The 1960 Sugar Bowl featured a New Year’s Day matchup of Southeastern Conference rivals LSU and Ole Miss. The second-ranked Rebels were eager to avenge a 7 – 3 loss to the third ranked Tigers that occurred on Halloween night following an 89-yard punt return for a touchdown by LSU star halfback Billy Cannon. For the Bossier High School marching band, the bowl provided not only a chance to see top college teams in action, but also offered the opportunity to step onto a national stage.
Three months earlier, Bossier High had welcomed a special visitor to see the band perform. According to the Bossier Tribune of October 11, 1959, a man named Irwin Poche, chairman of the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association’s Pageant Committee, came to Bossier’s Memorial Stadium to see the band during halftime of a Bossier High vs Byrd football game. The reason for his visit was to consider inviting the band to play at the Sugar Bowl. The Tribune stated that the Bossier Chamber of Commerce and the Bossier Parish School Board had informed the sports association of the band’s availability for the bowl and invited the association to preview the band. Poche was said to be “very impressed with the splendid group.”
The Bossier band had distinguished itself by being selected to represent Louisiana numerous times at the Lions Club International band competition, winning first place in 1956, 57 and 59 in cities such as Miami, New York and Atlantic City against dozens of other high school bands from throughout the country. More first-place wins would come in the 1960s. With that track record, it’s no surprise that the Sugar Bowl showed interest.
Within days of Mr. Poche’s visit, the band received the hoped-for invitation. The Bossier High marching band was bound for New Orleans. Bossier Schools Superintendent T. L. Rodes was thrilled. “This marks the realization of a dream that has extended for years in Bossier,” he was quoted as saying in an article in The Shreveport Journal on October 13, 1959. News of the invite created so much excitement that the Bossier Chamber made arrangements to help get fans to the game. According to the Bossier Tribune’s October 18 edition, the chamber sponsored a train to carry approximately 300 band boosters, parents and fans to the bowl game, and orders for tickets to ride the train inundated chamber offices.
As game day approached, band members spent untold hours preparing for their performance. The Bossier Press of November 20, 1959 stated, “Fourteen big minutes. Those are the precious minutes in which thousands of eyes – and perhaps millions – will be turned upon the world champion Bossier High band.” The band was scheduled to perform for eight-minutes during a pre-game exhibition and six minutes at halftime. The game would be televised nationally.
When their moment to shine came on New Year’s Day 1960, the Bossier High band members didn’t disappoint. In short, they knocked it out of the park, er, stadium. Both The Shreveport Journal and The Shreveport Times of January 2 stated that the band received a standing ovation. An article in The Times from January 5 detailed the band’s performance, saying members executed maneuvers called “Company Fund,” “Diamond” and “X,” among others, while playing music like the “Grand Entry March,” “March Gloria” and “Colossus of Columbia March.” The newspaper stated that the band exited the field “by dividing into four main sections, two breaking toward the sidelines and the other two filling in as the other two approached them.”
Accolades weren’t long in coming. According to The Shreveport Times article from January 5, Bossier band Director Kenneth Green’s office was “flooded” with letters from states such as Texas, Illinois, Missouri, North and South Carolina, and Mississippi offering praise for the band’s showing and the “high degree of discipline” of its members. One letter writer asked Green for notes and diagrams of the band’s performance. A reporter for the New Orleans Times Picayune was said to have written that his vote for outstanding players during the Sugar Bowl would go to the Bossier band. Managing Editor for The Shreveport Journal Robert Packwood wrote on January 4, “It was one of the finest band performances we have ever seen and, as far as we are concerned, outdid any college band that appeared New Year’s Day in any of the televised bowl halftime shows.” Well done, Bearkats.
Film of the band at the Sugar Bowl is available for viewing by searching on YouTube for Bossier City High School band 1960. If you have any photos or other information relating to the history of Bossier City or Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/
Images:
- Bossier High Marching Band 1959-60/photo by Shorter/History Center collection
- Headline from The Shreveport Times, January 2, 1960
