Boys Club Cavaliers

The Boys Club Cavaliers drum & bugle corps was formed in the fall 1958 when instruments formerly used by the Berkshire Marauders were donated to the Pittsfield Boys Club, the corps’ sponsor, by the Pittsfield Permanent Firemen’s Association.

In their inaugural year, they performed strictly as a parade corps and made 16 appearances in the region, including a 3^rd place finish at the MA VFW state convention parade. Through hard work and dedication, the corps fielded a competitive unit in 1960, placing 2^nd at the Hudson Berkshire circuit championships. For the first time in over 10 years, the City of Pittsfield had a competitive junior corps.

In the fall of 1960, Dominick Del Ra was hired as the arranger for the corps and Bud Curry taught marching as the corps was crowned the 1961 Hudson Berkshire circuit champions, along with a 4^th place finish at the Yankee circuit championships. The following year the corps was unsuccessful in defending their Berkshire title, placing 3^rd and finished 6^th at the Yankee circuit championships.

In 1963, they were a finalist at the inaugural World Open championships, placing 8th and finished 2^nd in the Yankee circuit. They competed the following year at the 1964 VFW Nationals and World Open preliminaries, finishing 22^nd in both events. In the fall of 1964, the Pittsfield Imperials fused into the Cavaliers as well as several members from the recently disbanded Skyhawks. This helped the corps to a finalist spot at the 1965 World Open championships, placing 9^th.

In 1966, the Cavaliers participated at both National championships, finishing in 16^th position at the American Legion (AL) and 22^nd at the VFW. The corps emerged one last time as a World Open finalist in 1967, placing 8th as well as a return visit to the AL Nationals, where they finished in 20^th place. In 1968, the corps managed to field a competitive unit in their final season and although there were valiant efforts to continue the tradition by Cavalier alumni, the corps disbanded in 1969 but did sponsor annual competitions for a few years along with several reunions.

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