1969

1969 Flags

Several members of the flag line, June 1, 1969, Randolph, NJ. Far right is Mike Coppola, aka "Caveman" and second from left is his brother, "Pebbles."

1969 - BS Randolph

1969 - BS Randolph

69 drum quartet

Golden Knights drum line October 1969. On the 3rd floor of the Blessed Sacrament school. Tony Sepe Photo

69 Drum Line

Golden Knights drum quartet exhibition NYC 1969. The quartet went undefeated from the early 60s until the competition corps' end. Tony Sepe Photo

1969 Hghlights

1969 New French Horns

Mike Diaz shows off our new G-F French Horns by Smith at an early 1969 season parade. Also shown is Erich Schweikert, second from Mike's left. Photo courtesy of Mike Diaz, who is a member of the BSGK Alumni corps.

1969 Bob Ruth

A rare photo of Bob Ruth the season before his defection from the color guard. Not shown (left of Bob) is Dick Burns considering the merits of Ruth becoming a virtuoso horn player for the 1970 season. We all agreed that when it came to Bob's horn playing, nothing was better.

1969 Art Farrell & George Marsh

1969 Concert

BSGK in concert, 1969. Some of the members are: Color guard, upper left: Dave "Pebbles" Coppola Baritone, far left: Art Farrell (drum major for the alumni corps) Soprano, far left: George "Penguin" Marshall Baritone closest to contrabasses: Neil Powers (alumni corp member) Contrabasses (left to right): Earl Barnwell, Gary Dickelman (alumni member), Charlie Walley (alumni member)

1969 Crispus Attucks Day

Newark marked an annual parade for BSGK. As one of the few events in the 1960s celebrating an African American (Crispus Attuck is a Revolutionary War hero) and in predominantly black Newark, the spectators were many and they spilled into the street along the parade route. The corps decided to organize both the horn line and color guard in single fronts that spanned the entire street to keep the crowds at bay, as shown in this news clipping (courtesy of Mike Diaz).

1969 Guard Captain

June 1, 1969, Randolph, NJ. Color Guard captain (and future flugel horn virtuoso) Bob Ruth leads the corps around the track on one of his grueling exercises. We often covered 10 miles (40 laps around the track) if Bob felt we performed below standards. We were probably being reprimanded this time because assistant drum major Pat Haynes forgot his hat.

1969 Bridgeport, CT

May 24, 1969 - Vinnie Ratford's Eleanor Rigby drill.

1969

1969 Milford, CT

August 2, 1969, Second from left on tenor drum: Matt Denison; Contrabass in the background: Gary Dickelman; Foreground snare: Bobby Craig; Background tenor: Mike Teliszewski; Foreground snares: Jimmy O'Hara, Matt ??. In typical fashion, the drum judge is diggin' the line and has forgotten about his clipboard.

1969 Randolph, NJ.

June 1, 1969, Soprano, far left, is Billy Pusey. Drums from left: Matt Denison, Mike Teliszewski, Don Interdonato, Bernard ??, Tony Sepe, Jimmy O'Hara, Matt ??.

1969 Rigby Drill

1969 Retreat

Retreat at a 1969 competition. Contrabass players are Gary Dickelman and Earl Barnwell.

1969 Drum Quartet Winter 68/69

Jimmy O'Hara, Bobby Craig, Tony Sepe, and Don Interdonato perform a killer drum quartette - Photo courtesy of Mike Diaz.

1969 Winter Exhibition Brooklyn

Indoor exhibition during the 1969/70 winter - photo courtesy of Mike Diaz

1969 Muchachos Defeat

1969 photo of the Muchachos reviewing the damage following a loss to the Golden Knights.

1969 Contrabasses

1969 Color Pre

1969 Don Interdonato