Racine, WI United States
Founded: 1916
In their salad days, the Boys of 76 was a competitive corps to be reckoned with, winning both the American Legion and VFW Nationals for four years in a row, 1922 through 1925.
The fourth championship, in 1925, looked shaky at first. The corps full of rookies placed an uncharacteristic third in preliminary competition, and the call for reinforcements went out from Omaha back to Racine. An emergency infusion of eight crack drummers and a drill master raced to the rescue across the plains, allowing the Boys of 76 to best the corps from St. Paul, Minnesota, for their fourth straight championship.
A couple of unique features set this venerable corps apart. It is reputed to be the only drum and bugle corps ever directed by John Philip Sousa, for one thing. For another, at least one charter drummer learned his musicianship from a veteran of the American Civil War. Finally, after a tour of France in 1923 (one source says 1927), the corps established a tontine, in which a fine bottle of cognac was set on a mantle, to be opened and toasted by the last surviving member of the 1923 Boys.
The corps' headgear was also famous: for 40 years the group boasted exact replicas of the chrome-covered helmets used by the Red Arrow Division that served in combat in World War I.
The Boys competed in DCA Finals three times; their highest finish came in 1970, at ninth.
An all-male group until 1975, the corps' name was changed to the Spirit of '76. (A drum majorette, Gladys Christensen, did accompany the corps to Paris in the 1920s.) It was this coed version of the corps that appeared in the 1986 movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Although a full corps has not been fielded since about 1990, in 1998 the "spirit" of the Spirit of '76 was still represented in Racine by a color guard, wearing the Dough Boy uniforms of the 1917 Boys of '76.
[John Caspers, RAMD, 2/20/98, 10/19/98; Ron Allard, RAMD, 2/27/01; DCW, 10/03, p.3; DCW, 1/04, p.3; DCW, 3/04, p.17; DCW, 6/11/04, p.11]
Highest Score 0.000
Final show in DCX Archives January 1, 1922 American Legion National Championships Unknown
Highest Score 0.000
Final show in DCX Archives January 1, 1923 American Legion National Championships Unknown
Highest Score 88.000
Final show in DCX Archives October 8, 1925 American Legion National Championships Omaha NE placed 1 with a score of 88.000
Highest Score 93.000
Final show in DCX Archives September 30, 1927 American Legion National Championships Paris France placed 5 with a score of 93.000
Highest Score 99.100
Final show in DCX Archives September 23, 1931 American Legion Nationals-Prelim Detroit MI placed 1 with a score of 99.100
Highest Score 0.000
Final show in DCX Archives August 20, 1934 American Legion State Championships Green Bay WI United States
Highest Score 0.000
Final show in DCX Archives June 24, 1939 VFW State Championship Racine WI
Highest Score 89.900
Final show in DCX Archives September 15, 1941 American Legion National Championships Milwaukee WI placed 8 with a score of 89.900
Highest Score 88.600
Final show in DCX Archives January 1, 1950 American Legion National Championships Los Angeles CA placed 3 with a score of 88.600
Highest Score 87.400
Final show in DCX Archives August 12, 1951 6th Annual V-J Day Competition Elkhorn WI
Highest Score 86.183
Final show in DCX Archives August 25, 1952 American Legion National Championships (senior finals) New York City NY placed 9 with a score of 86.183
Highest Score 84.716
Final show in DCX Archives January 1, 1953 American Legion Nationals St. Louis MO placed 10 with a score of 84.116
Highest Score 89.400
Final show in DCX Archives June 24, 1956 Cedarburg WI placed 1 with a score of 89.400
Highest Score 82.210
Final show in DCX Archives September 14, 1957 American Legion National Championships - Senior Prelims Atlantic City NJ placed 14 with a score of 82.210
Highest Score 78.130
Final show in DCX Archives September 4, 1958 Prelims Chicago IL placed 13 with a score of 78.130
Highest Score 86.100
Final show in DCX Archives September 5, 1959 Bellefontaine OH placed 5 with a score of 78.850
Highest Score 75.200
Final show in DCX Archives October 16, 1960 American Legion National Championships Miami FL placed 6 with a score of 71.060
Highest Score 83.316
Final show in DCX Archives September 9, 1961 American Legion National Championships Denver CO placed 2 with a score of 83.316
Highest Score 80.216
Final show in DCX Archives August 25, 1962 Kenosha Kingsmen Show Kenosha WI placed 1 with a score of 77.400
Highest Score 81.500
Final show in DCX Archives September 8, 1963 American Legion National Championships - Prelims Miami Beach FL placed 6 with a score of 74.853
Highest Score 81.300
Final show in DCX Archives September 21, 1964 American Legion National Championships Dallas TX placed 3 with a score of 67.050
Highest Score 57.280
Final show in DCX Archives September 5, 1965 Midwest senior Drum Corps Championship Racine WI placed 3 with a score of 57.280
Highest Score 71.200
Final show in DCX Archives August 28, 1966 American Legion National Championships - Prelims Washington DSC placed 8 with a score of 66.100
Highest Score 82.900
Final show in DCX Archives August 6, 1967 Burlington WI placed 3 with a score of 82.900
Highest Score 56.233
Final show in DCX Archives August 10, 1968 Racine WI placed 9 with a score of 52.030
Highest Score 62.550
Final show in DCX Archives August 24, 1969 American Legion National Championships Atlanta GA placed 4 with a score of 58.800
Highest Score 72.050
Final show in DCX Archives September 6, 1970 DCA Championships Prelims Rochester NY placed 7 with a score of 72.050
Highest Score 79.100
Final show in DCX Archives September 5, 1971 DCA Championships Prelims Rochester NY placed 16 with a score of 71.300
Highest Score 48.750
Final show in DCX Archives September 1, 1974 DCA Championships Prelims Rochester NY placed 14 with a score of 48.750
Highest Score 30.350
Final show in DCX Archives July 6, 1980 Dixon IL placed 4 with a score of 30.350
Highest Score 53.100
Final show in DCX Archives July 5, 1982 New Berlin WI placed 3 with a score of 53.100
Highest Score 38.950
Final show in DCX Archives July 24, 1983 Fox Lake IL placed 8 with a score of 29.350
Highest Score 48.300
Final show in DCX Archives August 11, 1984 Momence IL placed 4 with a score of 48.300
Highest Score 41.500
Final show in DCX Archives August 11, 1985 Cedarburg WI placed 8 with a score of 28.600
Member Name | Section | Years Involved |
---|---|---|
Barnekow, Dave | Bass | 1964 |
Fennell, George | French Horn | 1987 |
Hinen, Dennis | Snare | 1962 |
Letourneau, Glen | Contra Bass/Baritone | 1970 to 1986 |
Pawlowski, A.J. | Drum | 1959 to 1960 |
Rugani, Louis | Mellophone, 1970; Baritone, 1971, 1973-1974 | 1970 to 1974 |
Rugani, Louis | Mellophonium (1970), First Baritone ('71 on) | 1970 to 1974 |
Sobczak, Conrad | snare drum | 1958 to 1960 |
Szlagowski, Brenda | horn | 1979 to 2000 |
Violett, Edward | contra | 1970 to 1972 |
Voeks, Jerry | Drum Line | 1970 to 1978 |
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