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A History, by Gord Moffatt,
(http://www.yorklionsdrumcorps.org)
York Lions Drum Corps, also known as The White
Knights, had a relatively short but quite lively
existence. Formed in 1961 and disbanded in 1966,
the corps managed to cram a lot of travel and
improvement into five short competitive seasons.
The corps operated out of the Borough of York, a
suburb of the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The corps would not have existed without its
founder and driving force, Doug Saunders. Doug
had been the Director of the Leaside Lions Drum
Corps (Jungle Kings). There are some question
about Doug’s departure from Leaside, but he was
instrumental in convincing the York Lions Club
to start a new drum corps in what was then the
Borough of York. York Lions Club had previously
sponsored the very successful 180th Mosquito
Squadron Air Corps, so they were aware of the
needs of a competitive drum corps and readily
provided the tools necessary to start the new
corps. Throughout the fall of 1961 the corps
rehearsed and recruited. By the start of the
1962 competitive season, the York Lions Drum and
Bugle Corps was ready to take the field.
In the early 1960s, every small town in southern
Ontario seemed to have a drum corps, usually
sponsored by a service club, local branch of the
Canadian Legion, or some other military-based
organization. York Lions joined this large
fraternity, entering in the Junior B competitive
circuit, an equivalent to today’s Division II
junior corps. There was no touring required in
that era so that corps could select when and
where they wished to compete based to their
budgets. In the normal traveling circuit were
such corps as the Brantford Belltones, Trafalgar
Patrolmen, Columbus (Toronto) Simcoe Optimists
and Hamilton Optimists (later to become Hamilton
Conqueror). The York Lions finished 1962 in
third place in the Canadian Nationals. Future
Drum Corps Hall of Famer Doug Moffat was the
drum major of that first York Lions corps.
1963 became a successful building year for the
corps. The White Knights (as they were beginning
to be called due to the white uniforms with
purple and gold trim) began to dominate the
circuit and by the close of the season had
captured the Junior B National title. As a Lions
Club sponsored corps, the corps had numerous
parade and concert obligations to fulfill. One
of the most desirable was a trip to the annual
Lions International Convention, which in 1963
was held in Miami, Florida. The corps traveled
two days via charter bus to Florida, arriving
somewhat the worse for wear, but nonetheless
managing to capture the coveted parade
championship in scorching June heat.
The corps was clearly good enough by 1964 to
move up to the Junior A circuit with perennial
powerhouses Toronto Optimists and De La Salle.
Although competitive throughout the season, the
White Knights found National Championships to be
a very humbling experience as they finished
fourth. Toronto Optimists, De La Salle, and
Sarnia Sertomanaires took the top three spots.
For the first time in their short history the
corps was not at or even close to the top.
However, the corps was again fortunate to be
sponsored by the Lions Club and traveled to Los
Angeles, California, for the International
Convention, where they again captured the best
parade unit title. Of course, the Lions Club did
not cover the total cost of all these trips.
Corps members sold chocolate bars, raffled
tickets, and conducted various other
fund-raising activities to help defray the
costs.
1965 was a truly watershed year for the corps.
With enhanced instruction, professional musical
scores from some of the activities’ finest
arrangers, and an influx of personnel, the corps
truly became a serious contender. Help came from
such esteemed sources as Fred Johnston, Ted Key,
Vinnie Radford, and John Sazzo, some of whom are
now World Drum Corps Hall of Famers. The corps
again finished fourth at the Nationals in
Toronto’s Varsity Stadium but the quality of the
corps had risen significantly, and the gaps
between first and fourth had shrunk
considerably. Sarnia Sertomanaires had
unfortunately left the scene, but a new Quebec
corps called La Salle Cadets filled the gap
quite nicely, proving to be a very strong
contender as they finished third. The big Lions
Club trip of 1965 turned out to be a little
anticlimactic as the convention was held in
Toronto that year. Nonetheless, the corps again
took top honors and participated in many local
public appearances over the Lions Club week.
1966 was the last year of the corps’ existence,
and truly marvelous one it was. The highlights
included a fourth straight championship at the
Lions International Convention in New York City,
a very strong third-place finish at the
Nationals in Montreal’s Autostade stadium, and a
win over De La Salle at a mid-season show in
Port Hope, Ontario.
The White Knights folded after the 1966 season
due to the heavy costs associated with running a
drum corps. Members spread throughout the local
drum corps market, some going to the Toronto
Optimists and De La Salle to finish out their
junior careers, others migrating to local senior
corps such as Canada’s Marching Ambassadors and
the Canadian Commanders. Some drum corps fans
would say the Ambassadors’ 1967 Nationals win
was heavily influenced by the influx of
well-trained York personnel.
[Gord Moffatt,
http://www.yorklionsdrumcorps.org] |
