Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights


Other Names:Union Golden Knights

Newark, NJ United States
Founded: 1948

Inactive Junior
YearPositionScoreTheme/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

Blessed Sacrament Pennant from the Bill Ives Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Newark Golden Knights Pennant from the Bill Ives Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Blessed Sacrament from the Bill Ives Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Blessed Sacrament 2 from the Bill Ives Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

SAC Licence cover from the Bob Carell Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,DH1-NationalChamps(Site)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Hat1-BlackSideCap(eBay)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Hat2-GoldSideCap(JPA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Patch1-B&GInsignia(RPE)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection Contributed by Robert Pero
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Pin1-GoldenKnightsStripe(GBA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Pin2-GoldPlumedKnight(JPA)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,Pin3-Knight(BJA-4.0)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,PN1-GKNewark(BIV)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,PN2-BS(BIV)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,ST1-Shield(BIV-4.0x5.0)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

BlessedSacrament,Newark,NJ,ST2-RoundKnight(BIV-5.0)J_U_S from the Richard Elmquist Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

1969 Blessed Sacrament Drum & Bugle Corps - "America The Beautiful" from the Roy Perez Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

1969 Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights - "Eleanor Rigby" from the Roy Perez Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights
PDF Document

162-167, Blessed Sac Gold Knig from the Steve Vickers Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights 1 from the Wayne Hiller Collection
Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights

Blessed Sacrament Golden Knights 2 from the Wayne Hiller Collection

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