Camp Pendleton the early years
Prolog. Hi everyone! My name is Brad Sharp and I was one of the two original founders of the Camp Pendleton "Ghost Riders" RFC back in 1980. I was also the first women's rugby coach in 1981-1982. I had a great time meeting 3 of the current players at Harry's Sports Bar and Grill last Saturday night and had the opportunity to regale them with stories about the founding of the club. The other founder, Cliff Kolson passed away 6 years ago and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. BTW my"rugby nickname" was Turtle because I was the slowest guy on the team.
Chapter One – In The Beginning
It happened on a table in Major Clifford Kolson’s kitchen in October 1980. Major Kolson and 1st Lt Brad Sharp conceived of the idea of forming a Rugby Club at Camp Pendleton. Major Kolson and 1st Lt Sharp had been friends for many years. The Major was Brad’s OSO (Officer Selection Officer) at The Ohio State University and his influence and friendship was a significant reason why Brad selected Field Artillery as a MOS choice.
The boys, over a couple of beers of course, decided to form a new sports club but were unsure of the sport they would select. Cliff had played lacrosse with the local club side in Columbus and had some experience with the rugby club at Annapolis. The pros and cons of each sport were discussed and evaluated. While lacrosse was an interesting option, the financial cost and restricted availability of the equipment as well as limited competition options (there were less that 5 clubs in the Southern California area) made it a difficult choice. Rugby on the other hand did not require a huge financial outlay in equipment and there were over 40 existing rugby clubs in the immediate area. Plus, the nature of the sport fit perfectly with the aggressive spirit of Marines everywhere. So rugby it was to be.
Brad made a few calls and discovered a man named Peter Sertic. Peter, who to this day still lives in a cool house right on Del Mar beach. He was a long-standing rugby player and enthusiast and operated a rugby equipment store (Triton Rugby). We met with Peter to discuss how we could get involved with rugby in Southern California. He told us about the Southern California Rugby Football Union. The next weekend he drove with us up to the Long Beach Athletic stadium to attend a meeting of the group. Our application for membership in that group was immediately and enthusiastically approved. Brad took it upon himself to be the First Fixtures Secretary of the club and he was overwhelmed with requests for future fixtures once the team got organized and equipped.
Peter came through with a full numbered set of jerseys formerly used by California State-San Diego that he said we could use (they were mustard yellow), provided us with 3 rugby balls, shorts and boots on consignment and we were all set to start recruiting.
Chapter 2 – Initial Recruiting
We assumed there would be no shortage of Marines in the 1st Marine Division that would be interested in playing a full contact sport where you could drink beer after every practice and match. We were right! Cliff handled the recruiting by placing notices in all the base enlisted and NCO clubs, in the mainside officers club and there was a notice which appeared in the base newspaper for several weeks. But word of mouth turned out to be the best source of new recruits.
Our first practice was in the south parade ground right across from the First Marine Division headquarters. We had about 10 hard-charging Marines there. As the word spread around the base, the club grew by a few members every practice. After all, what enlisted Marine or NCO wouldn’t love the opportunity to viciously tackle an officer without being charged with violation of Article 32 of the UCMJ. People would drive by our practices and be curious about what in the hell we were doing with that odd shaped ball.
When forming the club, Cliff insisted on two things. First there would be no rank recognized during practices, matches and post-match functions. Second he decreed that every member of the club have a “nickname” and much like Bluto in the movie “Animal House” he was in change of awarding the nickname that would follow many of these players through their Marine rugby careers. Cliff selected his own nickname as "Sensei". We were on our way to building a successful club.
Chapter 3 – The Clubhouse
Cliff and I knew that we were going to need to find a place where we could hold post-match functions. It had to be a place that would be easy to find from the main gate of the base, tolerate a bit of rowdy behavior and provide a never ending supply of beer. Cliff and I appointed ourselves to be the “selection committee” and we set about our task with enthusiasm and purpose. After rejecting several potential candidates, many of whom rejected our inquiries first, the absolute perfect place was discovered.
“Dick’s Den” was owned by a retired Air Force Master Sargent named Dick Abbott. Regrettably the building no longer stands and the land has been absorbed by the commercial expansion of the city of Oceanside. It was located on the triangle corner of Vandergrift and (details to be provided later).
