Difference between revisions of "Portal:Okinawa 1977-1978 Men/Intro"

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(Created page with "Team was called the Wild West Show that practiced and played most games on the grounds of Kue Army Hospital, but we were considered a Kadena team. There was a Camp Hansen tea...")
 
 
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Team was called the Wild West Show that practiced and played most games on the grounds of Kue Army Hospital, but we were considered a Kadena team. There was a Camp Hansen team that drifted in and out of existence during the same time period.  Most of our competition, however, was played against the three Japanese Self Defense Force teams on the island.  The one Japanese civilian team on the island refused to play any of us US military teams because we played “football”, not rugby.  Within the year, with proper refereeing by Marine Mike Malone, we got them to play a few games, convincing them US rugby teams could play rugby if properly reffed.
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[[File:Wild_West_Show.jpg| x100px|thumb|left |]] The team (the Wild West Show) practiced and played most games on the grounds of Kue Army Hospital, but we were considered a Kadena team.  
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AF Captain Dennis Gill, Deegill, “coached” our team and essentially was considered the team’s founder several years earlier.  He was still stationed on Okinawa when I left and was pretty much a fixture for the AF on Okinawa.  I can’t remember the names of any of the other players, but if I do, I will send them along.  I know we had another Marine major that played second row with me, a Navy 1/C PO who played one of the back row positions and spoke Japanese (married to an Japanese woman), an Army 2nd Lt  who played one of the back positions and who was married to a Korean.  I can’t think of any of the rest.
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There was a Camp Hansen team that drifted in and out of existence during the same time period.   
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In the early summer of ’78, Mike Malone (MC), Dennis Gill (AF), the Navy PO, and the Army 2dLt met with the civilian Japanese team leaders and the JSDF team leaders and formed the Okinawa Rugby Union.
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By 78, most of our competition was played against the three Japanese Self Defense Force teams on the island (Air, Ground, Naval).  The one Japanese civilian team on the island refused to play any of us US military teams because we played “football”, not rugby.  Within the year, with proper refereeing by Marine Mike Malone, we got them to play a few games, convincing them US rugby teams could play rugby if properly reffed.
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Other teams were Koza City Old Boys, Camp Schwab, and wevmade annual trips to Taiwan to play the Taipei Giants and Taiwan Orthopedic College, and an annual trip to Clark AB
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In the early summer of ’78, Mike Malone (MC), Dennis Gill (AF), Eddie Hutsell (Navy), and the Army 2dLt met with the civilian Japanese team leaders and the JSDF team leaders and formed the Okinawa Rugby Union.
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[[File:1977_Kadena_team.jpg| x550px|thumb|left | '''POST CHRISTMAS EVE MATCH'''    '''Back, L to R:'''  Grit Harding, Mike Malone, Eddie Burnette, ?, Frank Egan, Dennis Gill, John Blanchette, Steve Forberg, Tom "Spud" Simmonds, Bob Guzzo, ?;  '''Front:'''  Eddie Hutsell, Doug Fisher, ?, Mike Knowles, Paul Berube, Tom Gripo, ?, Dave Jenner, ?, Dennis Harkness  '''Lying down:''' Way Moy]]

Latest revision as of 21:52, 14 February 2021

Wild West Show.jpg

The team (the Wild West Show) practiced and played most games on the grounds of Kue Army Hospital, but we were considered a Kadena team.

There was a Camp Hansen team that drifted in and out of existence during the same time period.

By 78, most of our competition was played against the three Japanese Self Defense Force teams on the island (Air, Ground, Naval). The one Japanese civilian team on the island refused to play any of us US military teams because we played “football”, not rugby. Within the year, with proper refereeing by Marine Mike Malone, we got them to play a few games, convincing them US rugby teams could play rugby if properly reffed.

Other teams were Koza City Old Boys, Camp Schwab, and wevmade annual trips to Taiwan to play the Taipei Giants and Taiwan Orthopedic College, and an annual trip to Clark AB

In the early summer of ’78, Mike Malone (MC), Dennis Gill (AF), Eddie Hutsell (Navy), and the Army 2dLt met with the civilian Japanese team leaders and the JSDF team leaders and formed the Okinawa Rugby Union.


POST CHRISTMAS EVE MATCH Back, L to R: Grit Harding, Mike Malone, Eddie Burnette, ?, Frank Egan, Dennis Gill, John Blanchette, Steve Forberg, Tom "Spud" Simmonds, Bob Guzzo, ?; Front: Eddie Hutsell, Doug Fisher, ?, Mike Knowles, Paul Berube, Tom Gripo, ?, Dave Jenner, ?, Dennis Harkness Lying down: Way Moy
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