Portal:1969 Spring Men
1969 Spring Men Portal
We continued to sweep Colorado teams, capturing the ERRFU tournament with a victory over a men’s team, the Denver Highlanders, on a great break and score by Doug Metzler. Finishing the first ERRFU Seven’s by taking 1st, 2nd, and our third team tying for 3rd was the greatest way to christen this tournament, which went on to become the Denver Seven’s.
Low points in the season were a disappointing loss to Cal Berkeley (ranked 4th in the nation) on a wet and muddy field (although the trip was great!), and another loss to BYU in the Rocky Mountain Championship. Finished 23rd in the nation according to the (only) national communication, 1969 USA Rugby Log.
Team Record
| Opponent | Date | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BYU | 14-17 | at BYU. (rated 8th in nation) Tries by Zedaker and MacDonald, conversion by Dyer, who also kicked two PKs Click here for 69 BYU photos | |
| Utah | 19-5 | at Utah. Tries by Coppinger, Olson, R Bennett and Fenwick, PK and two conversions by Dyer | |
| Regis | 28-0 | at Regis. Tries by Laws, MacDonald, Skinner, Zedaker, Bloor, Miller and Johannes. Dropped goal and conversion by Laws | |
| Cal Berkeley | 5 Apr | 6-32 | at Cal. (rated 4th in the nation) Try by MacDonald and PK by McNear on a muddy field against an experienced and 40lb/person heavier team; See here for 69 Cal photos |
| CC | 13 Apr | 8-3 | at CC. Tries by J Miller and Laws with a conversion by Metzler |
| Cranwell | 16 Apr | 14-0 | at AFA. Tries by Forsythe, M Bennett, and a conversion and 2 PKs by Dyer |
| DU | 19 Apr | 16-3 | at DU. Tries by Metzler and Beezley with 2 PKs and a conversion by Dyer |
| Mines | 20 Apr | 9-0 | all points by Dyer on PKs |
| Highlanders | 26 Apr | 8-3 | Coors' Cup Championship Game. Try by Metzler, conversion and PK by Dyer |
| Mine's / ERRFU Sevens (Later to be Called Denver Sevens) | 1st, 2nd, and tied for 3rd places | At Denver 1969 sevens report (championship decided by coin flip!) | |
| BYU | 3 May | 6-19 | at AFA. Rocky Mountain Club Championships. Tries by Beezley and M Bennett |
| CSC | 15-10 | at AFA. all 69er team with tries by Forsythe, Miller and Crittendon; conversions by Busching and Morehead; click here for 69er match photos | |
| Fitzsimmons Eagles | 14-3 | at AFA. all underclassmen with tries by Marshall, Rajczak and Schmidt; one conversion by Stanberry and a PK by Marshall | |
| Season Record | 9-3 |
| Opponent | Score | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Apr CC B | 6-3 | at CC. Tries by Simmons and Doherty | |
| 5 Apr Berkely B | 8-10 | at Berkeley. Try by Osur, converted by Westmoreland and PK by Westmoreland | |
| 19 Apr DU B | 16-0 | at DU. Tries by Davis, Graber, Tibbetts, Osur and conversions by Stanberry (2) | |
| 3 May BYU B | 23-14 | Tries by Tibbetts (2), Drexler (2), and Porter with conversions by Stanberry (2) and Marshall |
| Last Name | First Name | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Beezley | Michael | 69 |
| Bennett | Robert | 69 |
| Bennett | Milt (Merit) | 69 |
| Burns | John J | 69 |
| Graeber | Glenn | 71 |
| Chase | Jim | 69 |
| Coppinger | Roy | 69 |
| Crittenden | Burr | 69 |
| Busching | Kit | 69 |
| Morehead | Wally | 69 |
| Rajczak | William | 71 |
| Stanberry | Carl | 72 |
| Dyer | Les | 69 |
| Forsythe | Hugh | 69 |
| Johannes | William | 69 |
| Joyal | George | 69 |
| Laws | Harry | 69 |
| McNear | Alan | 69 |
| Metzler | Doug | 69 |
| Miller | James E Jr | 69 |
| Pillari | Tom | 69 |
| Raab | H | 69 |
| Skinner | Earnest | 69 |
| Fenwick | Lindsay | 71 |
| Doherty | TJ | 69 |
| Bewers | Geoff | 70 |
| Connelly | Steve | 70 |
| Haines | R | 70 |
| Krasnicki | Phil | 70 |
| MacDonald | Angus J | 70 |
| Martin | M | 70 |
| Olson | O | 70 |
| Schmidt | Gary | 70 |
| Westmoreland | Thomas | 70 |
| Yakabowskas | Carl J | 70 |
