Portal:Okinawa 1977-1978 Men/Intro

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 AN

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.

We were never able to foretold a full team from Okinawa for the Military rugby tournament, but brought several players in 79 & 80. In 1979 I was elected Okinawa rugby union president over the 7 Japanese teams and 3 US military Teams in Okinawa. We hosted an annual tournament in 79 & 80 at Kadena AB.

I left Okinawa in January 1981 for Clark AB. More pin that later.