Transcript Pictorial History Indiana University Inaugural Rugby

Pictorial History
Indiana University
Inaugural
Rugby Football Club Season
Spring 1963
Prepared by
Dr. Kenneth Potocki
PhD, IU Physics, 1968
April 13, 2013
Prologue
The Indiana University Men’s Rugby Football Club played its first games in the spring of 1963. The
inspiration to form the team belongs to Bob Pace, an Indiana University law student, who wanted to play
rugby. Bob had played on the elite University of Stellenbosch Rugby Football Club, which was founded in
1875 in Cape Town, South Africa.
To introduce rugby at IU, Bob had to recruit players, get University support, and find near-by opponents to
schedule. This process started in the fall of 1962. As Bob began to recruit, he found a few key-skill players
who had played rugby before, such as scrum half John Schofield. However, most of his recruits came from
graduate residence center friends, and they had to be taught rugby from its fundamentals: general
principles, positions, passing, tackling, scrums, line-outs, kicking, game strategy, tries. Bob recruited about
twenty students, who worked to learn the game and to play as a team. The small number of players did
not allow for full scrimmage practices, and at games, there were few substitutes. Indiana University
supported this club activity by providing jerseys from a previous IU football team and the use of the old
Memorial Stadium for games. The Missouri Rugby Union was the closest hot-bed for rugby, so games
were scheduled with the St Louis Bombers, St Louis Ramblers, and St Louis University. Notre Dame and
Michigan rounded out the spring 1963 schedule. The scores of these games are in the presentation. The
first IU rugby win ever was against Notre Dame at home. Dr Norman Pounds, IU Professor of Geography,
served as referee for most of these games.
Amidst all of this learning and excitement of the inaugural season, no one planned to document the
events. The Indiana Daily Student had articles on the schedules and games. My wife, Donna (Anderson)
Potocki was taking a photography course that semester in the School of Journalism. Except for the team
photo, the photographs in this history consist of pictures that she took at those early rugby games. Please
notify me if you find any errors in this presentation. Thanks.
Ken Potocki
April 13, 2013
Indiana University Founding Rugby Football Club
(Spring 1963)
Front: Phil Bryant, John Schofield, Joe Wheat, Hal McGlathery, Walt Bisselle, Jim Grimm;
2nd: John Bellino, John Healy, Randy Long, Mike Schaiowitz, Art Stump, Pete Mitchell;
Back: Issy Abramov, Barry Wakeman, Jerry Collester, Ken Potocki , Doug Seator ,
Bob Pace (Captain), Paul Dubiel, Al Hagen
Indiana University Rugby Team Roster and Results
Spring 1963
Number
10
12
14
16
22
27
28
34
40
41
48
61
67
68
70
78
81
82
86
86
Player
Hal McGlathery
Phil Bryant
Joe Wheat
John Schofield
Al Hagen
Ken Potocki
Pete Mitchell
John Healy
John Bellino
Randy Long
Bob Pace (Captain)
Art Stump
Barry Wakeman
Jim Grimm
Jerry Collester
Doug Seator
Mike Schaiowitz
Walt Bisselle
Paul Dubiel
Issy Abramov
Spring 1963
Indiana
3
Notre Dame(H)
18
Indiana(H)
13
Notre Dame
8
Indiana
5
St Louis Bombers(H)
25
Indiana
0
Michigan(H)
8
Indiana(H)
13
St Louis University
0
Indiana(H)
5
St Louis Bombers
11
Indiana(H)
3
St Louis Ramblers
5
Line-out: Indiana University vs. St. Louis University
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN, Spring 1963
Joe Wheat(14) serves as line judge; Pete Mitchell (40) inbounds to Doug Seator (78)
and Jerry Collester(70) while Issy Abramov(86), Ken Potocki(behind Issy), Phil
Bryant(12), Barry Wakeman(67), John Bellino(28), and John Schofield wait to act.
Dr Norman Pounds, IU Professor of Geography in white, served as referee.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Ken Potocki (27) disrupts outlet pass while
Doug Seator (78) comes to the defense.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Ken Potocki (27), John Schofield (16), Jerry Collester (70), and Mike
Schaiowitz (81) react to ball coming loose from the scrum. Dr Norman
Pounds, IU Professor of Geography in black, serves as referee.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
IU backs exhibit perfect line attack as scrum-half John Schofield (16)
has passed to fly-half Bob Pace (48) who has passed to Randy Long
(with ball) as Walt Bisselle and John Healy trail play.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Hoosier ruggers react to Captain Bob Pace being tackled: Walt
Bisselle (82), Randy Long (41), John Schofield (16), Barry Wakeman
(67), John Healy (34), and John Bellino (28).
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Captain Bob Pace attacks defense while John Healy (34), Randy
Long (41), and Walt Bisselle (82) maneuver to support him.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Walt Bisselle (82) kicks as John Bellino (28), Randy Long (behind
opponent), John Schofield (16), John Healy (34), Captain Bob Pace
(48), and Jim Grimm (side) react.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Hal McGlathery (with ball) finds big hole as Captain Bob Pace
trails play.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Captain Bob Pace, Phil Bryant (12), and Barry Wakeman
celebrate IU victory while Mike Schaiowitz (81) leaves the
pitch smiling!
1963 Indiana University Rugby
Vs. St. Louis Bombers
Scrum-half John Schofield (16) kicks out of bounds as Joe Wheat
(14),Phil Bryant (12), Jerry Collester (70), Art Stump (66), and
Mike Schaiowitz (81) battle for position.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Vs. St. Louis Bombers
Near perfect scrum against powerful St Louis Bomber team.
Spring 1963 Indiana University Rugby
Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
Randy Long (41) assists on tackle, while Jerry Collester (70), Issy
Abramov (86), Phil Bryant (12), Ken Potocki (27), Bob Pace (48),
John Bellino (28), and Barry Wakeman (38) come to the ball.
Indiana Daily Student
Tuesday, May 14, 1963
“Only 13 points have been
scored against the Bombers
this season (Spring 1963)
and Indiana scored ten of
those. The Hoosier team is
also the only team this year
that has been able to cross
the Bomber goal line. The
other three points were
scored on a penalty kick.”
Bob Pace, Player-coach
“paces” IU Rugby Team