At age 14 in 1947, Sal Ferrera was a founding member of the Chicago Cavaliers. He played snare drum before becoming drum major then music director. He designed the Cavaliers’ uniform in 1951 and 1976. Under his musical direction, the Chicago Cavaliers won 12 national championships, 35 state championships and more than 200 contests between 1953 and 1977. He was the music director, bugle instructor, arranger and program director of the Cavaliers from 1953 to 1972. Other instructors during this period were Frank Arsenault on drums and Len Piekarski on drill, both also members of the Hall of Fame. From 1973 to 1977 while serving as executive vice president and corps director of the Cavaliers, he also served as a director of Drum Corps International (DCI). As an organizing director of DCI, he was instrumental in developing the early DCI policy and organizational structure. His most important contribution was the DCI revenue-sharing program for member corps.
*Deceased
