Dukes

The Dukes drum and bugle corps was originally formed in 1964 as the Immaculate Conception Ecumenical, under the leadership of Reverend Thomas Curtin and sponsored by the Immaculate Conception (IC) church of Marlborough.

Four former Princemen, members pooled their talent and experience in their inaugural season and built a strong foundation as the IC Ecumenical hosted the very first Mayflower circuit contest and paved the way for membership the following year. The administrative decision proved fruitful as the IC of Marlboro gained membership and went on to win the 1965 “Class C” championship title. They also became members of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) that season and placed 2^nd in the 1966 CYO “Prep Class” circuit division, now known as the IC Dukes.

In 1967, the corps was crowned the World Open “Class B” champions and once again finished in 2^nd position in the CYO “Prep Class”, stepping up to the “Class A” ranks in 1968, where they finished 4^th in the Mayflower circuit. The 1969 season saw the IC Dukes receive an invitation to participate in the CYO Nationals, placing 12^th along with 2^nd in the CYO “Senior Class” and 4^th in the Mayflower “Class A” grouping. The corps received a return invitation to the CYO Nationals 1970 edition, finishing in 11^th position and also returned to the World Open championships, this time in the “Class A” division, placing 24^th in the preliminaries to go with a 2^nd place finish in the CYO “Senior Class”

In 1971, the corps began touring with appearances in the prelims of both the US Open and World Open championships, finishing 34^th (Open Class) and 33^rd (Class A) respectively and culminated the season with a 4^th place finish in the CYO “Senior Class” circuit. The IC Dukes competed in their only National contest, placing 15^th in the prelims of the 1972 American Legion Nationals and returned to the US Open and World Open regionals, improving to a 24^th (Open Class) and 25th (Class A) position, ranking 3^rd in the CYO “Senior” circuit.

The following year, the IC Dukes toured for one last season, once again participating in the same divisions at the 1973 US Open and World Open championships, placing 38^th and 25^th respectively and added the American International Open to their schedule, where they placed 10^th in the “Class A” preliminary round. They also competed in their first Eastern Massachusetts (E-Mass) circuit championships, ranking 3^rd in the “Class A” division. They went inactive for the 1974 season.

In 1975, they reorganized their feeder corps, the Dukes Juniors, converting to the new Dukes of Marlboro and competed in E-Mass circuit contests, finishing 5^th in the “Class AII” division before returning one last time to the World Open “Class B” championships in 1976, placing 12^th in the prelims and closed out their season with a 2^nd place finish in the E-Mass “Class AII”.

They disbanded in 1977.

Paul Legault (DCX)

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