May Alumnus of the Month: Jim Hagerman

Jim Hagerman is the May Alumnus of the Month. Jim played in the 80s and 90s and currently coaches the local high school team, Washtenaw RFC along with help from Aaron Dodd, Mike Brooks, Jack Fisher, and Brian VanDusen. Jim has been an outstanding contributor to the Ann Arbor rugby community and deserves a little time in the spotlight.

When did you play?
I started playing rugby in 1979 at Michigan State until I graduated in 1982. My next stop, in early 1983, was Milwaukee where I spent 6 months attempting to look for work but basically hung out in the local rugby scene there and while playing a match for Milwaukee RFC, I end up lining up with U of M alum, Pete Maglocci on the same side! In the fall of 1983, I returned to Ann Arbor where I had grown up and starting working for a local law firm. I joined Michigan Rugby during the winter of 1984 and I played with the club until about 1999 and since then I have only played during Olde Blue Weekend. Now, I really don’t play anymore; just coach the local high school club, Washtenaw RFC.

Any special honors?
For the most part, I have always been a B-side player as a member of UMRFC. There was a point that I captained the B-team for about two years and in that time, I believe we only lost two or three matches; it was an exciting time to be playing for UMRFC as our A-side had numerous representative players and we competed with all the big boys in the Midwest and beyond. I assisted in the organization of the 1987 Big Ten Tournament we hosted here in Ann Arbor at Mitchell Field.

By mid-1990’s, Olde Blue Weekend (OBW) had become disorganized and not a priority and in 1995, the collegiate division of the club was in tatters and losing membership badly. In the fall of 1995, I stepped in to coach the collegiate arm of the club and with assistance from David Weber, Jack Fisher, and Dan Mascellino, we were able to muster a side that fall with 12 collegiate players and a few fringers. We took it on the chin in every match until the final match of the season and the boys put together a beautiful drubbing of Albion College for their first victory.

That core of 12 men basically saved the UMRFC collegiate program from vanishing and to this day, I tip my hat to those guys for what they went through and their belief in me and more importantly, their belief in Michigan Rugby. I coached U of M until 1997 when illness (a serious bout of pneumonia in 1996) and other commitments forced me to pull back and hand the reins over. At that point, I tried to stay tied to the club by participating in OBW and assisting Jack “Hacksaw” Atkinson who had taken over as point-man for OBW.

I was always intrigued by Olde Blue Weekend and I became involved with that aspect of the club a couple years after joining. The 30th (1989) anniversary was the first big event I helped plan. Then in late fall 2006, I was approached by Jeff Hagan and Tom Stulberg and they convinced me to “pull on my boots” once again and chair the committee organizing the 50th anniversary of the club. Starting in the spring of 2007, 2.5 years and a large amount of money later, UMRFC pulled off one of the grandest rugby celebrations ever in the Midwest. It was an outstanding weekend attended by nearly 300 alumni of UMRFC.

Favorite memories?
· Going on tour to the Bahamas in 1985; a treasure trove of stories there.
· During the 40th anniversary, we held the OBW party at Schwaben Halle for about 260 people from many different decades. Bert Sugar, father of the modern era of Michigan Rugby, returned to Ann Arbor for that event.
· Receiving the Arnold Cowmeadow Award in May of 1987; only 18 months after completely destroying my left knee during practice.
· Living at the “Party Ranch” with David Weber during 1985 and playing rugby all spring, summer, and fall.
· Watching the Great Match on 16mm film every Friday night at the Party Ranch before a match.
· Playing in Canada alongside Arnold Cowmeadow in the last match that he ever played.
· Going on tour to Mardi Gras in 1990; yet again, a treasure trove of stories.
· Attending almost all the collegiate tour send-offs just to see the smiles and faces of anticipation on players who are making their first rugby tour with UMRFC.

Some of my favorite and best memories involve the opportunity to play with some of the greats of Michigan Rugby; David Weber, Jeff Hagan, Dave Perpich, Jack Fisher, Tom Raboine, Dale Tuttle, Tim Parros, Dave Horton, Curt Small, Rod Sorenson, Greg Rose, Keith Stone, Ian Chapman, Hacksaw, Greg “Rambo” Lamkin, Brett McBryde, Dan McBryde, Harry McGee, Arnold Cowmeadow, Mike Lisi, Dan Mascellino, Brian VanDusen, Kevin Ruf, David Argyle, King Bahama, Dag Jorstad, the Zimmer brothers, and countless others without whom it just would not have been the same.

What are you doing now?
I work for U of M and have been doing so for 24 years. In fact, Michigan Rugby is why I work for the University. I was laid off two weeks before Christmas in 1987 with no notice and Jeff Hagan was able to bring me into his department as a temporary employee. From there I was able work my way into a regular appointment and I currently work in the Survey Research Center in the Institute for Social Research developing computer-assisted interviewing applications for the surveys we carry out. This job has provided me with many opportunities and the ability to travel to parts of the world I may have otherwise never seen.

I also coach the local high school rugby club, Washtenaw RFC. I was on the verge of retiring from rugby in 2002 when Hacksaw called me up and asked me to come out and run with the club as he was the head coach. Next thing I know I was the assistant head coach and when Hacksaw stepped down in 2008, I became the head coach beginning in the 2009 season. I found coaching at the high school level very rewarding and a good way for me to continue giving back to the game that has given me so much.

Anything else you want us to know?
My favorite thing to say about Michigan Rugby is that when I joined the UMRFC, I played rugby; but David Weber and Michigan Rugby made me a rugby player.

Since 1995, I have hosted the “Great Match Party;” this is an event I began as a team bonding activity for the collegians when I started coaching them and has evolved over the years into a wonderful night of bringing local “Olde Boys” together with the current collegiate leadership. Starting in 2007 as a mid-year event between Olde Blue Weekends, I began hosting the annual “Olde Blue Dinner” and this has turned into a great evening of getting together with alumni who live locally and in metro-Detroit with an occasional out-of-state guest. The main idea behind these events is to keep the alums connected with the younger players and to give the “Olde Boys” a chance to catch up and relive some of their best memories of being a Michigan Rugby player. In my mind, this only strengthens the rugby bonds that exist in this club.

Due to a lot of persistence and hard work; the network of Olde Blue is getting bigger and stronger by the day and has become a very large extended family. The fellows you play with while you are in college are lifelong brothers; but, the entirety of the club and its reach is what is really spectacular. Michigan Rugby stretches around globe and the camaraderie that exists is greater than anything I have ever been witness to.

As a result, I try to instill this sense of brotherhood and passion for the game into my high school players. Many of them find it a foreign concept; but, the ones who see the light go onto successful careers both on and off the pitch. It fills me with pride when I see players, either former U of M players or high school players, return to the area for whatever reason and see that they have embodied the spirit of what Michigan Rugby is all about and they have the ability to see the world in a greater sense.