This was the first time SCV defended our VFW National Championship (being Number 1); it was the first year of Drum Corps International; it was the first year Santa Clara wore the Red Tunic uniforms; it was the first year wearing what was to be known as “the Aussie” hat; it was the first year to wear the SCV Star; it was the first year of the iconic copper drums; it was the first year performing the “Bottle Dance” music; and it was the first year that Santa Clara dominated a drum corps season. It was also the first time many of the out-of-state corps (Madison, Blue Stars, Troopers) made the trek out to California.
1972 was also a year of farewells… The original green satin uniforms that were hand me downs from the Santa Clara “Green Dragons” were now gone, the Sparks Spanish hat that was flipped up were no longer, and the old heavy Rogers drums were all now part of SCV history. It was the last year VFW / American Legionl Championships were seen as central to the activity and the start of the DCI era. Many of the original Sparks members from the Santa Clara and Sunnyvale neighborhood aged out in 1972. The once neighborhood drum corps was now made up of members from all over California and beyond. People now wanted to be a part of this thing called – the Santa Clara Vanguard.
Santa Clara dominated the 1972 season until finals, winning every competition, with only one tie with the Blue Stars. The years of building this neighborhood drum corps from the Sparks were now blossoming into a dominating force of drum corps, raising the bar for the activity with classical music, centrifugal marching forms, and rhythms not seen in drum corps before. The talents of the kids, Gail Royer, Fred Sanford, and Pete Emmons had now all come together, making SCV the “Vanguard” of the activity.
At the first DCI Championships in Whitewater, Wisconsin, SCV won the prelims by over 3 points, making SCV the favorite to be the first DCI Champions. It was not to be. A lackluster performance combined with an energetic show by the Anaheim Kingsmen changed that.
The 1972 year ended poorly (finishing 3rd) but that same ’72 corps created a spark in the organization that took SCV to even greater heights, dominating drum corps for years and decades to come. Through 2022, SCV had the distinction of being the only organization to be a finalist in Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships since DCI’s inception – the 1972 Santa Clara Vanguard corps started that run.