January Alumnus of the Month: Brian Zimmer

This month’s honoree is Brian Zimmer. Brian has been around the club for nearly 30 years in a multitude of leadership positions. Along with his brother Kevin, they held the club together for a span and the team would surely be in a worse spot without them. Brian was usually a front row player. Solid in stature yet battling through injuries, it’s possible to convince him for the occasional game. A reliable prop across four decades, he will always be able to find 14 friends on a Saturday.

When did you play?
I joined UMRFC my Junior Year in 1986. My older brother, Kevin, had been playing for a couple years. I continued to play for UMRFC and MRFC (Mens side) until 2003. I regrettably took several years off. I rejoined the MRFC in 2007. I finally hung up the boots in 2012.

Any special honors?
My first position was Social Chair. I became selector, and co-captain, and then was elected team Captain from spring 1991 thru spring 1993. My respective co-captains were standouts Brad Kleiner, Brett Peck and Tom Warburton. I carried on the Dave Weber tradition of practice, which was fitness, individual skills, group skills, teams skills. Live action drills. I inherited a strong and growing team and managed it well. We continued to dominate games, and did a lot of fun stuff with college players. After releasing reins as Captain, I continued as Fixtures Chairman for several years.

• Arnold Cowmeadow Award winner
• Player on 1987 Big 10 Championship team.
• Michigan Select Side Player.
• Numerous Michigan Cup Tournament Victories. Michigan Cup was a great annual rugby event for the whole state. We were always in the finals, and in close and epic finishes against Grand Rapids or Kalamazoo.
• Member of 1995 DII National Championship team.
• Amassed collection of hardware competing in 7’s and 15’s tournaments from Michigan to Las Vegas to New Orleans.

Favorite memory or memories?
When I joined UMRFC, we were introduced to rugby by playing against the B and C sides of fearsome men’s clubs, including Chicago Lions, Chicago Griffins, Scioto Valley, Cincinnati Wolfhounds, Sarnia Saints, and Louisville. It was a huge step years later when I got called into my first A-side appearance to sub in against Cincinnati Wolfhounds. Shortly thereafter my prop mentor, Ian Chapman, convinced me I was ready for “the show”, and allowed me to start in his A-Side front row position against Milwaukee. My Position was Prop Forward. I preferred loose-head. I played hooker and second row, as well.

I was lucky to spend decades on the pitch with my brother Kevin Zimmer, (aka Terminator, aka Biggus Zimmus) He was a solid second row, and highly skilled forward. Kevin was a terrifying ball handler, and known for huge, crushing, game-changing tackles. He was involved in all aspects of club administration as treasurer and as liaison for U-M Club Sports. KZ was treasurer for the years I was captain and fixtures. We pulled all the strings.

1988 Ft. Lauderdale Tour-of-Death. We 15 college players toured Florida. 4 matches in 4 nights in a row. Non-Stop adventure and excitement. My close friend Dan McBryde met French-only-speaking Sylvie from Quebec. They’ve been married for 25 years.

True story and early memory of A-side rugby. I was getting unnecessarily man-handled by an experienced, much larger Pacific Islander prop from Sarnia RFC. As I was trotting to the next phase after a challenging scrum, Dave Perpich came along side and gestured for me to look back to where we had come from. There was my opposing prop, lying on his back, spread eagled on the pitch, and snoring. Perpich took measures to take care of his team-mates, and to soften the opposing pack when necessary

The Achal and Bimal Kapur Show. Slight-built Brothers who never failed to entertain the sidelines with fearless rugby antics. Lee “Satan” Gray audibly laughing as he ran into and over opposing players.

Random moment. I was playing B-side in Michigan Cup. I had a 20-30 yard break away up the middle of the field, and was eventually caught in a tackle. As I was being spun to the ground, I released the ball into the air. I watched my support snatch the floating ball out of the air at full speed and blaze away for the try. It was cool.

Ed Spybrook and I botched claiming an off-loaded ball. As we were discussing fault, KZ chirped in and said, “Don’t you know? Mean one gets the ball. You guys are a couple of candy asses.”

As prop forward, I enjoyed playing summer 7’s. I had more opportunities to run the ball, make tackles and score tries. 7’s made me a better player.

In the late 90’s, my wife, Jennifer, worked on Saturdays and we had a baby. To continue rugby, I brought infant daughter Abby, a pop-up tent and plenty of baby provisions to all the matches, home and away. Thanks to sideline babysitting by Trish Spybrook, Jocelyn Menyhart, and other girlfriends and wives, I was able to play on.

I broke my leg, and I severed my ACL during rugby matches. (Both of those events resulted in tries) I suffered a neck injury in front row mishap. For these and other minor injuries, I had time off to heal and rehab. I loved the eventual Saturday when I was once again booted up and poised on the pitch for the opening whistle, and 80 minutes of long-awaited rugby action.

I got to know hundreds and hundreds of great players from this rugby club and other clubs. I was fortunate to be on the pitch in high-level matches with Monsters of Michigan Rugby Greg Rose, Dale Tuttle, Jeff Hagan, Tae’Ni Chang-Stromann, Brad Kleiner, Paul Knight, Sean Knight, Dave Perpich, John Wooley, Mike Carter, Evan Pratt, Kevin Zimmer, Tom Warburton, Dan Mascellino, Ed Spybrook. Chris Collis, Scott Crisler, Marc Nemec, Sam El-Ebrashi, Tom Clark, Pat Muscat and Tom Stulberg. Also, Mark Swanson, Dan McBryde, Zeb Clemente.

The indestructible Pete Mulhearn inspired my mid-aged return to the MRFC. For several years I got to play rugby with a younger generation of well-trained and monstrous UMRFC alumni Karl Seibert, Aaron “Tex” Dodd, Matt “Cass Tech” Forsyth, Ted Pixley. “Dirty Mike” Przybylek, Chuck Berklich, Naveen Aravapalli, Davy Hamilton, and others. I played myself out with this group, and I’m glad I decided to re-commit. It was good fun.

What are you doing now?
I am sales rep for NoIR Medical Technologies and NoIR Laser Company. We manufacture polycarbonate eyewear for the visually impaired and for laser safety. I manage 11 states and Asia. Beginning in 1988 I routinely outfitted the entire team with somewhat ridiculous, but coveted plastic post-op UVShield sunglasses. I left NoIR in 2000. I was hired back into my old territory in 2012. I am more than happy to be back at NoIR and dispensing plastic sunglasses.

Anything else you’d like us to know?
UMRFC has its roots in Men’s Rugby. Rugby clubs in Michigan and throughout the mid-west still expect a strong Men’s Side to come out of Ann Arbor. I’d like for the MRFC to grow and regain Men’s Rugby dominance.

Rugby Players, I salute you.