Capital Chargers

The Capital Chargers drum & bugle corps was organized in the fall of 1970 under the direction of Eugene Landrum as a self-supported non-profit organization. They were sponsored by the La Fore Locke VFW Post 755 and the Springfield American Legion (AL) Post 32.

The corps entered the field of competition in 1971, participating at the IL State Fair, placing 9^th in the finals. The following year saw them compete at the 1972 IL AL state, where they finished 9^th in the prelims. In 1973, the Chargers engaged an entirely new staff, all of whom were previously with the famed Black Knights of Belleville. They included Mike Hartwell as musical director, Tom Welker and Bob Maxwell on brass, Terry Husky on percussion and Ken Snyder on visual. That season, the corps went on to qualify in the finals three major contests, including a 7^th place finish at both the AL and VFW state championships and ranked 5^th at the Mid-American circuit competition.

The following season, they repeated appearances at both the 1974 AL and VFW state contests, placing 9th in the preliminaries as well as 4^th and 8^th place finishes respectively, at the IL State Fair and Mid-American circuit championships.

In 1975, the Capital Chargers merged with the Falcons of Springfield to form the Statesmen.

Paul Legault (DCX)

CORPS 1 items

Capital Chargers

CapitalChargers,Springfield,IL,Pin1(BJA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

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