This place was a total “dive bar” about 30 feet wide and 90 feet long with a full length bar running down one side. It had plenty of parking and Dick was actually excited to host our post practice and post match functions. We knew this was the perfect place to call home. Sent from my
Chapter 4 – The First Match
Our first match was played at home against the Los Angeles Rugby Club 3rd Side. It took place on the old grass football field right off Vandergrift Road where the new tartan-turf field is now located. The field was a little narrow and short, but had standing football goal posts that were usable. It also had an old cinder track completely encircling it, which made plays close to the touch line a little painful to tackler and the tackled. There were also concrete runways for long jump and pole vaulting that proved to be a similar hazard, I actually played #8 in that match and Cliff of course was scrum half. What we lacked in technical proficiency we made up for with aggression and hard tackling. LA scored an early unconverted try and the match remained scoreless after that. Four-nil was the final score but the boys from LA knew they’d played a game of rugby. I believe the referee for the match was Lt Cmdr Jerry Fletcher USN who would go on to become one of the best respected referees in the nation.
Afterwards we took the LA boys to our new clubhouse and hosted them in fine fashion. Like most new rugby clubs we sang better than we played and definitely carried the day in that category. The LA boys went home with stories about how well they’d been hosted by the Marines and suddenly my phone was ringing off the hook with calls from clubs wanting to schedule home/home matches with the new young club that had players that hit as hard as a hammer against rock. Good clubs like OMBAC, Santa Monica and Eagle Rock. Of course I accepted all comers. Soon we had a full schedule.
Chapter 5 – Our New Field
OK the statute of limitations for UCMJ is long past so I can now reveal this story. We really liked the parade field right across from the old PX complex where the new sports gym now stands. It was right off the southeast intersection of Vandergrift Road and a road that is now long gone but was on the east side of the old PX complex. We always drew a reasonable amount of curious spectators who while coming out of the PX, wondered what in the hell was going on over there. It was level, had great grass and we thought it might generate some interest from the Marines shopping there. We got permission from Division Special Services (where I was working) to use the field so that became our new home ground.
That said, Cliff and I were getting tired of lining the field every match so we came up with a plan. In true rugby spirit one night just after dark Cliff cumshawed 3-5 gallon cans of diesel fuel from VMO-2 supplies and we strung out the measuring twine and using a spouted garden watering can, poured the diesel fuel on the grass and permanently burned the field markings in the in the athletic field. Oh boy it was a nice pitch with full 22 meter in goal areas and maximum length and width as allowed by the laws off the game at that time. When I left the base in spring 1982 the lines of dead grass were still there.
Apparently the civilian Base facility manager was really upset about the environmental impact of this act, directed that a formal investigation take place on the matter. After several weeks he was unable to identify the guilty parties.
Chapter 6 – Our First Victory
I don’t remember the date nor the final score but I’m absolutely certain that the first victory for the club was against The Unicorns of Huntington Beach. The match was at home and was closely contested but the Ghostriders prevailed much to the chagrin of our opponents who, after a fairly easy victory earlier in the season traveled with several 2nd and 3rd side players expecting an easy victory. Our boys tasted victory for the first time and we treated our fairly defeated opponents to one of the best post-match functions the club ever hosted. I remember some of their lot saying losing wasn’t so bad when you got to be hosted to a blowout function like that!
I remember distinctly that our final record for the 1981 season and going into the National Military Championships was 4-16-1. We were seeded 7th out of 8 teams in that event. Many of the losses were blowouts against far more experienced players, but experience is an effective teacher. We were learning from the best how to play the game and win.
Chapter 7 – Our First Coach
Somewhere early in our first season our first coach appeared. He was Lt Colonel Don Bonsfer (could be Dick I don’t really remember and unsure of the last name spelling). He had some rugby experience from the naval academy and he volunteered his services to the group.
My lasting impression of him was after he watched our first match, which no doubt was a horrible defeat. Afterwards he ordered the group together and said the following. “This team performed so poorly today I’m going to have to start with the basics”. He grabbed a nearby rugby ball and held it up over his head and said “This is a rugby ball. Some are white and some are brown. This one happens to be white”. Everybody laughed as it was a great tension breaker.
In the early years much of our team rugby skills improvement came from his patient guidance and leadership. He wasn’t able to travel to Dayton with us but he certainly can take much of the credit for our superior performance at the national championship in 1981.
Chapter 8 – Playing Against Foreign Military Teams
This story will be combining stories from 1981 and 1982 but I can’t remember exactly when they occurred, but I’m absolutely sure they happened.