| Bloor | Alan E | 70 |
| Passmore | Stephan B | 70 |
| Marshall | Robert A | 70 |
| Simmons | Bill | 70 |
| Hooper | Victor J | 70 |
| Tibbetts | Dan | 69 |
| Porter | Dave | 71 |
| Stienke | Buck | 71 |
Post Season Experience/Records
Post Season Selections
Burr Crittendon - ERRFU and Western
Gary Schmidt (70) - ERRFU and Western
Post Graduation Involvement
As a Player
Milt Bennett - Boston RFC, Colorado Springs (Captain), American University (Captain 76-83), Denver Barbarians (Captain, Outstanding back award 81, )
Terry Brady - Scott AFB
Roy Coppinger - Boston, Washington DC (?which team)
TJ Doherty - CCK (Taiwan), Little Rock AFB, Scott AFB
Les Dyer - Ft Worth
Harry Laws - Hawaii Harlequins, San Antonio, Rapid City, Frankfurt Americans, Okaloosa, Clark AB
Selected to Representative Teams
Burr Crittendon - ERRFU and Western (69)
Gary Schmidt (70) - ERRFU and Western
Milt Bennett - ERRFU (78, 79, 80), Western (78 and 80), New England (75) to include their touring side to UK and France in 75
Roy Coppinger -Potomac (77) New England (75 and 78) to include their touring side to UK and France in 75
Harry Laws - All Europe Military (81), Gulf Coast (83)
Starting Other Teams:
Terry Brady - Scott AFB
TJ Doherty - Scott AFB
Les Dyer - Ft Worth
Harry Laws - AFA Alumni, San Antonio, Rapid City, Orchard Park (NY) High School boys and girls, Middle school boys, Carmel (IN) High School Girls, Middle school boys and girls, elementary school.
As a Referee
Harry Laws - Colorado, Philippines, Japan, Washington DC, Indiana, Midwest, also as an evaluator, referee coach, and IRB Educator and Trainer of referees
As a Coach
Harry Laws - Carmel (IN) and Orchard Park (NY) High School boys, girls and Middle school boys and girls.
Leadership
Staff
Head Coach - Al Osur
Assistant Coach - Mont Hubbard (USMA '64)
OIC - Alan Osur
CIC - C2C Angus MacDonald
Captains
C1C Les Dyer
C1C Roy Coppinger
Media
Click for scores, roster and more -> File:1969 How it began.pdf
Click here for more 1969 Spring Men pictures
Memorable Events
Winning the Coors Cup and establishing a winning tradition
Gary Schmidt Played last May in the Colorado-Utah all star match
Rated #23 in the nation due to strong performances against BYU (#10) and Cal Berkeley (#3)
(From Dave Porter) As it is for many others, my experiences with rugby at the Academy became an integral part of my progressive development as a military officer. It was my good fortune to be assigned to Cadet Squadron 24 during my first two years at USAFA. I had played rugby in high school and relished the opportunity to play with our intramural team in the spring of my doolie year. Our 1968 Wing Championship Team provided the foundation of what was to become the Academy Rugby Club. The 24th Squadron culture was unique: it was as rebellious as it was rugged and defiantly individualistic. This fighter pilot spirit carried forward to the academy rugby club as well. This spirit was undoubtedly what made the club a favorite of BGen Olds much to the chagrin of other more traditional and conservative officers. An incident which illustrates this spirit well occurred during our participation in the 7s tournament sponsored by Coors in Spring 1969. The Academy had entered two teams, and, at the end of the day, we were to play each other for the Coors Cup. As I recall, it was the battered & weary senior team that suggested that we have a “boat race” (with each member of the team chugging a tankard of beer sequentially while sitting in an imaginary canoe) rather than actually play the final game of 7s for the championship mugs. Predictably, it was “no contest” and the senior team took home the first place mugs. Fortunately the 2nd place mugs were just as serviceable…
The spring break would have no stories to tell were it not for the truck mounted camper holding the only beer at BYU.
