Pictorial History Indiana University Inaugural Rugby Football Club

Pictorial History Indiana University Inaugural Rugby Football Club Season Spring 1963 Prepared by Dr. Kenneth Potocki Ph. D, 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 Mc. Glathery, Walt Bisselle, Jim Grimm; 2 nd: 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 Mc. Glathery 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 Mc. Glathery (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