Blue Mountain Rugby Football Club:
The Beginning - Spring 1976
The shadows around the Kibbie Dome practice field were growing long. The sweating, muddy group of guys were steaming in the frozen Moscow evening.
Another explanation of a confusing new game to the majority of the group was underway. It was quite a bunch of characters in that group. Guys in levis, guys in hunting boots, muddy sweats, shorts, soccer kits, some cleats and one rugby jersey made up the circle at the end of another chaotic, muddy practice. The discussion was an optimist’s dream. We had our first game scheduled against WSU in 4 weeks!
A few challenges were ahead. We did not know the laws. We only had 10 men. Guys had to buy or borrow cleats. Jerseys were an impossibility. We had one good ball, loaned by law professor Craig Lewis and now on permanent display in the Rugby Museum. No worries!
After a short time with a guy who placed the original organizational announcement in the U of I newspaper, did know some laws, but gave up on us within a couple of weeks, the reigns of herding this bunch of pirates went to Doug Brown, a U Mass exchange student who had played back east and had attended the first meeting along with Harry Goodall. It was the start of it all.
Doug asked the school for help with funding the club. We did get the practice jerseys from the football team for game day! Strategy sessions among the founders, including John Hengesh, began after practice at the Spruce Tavern and routinely went a bit late as we had a lot to learn. A special 50 cent pitcher was a favorite of the group.
The big game day arrived on a brisk, clear and windy day. We trolled the halls of the dorms for any friends who could help us put 15 guys on the pitch.
Amazingly, we found enough men for the inaugural kickoff. The first matches were mayhem and massacres, but what a riot! We were hooked. The after match traditions fit right in with the group. We discovered we were damn good in the boat races and spirited in song. It was some solace for a butt kicking in the handful of matches that spring, many of which required borrowed players from the opposing side.
A road trip to Caldwell to face the legendary Snake River team was memorable. They pounded us 64-0, but they were totally supportive of us getting the club going. We partied well into that night and became long-time rivals on the field and great friends afterward. The tradition of stopping at Gold Fork Hot Springs on the way home began on that trip.
The next fall was pivotal for the U of I club. An experienced, athletic group of guys arrived in Moscow. They were law school, architecture, mining students and others. It was a turning point as we now had Woody Hanstein, a scrum half who could get the ball out, and backs that could move the ball up field when we they got the chance. More talent arrived for the scrum and the team dramatically improved.
The school would not contribute any more funds and required each player to buy supplemental insurance. Out of financial necessity, the team reluctantly disassociated from the University and changed its name to the Blue Mountain Rugby Football Club.
It was great fun to watch the teams we played that fall of ‘77 and spring of ‘78. They fully expected we were the same rag tag bunch from the year before. We won some games for the first time and started the momentum that would go on for years. It seemed that we were improving every match and the word got around that Blue Mountain was a fun team to play for. More guys started showing up at practice and many more talented athletes joined us. Competition to start on the A side was now becoming a norm. What a far cry from trolling the dorms for anybody who was upright and breathing!
The team started to travel to the coast and play the big boys in Portland and Seattle. While we did not win many over there, they were hard fought matches with memorable social evenings in the big cities.
The fall of ‘78 had the team playing all over the northwest. We actually had a second side that gave us depth for the first time. A very important decision was made that fall. An overseas trip would be a great way to end the time we had as a group before graduating in May. The planning for a trip to France had begun!
During the growth of the team, a great other team was developing. A women’s team for the first time in Moscow; the Dusty Lentils, were active and growing. The two teams were tight friends and frequently traveled together to tournaments. Several relationships, marriages and families followed. It was an incredible group of individuals and we knew we were very fortunate to be in Moscow then.
In December of 78, we flew into London and ferried across to France in the winter rugby season. Traveling in vans and facing numerous challenges together as a team was life changing. It was a series of tests for us in many ways. We returned 2-2 and a different, tighter, hardened team.
The spring of ‘79 was a banner season for Blue Mtn Rugby. Many of us were graduating in May. Our collective goal was to leave with the club going strong and we all felt that was accomplished for the next group to take the reigns.
Welcome Joe McGurkin, who became the link from generation to generation and an Idaho Rugby Legend.