Color Guards in Hats and Boots The inaugural 1978 Winter Guard International Championship
Winter Guard International (WGI) held its very first World Championship for color guards in the spring of 1978 in the Chicagoland area.
The founding of WGI in the late 1970s is rooted in the drum corps activity. Prior to the formation of the organization, a national championship for color guards took place during the summer as part of the Drum Corps International World Championships.
In its first year, the WGI World Championship came to Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Attending the competition were 15 color guards, primarily based in the Midwest, but representing states as far away as New York, Massachusetts and Washington.
With the WGI event taking place outside of the summer Drum Corps International season, many DCI-affiliated groups like Phantom Regiment, the Colts and Cavaliers had the opportunity to enter their color guards into the competition.
Phantom Regiment
Colts
Seattle Imperials
The Cavaliers
While Phantom Regiment fell just under a point shy of winning WGI’s inaugural World Championship title, the color guard won back-to-back gold medals in 1979 and 1980. The group shocked audiences at the '78 event adding a surprise ending and some well-timed theatrics.
"The music of ‘Star Wars’ began and up from the middle of the crowd emerged Lord Darth Vader! Women screamed in fear and then a standing ovation followed." – Drum Corps News
Instructed by legendary DCI Hall of Fame member George Zingali and hailing from the same hometown as Drum Corps International's 27th Lancers, the first color guard to be named WGI Champion was a group called Quasar.
