Jacque (right) with Tony Menyhart
When did you play?
I played with Michigan from 1970 until 1975, while in business school and beyond.
Any special honors?
I was President for a few years starting in 1970, which meant being on the selection committee. Dr. Robison was our coach, so the selection meetings were held in his basement. With practice on Tuesday & Thursday from 7 to 9, that meant three week nights with those guys. How did I graduate?
Any special teammates or memories?
We didn’t bother with NCAA rules, so most of the team were grad students. Terry Larrimer was our captain and attending law school. Quint Lawson, also in law school, played second row with me until he broke his arm over my back in a scrum.
We regularly played MSU in the Fall & Spring. Spring was the festival in E. Lansing.
We also played in Toronto, Sarnia & Windsor.
We played Notre Dame on St. Patrick’s Day, probably in 1973. It was the largest, craziest crowd I have ever played before. We were behind at the half, but came back to win. They were the worst after the game though. Not happy.
During a game against Detroit several years after I graduated, I was forcibly recruited to play for Detroit. I then played with Detroit until 1989 when I moved to Houston. Played one old boys game here.
The Cherry Pit tournament was started and I played in the finals in 1977 for Detroit against Michigan with Greg Rose in the Michigan pack. Detroit won on a hot Sunday morning in July.
Any other interesting stories?
My son played with Michigan in 2001-2004. He is currently playing with the Chicago Lions and I well remember the 42-0 beating we gave them that Greg Rose mentioned.
We played in a 7s tourney in Canada (probably 1971). Michigan took two teams and A played B in the finals and B won, much to the distaste of our hosts. There is an image in the michiganoldeblue.com gallery.
I have the 40th anniversary jersey and attended the 50th.
Final thoughts?
Rugby is the biggest fraternity in the world.
