Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Other Names:Union Golden Knights

Newark, NJ United States
Founded: 1948

Inactive Junior

Year	Position	Score	Theme/Songs
1952			I Hear Music Fanfare * Waiting for the Robert E. Lee * Stars and Stripes Forever * Ave Maria * The Lost Chord * Tango * Just the Way You Look Tonight * The Student Prince * The One I Love Is the Red White and Blue * I Wonder Why * This Is My Lucky Day * I Feel A Song Coming On (from Every Night At Eight) * The Sunflower Song * Moonlight and Roses * On Wisconsin * Goodbye, My Lady Love (from Show Boat)
1953			Hands Across The Sea * Drums In My Heart * Lover Come Back to Me (from New Moon) * Latin Beat * Just the Way You Look Tonight * The Student Prince * The One I Love Is the Red White and Blue * I Wonder Why * This Is My Lucky Day * I Feel A Song Coming On (from Every Night At Eight) * Captain Steel * Salud * Waiting for the Robert E. Lee * Mimi * Goodbye, My Lady Love (from Show Boat)
1954	1	88.700	Washington Post March * Salud * God Bless America (from This Is the Army) * Drums In My Heart * Lover Come Back to Me (from New Moon) * No Other Love (from Me And Juliet) * Stompin' at the Savoy * Hands Across The Sea * Waiting for the Robert E. Lee * This Is My Lucky Day * Mimi * I Hear Music Intro * I Feel A Song Coming On (from Every Night At Eight) * Goodbye, My Lady Love (from Show Boat)
1955			Washington Post March * Salud * God Bless America (from This Is the Army) * Woodpecker Song * Lover Come Back to Me (from New Moon) * No Other Love (from Me And Juliet) * Stompin' At The Savoy * Hands Across The Sea * Waiting for the Robert E. Lee * Little Girl * Mimi * Quo Vadis * Goodbye, My Lady Love (from Show Boat)
1956			Quo Vadis * National Emblem March * I Only Have Eyes For You (from Dames) * Yours * Crazy Rhythm * Hands Across The Sea * Woodpecker Song * Mimi * No Other Love (from Me And Juliet) * Stompin' at the Savoy * Washington Post March
1957	4	91.800	I Hear a Rhapsody (from Clash By Night) * Washington Post March * National Emblem March * I Only Have Eyes For You (from Dames) * Yours * Crazy Rhythm * Woodpecker Song * Mardi Gras March * Quo Vadis * Beyond the Sea
1958	1	88.480	I Hear a Rhapsody (from Clash By Night) * National Emblem March * Just One of Those Things * America I Love You * In the Still of the Night * You're Driving Me Crazy * Woodpecker Song * Mardi Gras March * Beyond the Sea
1959			National Emblem March * All the Things You Are * Cha-Cha (from West Side Story) * Por Favor * Mardi Gras March * In the Still of the Night * You're Driving Me Crazy
1960	1	90.050	Spellbound Intro * National Emblem March * Por Favor * America I Love You * You and the Night and the Music * What is This Thing Called Love? * All the Things You Are * Comes Love * In the Still of the Night
1961	2	88.550	Ben Hur Fanfare * The Vanished Army * Por Favor * Americans We * You and the Night and the Music * What is This Thing Called Love? * Put On A Happy Face * Comes Love * In the Still of the Night
1962	4	83.300	Camelot Fanfare * The Vanished Army * Let's Face the Music and Dance (from Follow the Fleet) * Americans We * You and the Night and the Music * What is This Thing Called Love? * Put On A Happy Face * Witchcraft * In the Still of the Night
1963			National Emblem March * Witchcraft * Americans We * Let's Face the Music and Dance (from Follow the Fleet) * Give Me the Simple Life (from Let's Make Love) * Mutiny on the Bounty * In the Still of the Night
1964	7	81.000	The Big Country * National Emblem March * Theme from The Cardinal * Let's Face the Music and Dance (from Follow the Fleet) * Give Me the Simple Life (from Let's Make Love) * Stairway to the Stars * Mutiny on the Bounty * Laura
1965	7	81.450	Under The Double Eagle * If Ever I Would Leave You (from Camelot) * Cry Me a River * America * Yankee Doodle * What's New? * Laura
1966	5	87.250	If I Were a Bell (from Guys and Dolls) * Chimes of Liberty * The Eyes of a Woman in Love * It Had Better Be Tonight (from The Pink Panther) * America * Who Can I Turn To (from Roar of the Greasepaint)
1967			National Emblem March * The Eyes of a Woman in Love * Guys and Dolls * That Old Devil Moon * Oye Negra * The Phantom Regiment * Who Can I Turn To (from Roar of the Greasepaint)
1968			El Cid * Goin' Out Of My Head * That Old Devil Moon * Step to the Rear (from How Now, Dow Jones) * The Phantom Regiment * Yesterday
1969	5	82.700	El Cid * Hang 'em High * Aquarius (from Hair) * Grazin In The Grass * Eleanor Rigby * America * Free Again
1970	4	85.050	Troika (from Lieutenant Kije Suite) * Hang 'em High * Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (from On Your Toes) * Eleanor Rigby * America * Take Five * Free Again
1971			March of the Siamese Children (from The King and I) * I Whistle a Happy Tune (from The King and I) * Hello Young Lovers (from The King and I) * Shall We Dance (from The King and I) * Of Thee I Sing (from Of Thee I Sing) * I Have Dreamed (from The King and I) * Something Wonderful (from The King and I)
1972			Procession of Bacchus (from Sylvia) * National Emblem March * Get It On * Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah * When You Wish Upon a Star (from Pinocchio)
1975			Great Gate of Kiev (from Pictures at an Exhibition) * National Emblem March * Bon Homme Richard * Free Again

