Brigadiers’ performances diminished during the following years. The corps was inactive in 1972, but made a sterling comeback attempt in 1973. Although other corps had the luxury of eleven months of preparation for the DCA World Championships, the Brigadiers had to endure an intense five-week rehearsal schedule before entering field competition only a few weeks before the 1973 DCA World Championships. A judging penalty for undersized flags at the preliminary competition caused the Brigs to miss DCA Finals by five hundredths of a point, a blow from which the corps was unable to recover. The Syracuse Brigadiers folded, for 17 years.

On August 11, 1990, the Rochester Crusaders sponsored the Pageant of Drums competition in Syracuse, featuring many of the top senior drum corps in the country. The Crusaders had decided to name the first-place trophy that year in honor of the late Charlie Ragonese, one of the Syracuse Brigadiers’ directors.

At the awards ceremony, about fifty former Brigadiers were invited from the grandstand and marched around the stadium to the strains of familiar Brigadier music of the past. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered. The rebirth of the Syracuse Brigadiers was under way.

Inspired by that night, a small group of former Brigadiers and fans met in October, 1990, to discuss resurrecting the Brigadiers. This dauntless group of organizers had to beg, borrow and almost steal equipment before they were able to put a parade corps on the street in 1991.

Since then, membership in the corps has grown greatly. Personal loans, second mortgages on homes, and membership fees have helped to finance the corps. The Syracuse Brigadiers once again entered field competition in 1992.

The corps immediately began to recapture past glories as well as establish new standards of excellence. With audience entertainment being the traditional priority for the Brigs, standing ovations greeted their every performance. Show sponsors began competing to have the Syracuse Brigadiers in their shows. The 1992 season ended in Scranton where the Brigadiers garnered an eleventh place finish at the DCA World Championships and earned Associate DCA membership. They improved their status in 1993 to a ninth-place finish and full DCA membership.

Heading into the 1994 season, the Syracuse Brigadiers had come full circle, combining the elements of the new Brigadiers with traditions of their illustrious past. Mr. Brigadier himself joined the instructional staff: Al “Corkey” Fabrizio, former soloist, drum major, and music arranger from the 1950s, 60s, and the 70s, along with several other former Brigs. Steadily growing in consistency and organizational structure, the Brigs placed seventh in 1995 and fifth in 1996.

With the establishment of Brigadier Hall, a reorganization, a rededication to a sound organizational structure, and a stronger commitment to their tradition of quality performance, the Brigadiers’ success continued to grow. In 1997, the corps shared the 1997 DCA World Championship. They finished second 1998, but 1999 brought them the undisputed World Championship by one of the largest margins of victory in history, 1.7 points. They then claimed the championship for a third time in 2000, and with the 2001 championship accomplished the coveted three-peat.

The 2002 season brought new challenges in musical and visual performance, with the hope and expectation of quality performances throughout the summer, and a fourth consecutive World Championship, with a score of 98.6. In 2003, the Brigadiers fell just short of winnng "one for the thumb" by finishing second to the Hawthorne Caballeros, and the 2004 finish was also second. The Brigadiers through 2004 has finished first or second for eight consecutive years.

The Brigadiers formed an alumni corps in 1998, still active in 2002 as a standstill group. As many Brig alumni now live in Florida, Roy Grant created a southern branch of the corps in 2002, called the Florida Brass. This group joins with the Brigadier Alumni corps at DCA.

[www.brigadiers.com; DCW, 6/28/02, p.14]

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