The first match was against the crew of HMAS Adelaide; an Australian frigate which made a port of call in San Diego. I believe our friend Peter Sertic set up this match for the club. The Ghost Riders uniforms in this post-match photo included below dates it to the 1980-1981 season. I’m not sure of the final score but I’m fairly certain that the Aussies prevailed on the field as they gave the Ghost Riders their first exposure to the rucking style of rugby, perfected by southern hemisphere rugby teams of the day. Once again Lt Cmdr Jerry Fletcher USN (far left) was the referee. I’m also sure there was a post-match function but the only memory I have of the event involve the Aussie players complaining about our "watered down" American beer.
The second was a match against the crew of the HMS Repulse; a British nuclear submarine who made a port of call in San Diego. I believe this was in the 1981-1982 season. I contacted the British military liaison officer in San Diego and asked him to kindly reach out to the crew of the Repulse and see if they were interested in a match. By the end of the day, they had eagerly accepted our challenge and a date was set.
On gameday, they showed up in a military bus with virtually all the crew members who weren’t on duty. As the match started their superior skill level was evident but the Ghost Rider defense was solid and the Brits lead by less than 10 points at halftime. In the second half the marines superior conditioning started to show and slowly the British lead evaporated. After all, remember these guys had been cooped up on a nuclear submarine for six months. Match fitness can trump skill. In the end the Ghost Riders prevailed on the scoreboard by spread of about 10-12 points.
The most memorable part of the story was the post-match function. Those Brits brought along about 20 chicks in their bus who various crew members had been able to woo in San Diego with their accents. A few of these ladies didn’t make the bus trip home after meeting the Marines if you catch my drift. Man, those Brits could drink. They powered through our normal 2-keg inventory and Dick had to drive over to the local Anheuser Bush distributor and bring along 2 more. I’m going out to a limb to say this was probably the most memorable party hosted by the Ghost Riders, however my memory is a bit fuzzy about the goings on that night.
Chapter 9 – The National Championships – Part #1
This is the chapter I’ve been dying to write about; the narrative of our amazing trip to the third National Military Rugby Championships in 1981. It is epic in its nature; a tale that will rival the best works of Homer and Cicero.
The journey started after I received a phone call from a fellow named Harry Laws (Air Force I think) who was Chairman of the USARFU Military Rugby Committee informing us that the third National Military Rugby championship would be held in May 1981 at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio. I told him that we would be VERY interested in fielding a team for this event. The paperwork arrived by US Mail and I returned the application with the needed entry fee. I received a return letter accepting our application. We were in!
Next began the arduous task of getting orders cut for all the players to travel and play in the event. There was a special existing standing order from the Commandant of the Marine Corp which allowed amateur athletes to travel and compete in national events because the publicity was good for the Marine Corp. As the Custodian of the division recreation fund, I utilized this order to make request to BOTH the S-1 of 1st Marine Division and USMC Base personnel, and provided the name, social security number, rank, and current duty station of each player who wanted to go to the competition. I was surprised at how quickly the orders were issued. Each player received 12 days of excused from duty WITH pay and the authorization to utilize government transportation at no additional cost to the government. That meant we could catch a ride with the Air Force on any transport heading east or west. There were between 20 and 25 people under orders that were authorized to go to play in the tournament – all active-duty Marines.
We gathered at the field and had wives and girlfriends carpool the lot of us to Edwards Air Force Base which was about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. We went to the transport office as a group and were told that a cargo plane was leaving in a couple of hours headed to Scott Air Force Base, about 15 miles southeast of St Louis and there was plenty of room on the plane for our whole party. We were almost there.
That’s when our luck ran out. We spent the night sleeping on the floor at the terminal building at Scott Air Force base waiting for a hop headed east to Wright-Patterson. The next day we were informed there would be a flight today, but they only had room for about 12 people on the plane and they thought there would be another plane the next day. So, Cliff and I made an “executive decision”. I would go with the forwards on the airplane today and he would lead the backs on the place scheduled for tomorrow.
The forwards arrived safe and sound and settled into our quarters, an old wooden recruit two story barracks that had bunk beds. There was a chow hall within walking distance of the building and an administrative office next door that had a telephone. This proved to be important. Remember we didn’t all have cell phones back in 1981. I had set up a practice match with Ohio State’s rugby club for Wednesday. We sat back and waited for our backs to arrive.
Meanwhile back in St Louis, the promised plane did not show up and the boys had to spend another night on the floor in the terminal. The next day Cliff was informed that there would be no planes that day either. Cliff then made a decision that will go down in Camp Pendleton rugby history. He had a jeep driver take him off base to a U-Haul rental place and rented a 17-foot truck and loaded the boys up in the back of the truck and headed for Dayton Ohio about 7 hours drive away. Epic . . . . . . .