Position 200+ indicates Division II, Position 300+ indicates Division III, Position 400+ indicates Mini Corps.

The Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights of Newark, New Jersey, were formed in 1946 as a coed junior parade corps by Fr. John Kiley for the children of the Blessed Sacrament Parish. The corps was sponsored by the Blessed Sacrament CYO, Newark American Legion Post 302, and Irvington VFW Post 9393. The corps colors were gold, white, and black.

In 1952 Fr. Robert F. Garner took steps to make the corps competitive as an all-male corps, a tradition that continued until 1971. "Sac" turned out to be one of the greatest corps ever. In just 26 months the group went from their first contest to national championships in both the American Legion and VFW. The average corps age was just 16 at the time. The accomplishment came to be known as The Gold Rush of 1954.

Consider these further accomplishments: From 1954 through 1963 they won nine of the 13 Nationals they entered. From 1954 through 1970 they were in the top four 18 times in the 21 Nationals they entered. They also won the first World Open in 1963. World Drum Corps Hall of Famer Dick Burns was a soloist with Sac from 1953 to 1963.

A story from this era has it that Fr. Garner asked the name of a tune he heard the corps playing. As the result, Sac was forbidden to play one of its great hits, "Love for Sale," for many years.

Sac sponsored an annual contest, the Cavalcade of Music, each June.

Blessed Sacrament, one of the original 13 DCI member corps, never attended the DCI Championships. The corps folded after the 1972 season.

A senior corps was formed about 1974 to compete in DCA but they too were gone a year later. The current alumni corps, formed in 1991, is one of the most nostalgic of the alumni corps around, playing the Sac music from years gone by.

A new incarnation of the Blessed Sacrament Junior Drum & Bugle Corps was announced in August, 2003, to serve the youth of the inner city neighborbood in Newark. The U.S. Naval Academy Drum & Bugle Corps got the fund raising under way by donating a full set of instruments.

In the summer of 2004, more than half of all the musicians who had imarched with Blessed Sac in 1954 gathered in Union, New Jersey, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of that dual championship year.

[Encyclopedia of Drum and Bugle Corps, 1966; John Palatucci, rec.arts.marching.drumcorps, 12/26/2001; DCW, 5/02, p.32 DCW, 8/31/03, p.23; DCW, 8/20/04, p.9, inter alia]

Members (27)

Member Name	Section	Years Involved
BRENNAN, JACK	DRUM LINE	1972 to 1973
BUTLER-GARCIA, DIANE	Honor Guard	1972 to 1973
Baldwin, Richard	French Horn	1966 to 1967
Baldwin, Richard	French Horn	1966
Bell, John	Mellophone	1975
Blakely, Doug	1st Soprano	1972 to 1973
CLARK, MAURICE	SNARE LINE	1979
CYR, GEORGE	2ND BARITONE	1962 to 1964
Day, Joseph	Baritone	1959 to 1963
De Lisa, Gene	soprano	1975
Diaz, Jose	Baritone	1966 to 1967
Dixon, John	drum line - tenor	1964 to 1965
Duhigg , Brandon	Soprano	1991
Hewitt, Tom	Brass	1963
Horne, Steve	Contra	1973
Jones, Richard	color guard / drum major	1963 to 1967
Kraft, George	1st soprano	1972 to 1973
LaGreca, Chuck	Mellophone	1966 to 1968
Love, Bob	Snare line	1963 to 1967
Love, Robert (Bob)	French Horn	1955 to 1956
Mycek, Mike	Guard	1969
O'Hara, Jimmy	Snare	1968 to 1969
Ralph, Patrick	Drumline	1970 to 1972
Schumacher, John	Soprano	1965 to 1969; 1971
brown, brian	saprano	1967
kNISS, Fred	SOLO SOPRANO	1969 to 1970
mycek, mike	Guard	1969

CORPS 21 items

Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

0 9 Photos

1956 1 Photos

1961 5 Photos

1962 3 Photos

1963 3 Photos

1964 1 Photos

1965 6 Photos

1967 3 Photos

1968 3 Photos

1970 8 Photos

1972 9 Photos

2012 24 Photos

2013 10 Photos

Members (27)