Charioteers

The Charioteers drum and bugle corps was originally formed as the “Alabama Charioteers” from Troy, under the leaderships of Ralph Beasley, former director of the bands at Charles Henderson high school. They were a self-supported organization.

The Charioteers got off to an unusual start on the National scene. They were good enough at the 1971 American Legion (AL) Nationals’ prelims that they made the “Finals” cut. The only problem was that the new corps didn't learn a full show that year and were consequently pulled out of the “Finals”. They placed 8^th in the prelims. The following season saw the corps travel in its first tour, where they managed to finish 7^th at the 1972 US Open “Class A” finals and 19^th in the AL Nationals’ prelims. They also competed at the very first DCI championships, placing 22^nd which ranked them among the “Top 25”, becoming a DCI member.

In 1973, the corps participated at several regional contests including the American International Open (AIO), placing 3^rd in the “Class A” finals, a 15^th place finish at the preliminaries of the Bluegrass Nationals and placed 4^th in the US Open “Class A” finals, where of the 85 corps that competed in all classes, the Charioteers placed 1^st in visual execution, only to place 50th in visual GE. They moved to Birmingham in 1974 and was renamed the Charioteers as they continued to travel extensively over the last three seasons.

In 1974, their touring led them to a 36^th place finish in the DCI championship prelims along with stops in the North Tonawanda “Open Class” (NTO) finals, placing 8^th, the Key to the Sea “Open Class” (24^th - prelims) and three “Class A” finalist appearances at the AIO (2^nd), the US Open (4^th) and the Key to the Sea (6^th). The next year, the Birmingham unit successfully made the finals at the 1975 NTO (7^th - Open Class) and the US Open (4^th - Class A), a 10^th place finish in the AIO prelims before completing their highest achievement, placing 2^nd at the DCI “Class A” championships. 

In their final season of existence, the Charioteers, where the famous Robert W. Smith marched, placed 19^th at the AIO “Open Class preliminaries and were once again a finalist in the “Class A” division at the US Open (3^rd) and the DCI championships (5^th).

Over the years, Board members included Ralph Fowee, President, Andrew Cooper, Beverly Beasley and James Dinkins. The instructional staff comprised of Ray Eyler, James Dinkins and Frank Godfrey.

They disbanded in 1977.

Paul Legault (DCX)

CORPS 1 items

Charioteers

Charioteers,Troy,AL,Pin1-Alabama(RE-3.5)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection

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