Check out the future drum major. He’s ready to lead the band in his rolled up cuffed blue jeans and plaid shirt. This photo was likely taken in the early 1950s. It features a young boy who appears to be around 8-years-old. Sitting in the big floral chair is presumably his younger sister,...
Recently, we received an email recently asking if we’d ever come across any photos of Dale White, a much-beloved living legend in the sport of baton twirling and “the most decorated baton twirling coach” in the sports history. We appreciated the email and so we did some digging....
The following information was copied from a website that is using deprecated HTML elements. We’ve preserved it here for its historical significance. We edited the original for clarity. Victor with his daughters Vicki and Lana. Victor Faber started his baton twirling career in 1937 under the...
Happy Fourth of July! Here is a special treat for everyone. On July 4, 1978, the 11-year-old Illinois Boys Baton Twirling Champion performed on Bozo’s Circus. The show aired on WGN, a local Chicago station. It was preserved by The Museum of Classic Chicago Television, also known as Fuzzy...
Robert Olmstead was a band leader and early instructor in baton twirling in the United States. Born in California in 1915, he grew up performing in vaudeville shows. He played multiple instruments and became a highly skilled twirler who twirled batons on slackwire. In college, Olmstead...
In 1960, Warren Bass wowed the fans on Mizzou’s Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium as the drum major for Sumner High School, St. Louis, Missouri. The occasion was Mizzou’s High School Band Day. At the time, Bass had never had professional baton twirling lessons and actually started...
Rural New Mexican Norm Crider was born in 1938 and influenced a generation of French and Italian baton twirlers. Here are 15 facts about the late international champion and college feature twirler. 1 Born in 1938 in Lordsburg, New Mexico, he spent most his childhood in Southwest New Mexico....
The above photo was taken in 1939, and features a male baton twirler / drum major holding a female twirler above his head. They are surrounded by a half circle of majorettes. The students were members of the Nogales High School marching band, Nogales, Arizona. Nogales High School Drum and Bugle...
James Bridges was a feature twirler for Arkansas State Teachers College from 1955-1957. Today, the college is known as the University of Central Arkansas. Hollywood Writer Bridges was born in Little Rock in 1936; however, his birthplace is sometimes listed as Paris, Arkansas. After attending...
The above photo was taken in August 1940, Wheeling, West Virginia. It features Edgar Russell Parsons, 20, a drum major who led the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 32, Beckley, West Virginia. Standing next to 6-foot, three-inch Parsons is mini drum major John Robert Pedro. According to a...
The above picture is a press photo by ACME News Pictures. It is watermarked by the eBay seller and no longer available for purchase. Based on our research with the Library of Congress, we do not believe ACME photos during this period of time are copyrighted; however we could be wrong. Due to the...
Don Mayes (1933-2020) Don Mayes, Junior Drum Major and Baton Twirler, Will Rogers High School, Tulsa, 1950. Don Mayes 1933-2020. The following article is reprinted with permission from The Norman Transcript (August 9, 2010) Many who know Don Mayes think of him as former manager of Sooner Fashion...
