When did you play?
During my sophomore year, 1981, I was looking for something to fill the void left by not playing competitive football for Farmington Harrison. Intramural football wasn’t quite doing it. I ran into Paul Stablein, a high school rival, who had already found rugby. He suggested I give it a try. I came out to Tartan turf the following Tuesday and was greeted enthusiastically by Bruce Kingsbury, who captained our “C” side, aka “The Assasins”. In the first match on Saturday, he pointed out the stud center on the other team and said stop that guy. Very shortly after, I crushed the guy and he got up slowly spitting grass out of his mouth. You could say I was irretrievably hooked after my first game. Quick movement to the “B” side followed, where I studied under Eagle winger John Hartman and was given sideline coaching by Pete Maglocci. Back then, under the velvet gloved but iron fisted rule of Dave Weber, we had 4 sides on the road and often up to a 5th or 6th side at home. Students were intermixed with Men that were seasoned veterans. We often sent the “A” and “C” side to one city and our “B” and “D” side to another city when traveling because nobody else had enough players to accommodate us. I played seriously for Michigan for the next 12-13 years.
Any special honors?
Without question, captaining Michigan Rugby for 3-4 years during division 1 play is one of my most cherished accomplishment. In my third year of playing with the club, Dave Weber was making plans to travel to New Zealand. He approached me in Fraser’s Pub, and said he wanted me to captain the club. I felt I was too inexperienced to lead so many great players, many of them 10 – 15 years older than me. In his inimitable Machiavellian fashion, he explained that he had already had many discussions with the “veterans” like Tony Menyhart, Ian Chapman, Keith Stone, Greg Rose, etc. and they were in agreement. It had already been decided and the election was but a formality – typical for the Weber era.
I captained the club off & on over that decade of play – yielding when solid inspirational players such as Kevin Ruff or David Argyle took that role.
I played for the Midwest U-21 squad for 2 years, with John Tayer & Paul Leblanc. Also, played Midwest RFU Sevens team a few years and played approximately 5 years with Midwest senior side in many national ITT tournaments and against the U.S. Eagles several times. I also played with the Midwest against Ireland and Japan’s national sides with Michigan greats David Perpich and Dave Horton.
Representative rugby was a tremendous experience, but it never matched or surpassed playing for Michigan.
Favorite memory or memories?
Playing actively for so many years and being an active old boy for more than 30 years has yielded a lifetime of great memories.
Play was different back then, with only 2 subs for legitimate injuries. We had many epic struggles that felt almost like war.
Playing a great Cincinatti Wolfhound side at Mitchell field for 75 minutes of scoreless hard fought rugby and finding a gap to score and win 4-0, is hard to forget; even if most likely due to the great Tony Menyhart being more heavily marked inside of me.
Touring Ireland with an old boy side, and pounding by 30 points Nenagh after being on our heels for the first 20 minutes. A great win and honor to captain such a talented squad. Their fans were in awe that both our halfbacks, me & Dale Tuttle, were in our 40’s.
Bahama Tours in the 80’s were great, but going to England with the Collegiate side in 2001 and helping coaches Tom Stulberg & Masso add some veteran experience on the field was fantastic. I re-connected with the collegiate side and got to bond with guys like Mike “Scrumpy Jack” West, Andrew Marcus, Cavnar, Cronin
and many others.
The memories continue to grow – being around to see Perp & now Matt Trenary run the student club; watching Tex & Karl run the men’s side with such skill; seeing old dinosaurs like the Zimmer brothers continue to play and support the club; the work of Jim Hagerman, Hacksaw, Raboine, Brooks, and the ever present Jack Fisher in running the high school program. More great stuff just keeps on coming.
What are you doing now?
Managing properties and running an auto detail business occupy my hours when I’m not busy spending time – especially via sports – with my three wonderful kids & wife Linda. Amazing to look back and think of all the great Michigan players over the years and realize how fortunate I am. So many men return to Ann Arbor and explain how unique MRFC is and how their current club just isn’t the same. Rugby also helped me to make one of my best decisions, choosing to marry my wife Linda. She rapidly fell in love with the game and learned the ins & outs by smartly standing with Arnold Cowmeadow on the far sidelines and listening to his anlyses. Through decades of demonstrated love of the game, near perfect travel record, and a willingness to host any rugby player anytime, even the raucous John Moore, she has supported my passion for rugby.
