The Blue Devils were founded in 1957 by Ann and Tony Odello and toured on a national level for the first time in 1973. In their second year of national competition, the corps earned full DCI membership by their 9th place finish at the 1974 DCI Championships in Ithaca, NY. In 1975 the corps placed 3rd, and they won their first Drum Corps International Championship in 1976. Since 1975, the Blue Devils have never placed out of the top five and have won the world title an unprecedented 18 times: 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2017.