May Alumnus of the Month: Paul Knight

Paul Knight is our May Alumnus of the Month!

When did you play?

I played rugby from 1969 until 2007. I played for Michigan from 1982 to 1992 and again from 2002-2003. The last rugby match I played was with the Michigan Olde Boys at the 50-year Michigan RFC Anniversary. I was 62 years old.

What position did you play?

Just about everything: scrumhalf, standoff, inside center, fullback, prop, and hooker.

What got you started?

I was recruited by my Penn State medical school classmates after playing a soccer game against Heidelburg, Germany.

What honors/awards did you receive?

I was able to play for the Eastern Pennsylvania Union Select side and the Eastern Pennsylvania Union Over 30 Select side. I was honored to play in the very first MARS tour to England and Wales. I was a member of the Michigan Union Select Side and the Midwest Union Select Side as a player and coach. Lastly, I was a member of the USA RFU Training Committee and a player on the USA RFU Over 35 Select Side.

What are your favorite memories/teammates?

Playing standoff against a touring Welsh team with my son, Sean, as scrumhalf has to be my favorite memory. Michigan was the only US team to defeat them during their tour of the USA.

Playing front row with my sons, Patrick and Sean, in a Michigan Olde Boys match was also enjoyable for me.

I remember playing hooker with Props Ian Chapman and Keith Stone against the Chicago Lions. We scored on a push over try and defeated them 46 to 0 in a deluge. Additionally, during that match we had a penalty about 5 yards from our try line. I tapped it through and hooked up with David Weber who continued the break that culminated in a try in the corner by our wing John Tare.

One of my favorite memories at Michigan was playing against Illinois in the Big Ten Rugby finals. It was a nice day, and we were all stretched out on the hillside sunning ourselves prior to the match. As Illinois went running by in a group in preparation for the match, Keith Stone made his famous proclamation regarding the conservation of energy. We gave away close to 25 lbs per man in the scrum and Brian Van Dusen at ~6 ft was our tallest forward in the line out. Additionally, Illinois had several second rows who were at least 6 ft 4 inches. We kicked their butts. I believe that was the match where our pack performed the famous 25yd push over try, although that could been in another match.

Playing at Elbel field against the Chicago Lions, who had 5 internationals from Ireland and South Africa on their side, was a fun match, too. It was an incredibly intense match that we won 7 to 6.

Later on, I remember playing prop with Ian Chapman and Peter Nightingale as hooker against the Canadian select side front row. They were playing for Sarnia in preparation for a match against the USA the next weekend. We gave away at least 40 lbs per man. Peter probably only weighed 150 lbs soaking wet. We easily won the match. We also scored a push over try. At the party after the game, which we won handily I asked the loose head prop I was playing against why he kept hitting my leg when we bound. He said he had to try something because we were beating them so bad in the front row. Winning the Michigan 7s with the famous 100 year (based on our ages) try that Brian Van Dusen, Tom Raboine and I engineered was nothing short of amazing. I also played that match as prop with a separated rib. Prior to the match I had friend of mine inject me with a lidocaine block so that I would not be in pain.

After all that, being selected for the USA over 35 select side by playing for the Ohio over 35 select side was a dream come true. At the time I was playing for the Michigan over 35s in a CanAm tournament in Toronto. The goal was to select a team for a Canada vs. USA match and then go on to the Golden Oldies in England. The Ohio side had to play early, but their scrumhalf had not arrived yet. So out of desperation they asked me if I would play scrumhalf for them in their first match. I agreed, and based on my performance in that match, not the Michigan matches, which I also played later, I was selected to play for the USA over 35s against the Canadian over 35s.

Yacht Racing on Lake Michigan with several of my rugby teammates is a fond memory as well, and lastly, performing at Ricks with the Blue Edge for a rugby benefit with a band of rugby players: Elmo, Brian, Mark, and Mike.

What did you do after Michigan Rugby?

I played scrumhalf with Lockport, NY RFC. I competed in powerlifting meets at the National level.  I became Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine. I am currently a Distinguished Professor at that Institution.

Congratulations to Paul as our Alumnus of the Month for May 2022!