Chapter 10 – The Start of the 1981-1982 Season & Women’s Rugby
The season began with tremendous optimism. The publicity from our runner-up finish in the national championships was a tremendous recruiting vehicle. New faces were showing up at every practice, so much so that Cliff was running out of nickname ideas for the new players. I was able to procure the necessary funds from Special Services to get a set of new numbered jerseys for the new season. Peter Cripps (we'll get to him soon) has already posted a photograph of the new jersey color scheme. The team patch, made in the Philippines, was a combination of the base symbol and the USMC emblem. The red jerseys from the previous season became the “B Side” jerseys with the addition of an eagle, globe and anchor patch purchased the base PX. Many thanks Marion Kolson who recruited the group of wives and girlfriends who sewed the patches on both sets of the jerseys.
Then one day Cliff, Lt Col Bonsfer and myself were summoned to General Day’s (Commander 1st Marine Division) office as soon as possible. The General had always been a strong advocate of rugby at Camp Pendleton, often times ambling across the street from his headquarters to watch the matches and chat with the players from both sides. Later that day after we sat down and exchanged a few pleasantries, the General came to the point. He said that Commandant Barrow had recently addressed the impact on the USMC of the Title IX law that was passed in 1972. Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. He was 100% behind continuing the base financial support of the Ghost Riders, but stated that we needed to offer a women’s rugby program in order to continue receiving financial support from the Division and the Base. We sat there in silence, dumbfounded for a moment. Then Cliff looked at me with that impish grin; the one he always gave me when he knew he was going to ask me to do something that I really wasn’t excited about. Then he winked at me and I begrudgingly nodded my head. The Cliff looked at the General at said “Sir, we’ve already addressed this issue and we have made plans to form ‘The Camp Pendleton Lady Ghost Riders’ and Lt Sharp has agreed to be the coach of the team”. The General smiled, shook my hand, congratulated me on my new job and requested I deliver a written outline on the implementation of the new program to one of his aides. When I showed up to deliver the outline, the General's aide was a guy named Joel Drury. We went through OCS in the same platoon together. It's a small Marine Corps isn't it?
And that was how during the 1981-1982 season, women’s rugby was started at Camp Pendleton.
Chapter 11: Our British Coach Part 3 (Peter 'Merlin' Cripps still doing the writing.)
The remainder of 1979 came and went and so did the whole of 1980 and my dream and goal faded and went dormant. For the life of me I cannot remember when exactly it woke up, what caused it to wake up but in the spring of 1981 it certainly woke up! (Probably wanting to get out of a crap job!) A teacher friend told me of a residential, sports, summer school at Loughborough University, the then premiere sports college in the UK. On enquiring what sports were being taught, "Rugby Coaching in Schools" was on offer from 31st July to 7th August . Problem! I wasn't a qualified teacher! I wasn't a teacher moving from a soccer playing school to a rugby playing school. I wasn't a teacher taking up my first post at a rugby playing school! But it was not cheap! So when I made enquiries about whether I could attend or not and made mention that the funds weren't a problem I'm pretty sure it was the money that did the talking and I was in!
It was a pretty intense week and on the Saturday, at the conclusion of the theory and working amongst ourselves, the whole facility was filled with children from the surrounding schools and we summer school students were given 12 kids each and 3 skills to coach them, while being assessed ourselves. These skills were drawn from a hat and I was so fortunate cos I drew, the dummy scissors, tackling from the side and drawing a player before passing which suited me to a tee!
Even as I write, my qualification certificate from all those years ago hangs on my office wall! Yep, I was pretty chuffed about passing out from that week long school as an "RFU Preliminary Coaching Award" holder and boy, was I now raring to go and see whether there was any way I could actually get back to The States? Yes indeed! Little did I know what a hornets nest I would stir up!
Chapter 11a: Our British Coach Part 6 (Peter 'Merlin' Cripps last!)
Someone had left an issue of the UK "Rugby Post" magazine in the clubhouse, one Sunday lunchtime. Flicking through its pages I noticed an advert for "Rugby" magazine, the US equivalent. Eureka! This is it! Before the day was done I had composed a letter offering my rugby coaching services and the next day the letter was winging its way Stateside. I certainly knew the letter had appeared in the next "Rugby" edition cos Ed Hagerty sent me a copy of the mag! The trouble was, he must have been accustomed to sending each "Rugby" edition to the English Rugby Union HQ at Twickenham, as a courtesy I expect, so they got to see and read my letter too!
