The recent posts about Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, NJ reminded me about some of the OTHER great sites we remember from our days in the corps... here are a few. Add your own!

1. Lane Tech Stadium .. often AL State contest. Usually on a HOT day in July.

2. Hanson Stadium (Central and Fullerton, Chicago) ... many shows

3. Tiger Stadium, Detroit ... VFW National 1960. Great site

4. Ebbetts Field, New York. 1958 VFW ... a great site for a drum corps show

5. Horicon, Wisconsin ...where the frogs on the field may have actually outnumbered the corps members!

6. Streator, IL .. with a great parade and the crowd on the sidelines of the field .. where they were almost part of the corps.

What did you do in the Corps? drummer; quartermaster 1964-66, ass't drum instructor 1964-70

What years were you a Corps member? 1958 -1963

1. Whitewater, Wisconsin, site of the first DCI Championship. Something about being down in that bowl, entering the field coming down the hill (in later years they changed that and you came on from the back side - not the same feeling, but still a great stadium).

2. Momence, IL - crowd right on the sidelines (couldn't do that today with the pits using that area).

3. Stillwater, MN - that rickety press box that we thought Cosmo Barbaro would knock down in 1976. And the fact that little town could fill the stadium two nights in a row every year!

4. State Fair Race Track - yeah, it was lousy for performing, but one of the biggest thrills of my drum corps career was the crowd response in 1973 when the guard came out of the back corner with all American flags at the end of John Brown's Body.

5. La Porte, Indiana - only because I performed there with three different corps and won every time!

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

You remember La Porte more for the girls in Maple City Cadets than the stadium.

What did you do in the Corps? baritone and Drum Major

What years were you a Corps member? 1968-1972

I remember LaPorte in 1962 and 1965.

In 1962 Bruce Borck made his debut as Maroon Mouse. Bruce was still a substitute at that time. He had a maroon cape. When the corps came to the starting line he marched out with Renee Shannon as if he were a drum major, but continued down the side line and stood at parade rest in the end zone during the corps performance. Bruce also went out with Renee at the retreat like her was assistant drum major.

A spot didn't open up for Bruce until a couple of weeks before nationals in Minneapolis but prior to having a baritone spot, I do remember him marching (and faking) as a first soprano at AL state and even substituting for Larry Kalak on cymbals for one show.

In 1965 the La Porte show it was the end of one of the best weekends of the corps hard that season. We started Friday by finishing second to the Cavaliers (0.5 margin) in Milwaukee and then won shows in Michigan City and La Porte. In LaPorte we competed against an upstate New York corps called the Emerald Knights. The previous year they'd beaten us in Marion Ohio and in VFW prelims and thought they were going to clean up.

During the retreat we were lined up next to the Emerald Cadets and after scores and placements were announced one of our sopranos turned to them and said "Do you guys realize we just beat you by over 10 points." Wasn't very sportsmanlike but they way they'd acted when they showed up in Michigan City, it did seem appropriate at the time.

The places I really remember were Maine East (mainly because we were probably in more shows plus Park Ridge fireworks exhibitions, than anywhere else in my time in the corps), Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, Parade Stadium in Minneapolis and Hansen Park.

I do wish I'd marched at a venue like Leland Stanford Junior University stadium. It's only been around since about 2007 but it's a football only stadium that seats about 60000 and all seats are great.

Steve,

Don't know what you're talking about. My mind was always on the show...

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79

Most of the stadiums I remember have been memtioned,
but the ones I liked,a couple were close to home,not
far to drive,Lane Tech and Maine East High School,
I can also throw in Notre Dame High,in Park Ridge,
and of course Hansen Stadium,American Legion
National's,the junior contest,that was my second
year in Norwood,can still picture this,some of us
went early to see some of the Corps that were on
before us.

And of course Roosevelt Stadium.Some thing like this
you never forget.Some might not understand why this
Stadium is mentioned a lot.It was the contest that
was held there every year and by invitation only.

Years back we drove down to the Illinois State Fair
and the first thing I did when we got there I had
to go into the stands of the racetrack and take a
look again,did't change at all.

What did you do in the Corps? French Horn

What years were you a Corps member? 1957 thru 1963

I think certain venues take on that extra "something". For me it was Whitewater - home of the first DCI nationals (which we marched at, at least in prelims), and it was always a big show, even when it became too small to host finals.

What did you do in the Corps? Snare; Drum Major; Drum Instructor/Arranger

What years were you a Corps member? 1970-73; 78-79