[NU Sports] Last home game - March of the Steel Men

[Jim Bendat]

Last year, I purchased the NU Marching Band CD "Hail to Purple." In 
reading the CD's extensive liner notes, I learned about a Northwestern 
tradition that isn't well known. At the last home game of each football 
season, the band plays an old song called "March of the Steel Men" in 
tribute to the departing seniors. This coming week's game against Iowa 
is, of course, our last home game. For me, it will be the first time I 
will be present at a season's final home game since 1970, and I'm 
definitely looking forward to both the game and the halftime show

NUMB announcer Pete Friedmann sent me an email with the history behind 
the "Steel Men," and I'd like to share it now:

Some of the details on the history of the “March of the Steel Men” and how
it became a Northwestern tradition are sketchy and somewhat conflicting.
Here is some background information on the composer, the march, the arranger
and the tradition.  Basic information below is borrowed liberally from
Norman E. Smith’s “Program Notes for Band.”  Addition information is from my
own experience, personal inquiries of those connected with the Northwestern
University and Joliet High School Bands, and long-ago conversations with
Forrest and Archie McAllister, sons of former Joliet Band Director A.R.
McAllister.


“March of the Steel Men”

By Charles S. Belsterling, arranged by Harry L. Alford


The Composer

Charles Starne Belsterling was born in Philadelphia on May 31, 1874 and died
in New York City on December 26, 1959.  Belsterling was a successful lawyer,
steel executive (Vice President of U.S. Steel from 1932 to 1942) and amateur
musician.

According to family history, Belsterling’s great-grandfather, Hans Jakob
Bölsterli, emigrated from Switzerland and was a descendant of French
statesman-soldier Marquis de Lafayette.  Belsterling’s grandfather, John
Fonderlet Belsterling, who anglicized the family’s Swiss surname, was a
five-term mayor of Philadelphia.  Belsterling’s father, William F.
Belsterling, was a founder of the oldest title insurance company in the
United States.

As a youth, Charles Belsterling spent a lot of time at the piano and
eventually began composing.  He grew up in Philadelphia, went to Neff
College (also in Philadelphia), and earned a law degree from the University
of Pittsburgh.  Between 1892 and 1914 he lived in New York, Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia while working for the structural iron and bridge fabricator
company A. & P. Roberts and then the American Bridge Company.  In 1914 he
began his long tenure with U.S. Steel Corporation, starting out as a general
commerce attorney.

Belsterling was a member of the Shriners for more than 50 years, the Masons
and numerous historical, industrial and legal associations in New York and
Philadelphia.  He also wrote at least three books on genealogical subjects.

During his high school years, Belsterling is believed to have written a
series of marches for piano and an Easter cantata.  The marches were played
mostly for family and friends, but the cantata was performed at a church in
Philadelphia.  However, like many other composers, he will be remembered for
only one composition.  In Belsterling’s case, it is “March of the Steel
Men.”

The March

Music historians believe Belsterling initially wrote the music for “March of
the Steel Men” to be used in a torchlight procession by a political marching
club of Philadelphia.  Its original title was “The Ambassador” and
reportedly became popular as a piano solo.

Years later, in 1936, Belsterling was impressed by the quality of a concert
presented at New York’s Radio City Music Hall by the Joliet (Illinois) High
School Band, under the direction of A.R. McAllister.  For many years, U.S.
Steel had a sizable facility in Joliet, and the giant corporation helped
subsidize the Joliet High School Band’s trip and performance in New York.

In 1935 Joliet Township High School adopted the nickname “Steelmen” in
conjunction with the high school acquiring a large steel statue from the
Chicago World’s Fair of 1933-1934.  The statue is still on display in the
school’s original (now Central Campus) building – also site of the nation’s
first junior college – and the high school’s teams are still called the
Steelmen.

McAllister learned about Belsterling’s interest and early musical ability
and asked him for a score.  Belsterling provided his music from “The
Ambassador,” and McAllister asked noted composer/arranger Harry Alford to
arrange the piece for symphonic band.

On March 19, 1937, with Belsterling and publisher/composer Henry Fillmore in
the concert audience, McAllister and the Joliet Band presented the “world
premiere” of Alford’s full band arrangement.  “March of the Steel Men” was
dedicated “To the Joliet High School Bands, Joliet, IL."

The Arranger

Harry L. Alford was born in Hudson, Michigan on August 3, 1875 and died in
Chicago on March 4, 1939.  As a composer and arranger, his many clients
included John Philip Sousa, Arthur Pryor, Patrick Conway, Scott Joplin, W.C.
Handy, University of Illinois Director of Bands A.A. Harding and
Northwestern University Director of Bands Glenn Cliffe Bainum.  Alford wrote
“The Purple Carnival March” in 1933 and dedicated it to Bainum and the
Northwestern University Band.

The Tradition

Bainum studied at the University of Illinois and for a time was A.A.
Harding’s assistant.  Bainum, Harding and A.R. McAllister were from
generally the same era – a critical time in the development of today’s
American concert and marching bands.  Bainum knew McAllister well and had a
lot of respect for the quality and tradition of the Joliet bands.  Also,
many of the leading Midwestern band directors of that era studied and/or
worked together, sharing a close, common bond.  It is, therefore,
understandable that they would share a passion for some of the same music.

Many Joliet residents and natives associate "March of the Steel Men" with
the Joliet Bands.  The march has also been a staple of the Northwestern
University “Wildcat” Marching Band for nearly half a century.  Northwestern
fans may think of “March of the Steel Men” as an official school song
because of its honored tradition as the final march of the “Wildcat” Band’s
last home football game halftime performance each season.

However, the march is not the sole property of any school, ensemble or city.
A quick search of the Internet will produce many band concerts that include
this delightful march in their programs.

Exactly how and when it was adopted by Northwestern is uncertain.  Since the
early 1980s, the announcer’s introduction of the march has stated that,
“Since 1928 – two years after the dedication of Dyche Stadium (now Ryan
Field) – the ‘Old Plus Four’ was unveiled for the first time.  Since then,
it has closed each home football season . . .”  It is believed that the “Old
Plus Four” actually refers to the marching drill (maneuver) performed by the
band, not the march music itself.  

All of the people involved in the history provided above are now gone.
Tracking down and verifying a more complete and accurate story would be
difficult if not impossible.  At the very least, it would take considerable
digging and detective work to determine what music was originally performed
to the “Old Plus Four” and when “March of the Steel Men” was adopted in its
place, continuing to this day as a cherished Northwestern tradition.