Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps
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| Location | Boston, MA |
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| Division | World Class |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Director | Jeff Pearson |
| Uniform | Red and black cadet jacket & silver buttons White aiguilette White baldric & sash & mirror with "BAC" centered on baldric Black gauntlets & silver buttons White gloves (horns) Black pants Black shoes & socks Red & black Shako w/silver trim, chains & badge white plume |
| Website | http://bostoncrusaders.org/ |
The Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps is a World Class (formerly Division I) competitive junior drum and bugle corps. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Crusaders are a charter member of Drum Corps International.
The Boston Crusaders were founded in 1940 as the Most Precious Blood Crusaders, a youth activity of the Most Precious Blood Catholic parish in the Hyde Park section of Boston. The Corps and the parish parted ways in 1956, and the corps took a new name, the Hyde Park Crusaders. During this period, two ardent, if unofficial supporters of the corps were two of the Kennedy brothers, John F. and Edward M. "Ted". Although John is often credited, Ted was responsible for acquiring West Point uniforms that the Crusaders converted to their own colors. The corps was honored the newly elected President Kennedy by being invited to be the first drum and bugle corps to march in a Presidential Inauguration Parade. The corps' tight financial situation prevented their attendance in 1961, but the corps marched in President Lyndon B. Johnson's Inauguration Parade in 1965. JFK was formally made an honorary member of the corps only 34 days before his assassination.
By 1959, the corps had become the Boston Crusaders, although they often were (and still are) referred to as "BAC" or the Boston Area Crusaders, and BAC was one of the East Coast powerhouse corps of the 1960s. They won the first CYO National Drum and Bugle Championship in 1964 and repeated as CYO champions in 1967 & '68. In 1966 and again in 1967 the Boston Crusaders were crowned World Open (class A) Champions. The corps was a finalist at VFW Nationals in 1969 & '70 and would have won the 1967 American Legion Junior Championship, if the powers-that-be had not voided the scores for the corps' inspection, allowing the Cavaliers to outscore them.
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