History of the Bridgemen

The official history of our junior corps and alumni corps was written by Pat Forker, George Lavelle and Bert Lynch, with additional contributions by Jim Reilly and Tom Pohl. Special thanks to Steve Vickers and Drum Corps World for sharing with us!

Drum Corps In Bayonne Before The Bridgemen

There was a time when drum & bugle corps were plentiful across the United States and Canada. Drum corps were organized as a character-building endeavor that would teach people to work together in a common goal and forge lasting friendships. It seems like every VFW Post, American Legion Post, and Catholic Church had one. Bayonne, NJ was no stranger to having a renowned drum corps in its midst. St. Vincent's Cadets (formed 1941) put Bayonne on the map for drum corps audiences across the northeast and were a force to be reckoned with. St. Vincent's traveled across the country to take on the big corps of the day in major competitions, notching wins at the VFW National and American Legion National championships. They were the popular musical organization of Bayonne for decades. But in time, their membership faded and they were forced to close their doors for good in the 1960s. But they left an impact on the memories of Bayonne's residents. A new corps would soon emerge to carry the banner of Bayonne forward.

The 1960's – The Bridgemen Are Born!

1964

In the spring of 1964, Father Joseph Donovan was assigned as assistant pastor at St. Andrew's parish in Bayonne, NJ. With his appointment, came changes. He remodeled the old school building, morphing it into a youth center, made the basement pine room a point place for dances and recreation and converted the third floor into a widely used meeting place. With the advent of Donovan and being known for having the largest dances in the area, The Catholic Youth Organization's popularity soared.

1965 – The Shako Era Begins

Despite what he had already built, Donovan was thinking bigger. He asked several times if we would be interested in a St. Andrew's drum corps. The idea was finally brought up at a CYO meeting in Jan. 1965, meeting praise and enthusiasm. Several months later, horns arrived, drum sticks were distributed and the color guard began regular gym practices. Every corps needs a director, an adult to direct traffic, put out fires and lead the troops. Ed Holmes, director since day one, was a surrogate father. It's a known fact that he put plenty of his own money into the corps. He was always there, spending countless hours of time on us. He didn't have kids of his own, but took great satisfaction in the personal achievements of each and every one of us. Several months later, the Bridgemen came to be. The name was chosen based on the Fort Lee Bridgemen, named for the George Washington Bridge. According to Fr. Donovan, who also favored the Fort Lee athletic teams, St. Andrew's would be named for the Bayonne Bridge; thus giving birth to the Bridgemen. Under Holmes, interest in the corps was heightened and turnout became so large, horns had to be shared. The first instructors were Dee Kazazian, horns; Dan Raymond, drums and Bob Holton, color guard. Due to job conflicts, Kazazian and Raymond fell by the wayside and were replaced by Gus Wilke, horns and John Iglasies teaching the drum line. Iglasies lasted only two months before receiving a fellowship and was replaced by his mentor, Bobby Thompson in 1966. Members of the new corps had no musical training as this corps was starting from scratch. But they were a close-knit group of kids who took pride in their neighborhood. Drums were borrowed from the Garfield Cadets (maroon color airbrushed on a wood shell), while the horns were GD single-valve bugles. The St. Andrew's drum corps made their first appearance at the Bayonne Memorial Day parade in 1965. The color guard marched - minus equipment and uniforms, but this was only the beginning. Tuxedos were the corps first interim uniform in the autumn of 1965, rented for a parade, while the color guard used uniforms borrowed from Father Nativo of the St. Lucy's Cadets, with flags borrowed from the New York Skyliners.

1966

A fundraiser was put together as a stage presentation called "Heaven's A' Poppin", featuring corps members and church members, which helped to further draw together support from family and the church community. The corps made its first field appearance marching an exhibition at a Jets intra-squad game. That day was also the first field appearance of Quarterback Joe Namath. The corps first true uniform was garnet (maroon) and white colored, made of 100% wool, with silver cumberbund and accessories. The first member jacket was garnet wool with white leather sleeves; the first corps logo was a patch, featuring the Bayonne Bridge, stitched on the back. August of 1966 marked the Bridgemen's first appearance in the National Dream Contest at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City. Because August was prime time for vacationing, the corps performed an exhibition with a mere 20 horns, a handful of drummers and a full color guard. Surprisingly, the performance was clean. During the winter of 1966-1967, the corps competed in standstills in Staten Island, NY and Montvale, NJ, placing second and fourth. That winter, Bob "Jomba" O'Connor was brought in to work the drum line as only he could.

1967

The first true competition for St. Andrew's was a Garden State Circuit contest at Kane stadium in Secaucus, NJ. St. Andrew's took their lumps, gaining experience and a lesson in humbleness, in a number of competitions and finally became worthy of competition. The Bridgemen placed first and won several more contests that year in the Garden State, later placing third in the championship circuit contest. After some hard work and some very good arrangements by Bucky Swan, The Bridgemen won the Garden State circuit in 1968. As St. Andrew's improved, their feeder corps, The St. Andrew's Kidets did as well. The Kidets, of junior high age, were taught the basics and performed in parades. Started in 1966, the Kidets program was finally starting to pay off, furnishing The Bridgemen with trained, enthusiastic musicians.

1968

Corps colors changed to yellow, gold, black and white when the Bridgemen purchased uniforms from the recently folded Selden Cadets of Long Island. These attention-getting, dignified uniforms set the new Bridgemen image for many years to come. The drumline and hornline wore a pale yellow jacket with gold accents and a gold shako; a military style in the mold of the West Point Cadet uniform. The color guard wore satin, pale yellow gaucho tops accented with gold chevrons, plus black skirts and black, leather boots, with the same shako. The new look was a morale booster and helped the corps to expect more of themselves. St. Andrew's played "Step to the Rear" , "Yankee Doodle" , "Grand Old Flag" , "Little Brown Jug" , "Birth of The Blues" , and "What Now my Love" which was standard musical fare of the era. St. Andrew's continued their ambitious climb within the activity, winning the Garden State Circuit with a score of 71.6 in finals.

1969

The Bridgemen developed a talent for a brass tonguing technique called triple-tonguing. Begun as a warm-up exercise, it quickly developed into a showpiece and later become a St. Andrew's trademark and a crowd favorite. After winning the Garden State circuit for the second year in a row in 1969, the corps had moved up through the ranks and began to compete on a national level. Members of the Bridgemen were passionate about protecting their own: Bert Lynch stated,

"The Father Donovan pic from the 1969 Garden State Championship in September, 2 weeks after Wildwood. Right as that picture was being taken a fight broke out with St. Martin's. Both Drum Majors got hit, the girl Peggy Feehan's hair was pulled, the priest slugged somebody, and the fight was on!"

Stories of fights between corps were common back then as corps, who molded themselves in the military model, poked fun of their competitors as much as sailors and Marines poke fun of each other.

Continue to: "The 1970's" ⇒