To say they were not happy is an understatement! I received a totally strong rebuke for my forthrightness - daring to do such a thing without consultation with them, the highest rugby power on earth! A letter also appeared in "Rugby" from the English RFU saying that they took a dim view of somebody soliciting themselves without their approval and should any rugby club Stateside require help from the ERFU in the furthering of the game, all such enquiries should be made through them!
Wow! Was the wind knocked out of my sails or what? I was crushed! So crushed, it even affected my training which was fortuitous because my wonderful Kiwi coach Gordon took notice and asked me what was bothering me? In the clubhouse, huddled in a corner, I told him the story with him harrumphing, sighing and cussing, as he listened. "If you get an invite over there my boy you go! Don't let any old school-tie organisation bully you! You'd make a good coach and I'd stand with you if it came to fight!" For sure that made me feel better!
When I told him I'd received a phone call from a US Marine Corps base in California offering me a position to coach their one year old rugby club we both laughed like drains. It was now only a matter of making the necessary travel arrangements!
Our British Coach Part 4 (Peter 'Merlin' Cripps STILL doing the writing.)
Following a defeat, which shouldn't have been, rightly or wrongly, I put it down to a lack of fitness So, at the next practice I sprung a pretty hard fitness session on the lads, with long runs, short sprints and all manner of calisthenics. Just as I thought, it didn't take long for real signs of weariness to appear. The session ran its course and at the end I ministered a pretty stiff telling off. When I'd finished Cliff Kolson put his hand up and said. "Sorry sir! Sorry we let you down. In our defence I'd just like to say that we were all on a 26 mile route march early this morning, in full kit!" Whoops! I honestly think that the reason why The Ghostriders did so well in the 81/82 season was a drill we ran for a good 20 minutes at the end of every training session. Unopposed rugby was a brainchild again, of my Kiwi coach Gordon and I employed it as probably, one of the greatest teaching aids to brand new players and old hands alike. It could be done at walking pace, jogging pace or flat out. Starting with kick offs, drop outs, scrums, line outs, mauls, rucks with or without a short side etc etc It informed each player where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to be doing at any particular passage of play whether attacking or defending.
The New Zealand All Blacks at the time were showing the rest of the world the meaning of "all skills for all players!" For instance, if a fly-half got himself tackled and caught up in a maul then a forward wouldn't join in the maul as well but stand in at fly-half! Imagine a prop at fly half! This was alien to northern hemisphere rugby. Unopposed rugby makes players think, be versatile, use all their individual skills, read the game, watch carefully how it will unfold, anticipate etc etc - the benefits are enormous!
Those players, to my recollection, in 1981/1982 were hungry and thirsty to learn - everything they could! They worked hard on their individual skills, positional skills and through "playing" as a whole team in hours and hours of unopposed rugby they knew exactly what to do when faced with an opposition, Whether the opposition was weak or strong was no matter! As long as they performed and followed their teaching, favourable results would surely follow! Paula's and my visa ran out in early March '82 and it was time to go home. Though extremely disappointed that we wouldn't be able to go with the team to The Nationals I knew I'd given the coaching my best shot and I couldn't ask any more of the players who dedicated themselves to learn this most marvellous game. How I whooped and cheered when I learned The USMC Ghostriders had won The 1982 National Military Rugby Championship! How proud I still am of being a part of that historic occasion and how I want to thank Brad for immortalising the early years of The USMC Ghostriders on these web pages. Chapter 12: The “Lady Ghost Riders”
As per General Day’s instructions the call went out for all interested women to report to the practice field. To my memory 5 or 6 showed up for the first practice. One of the women named Tracy (I think she went on to marry my housemate John Schilling) had some club rugby experience. There were three other lieutenants that appeared to have played some form of team sport in their lives and best of all, twin sisters of Samoan heritage that I’m certain would develop into ideal props. At an early stage we realized that fielding a full 15-player side would not be possible for this season so we concentrated on sevens.
In those days sevens wasn't anywhere near as popular as it is today. It was basically a summertime activity that was played to keep up conditioning and maintain social contact. There were no sevens tournaments in the fall and winter but we had to do the best we could with the competitions that were available.
As I remember we practiced on Mondays and Thursdays and after a few practices I was able to teach them the basics of the game, how to perform a line-out, simple looping back line play and perhaps how to execute a box 1 kick. We were ready to meet our first opponent. In the coming weeks there was a large women’s 15's rugby tournament going on in Tucson AZ so I contacted the organizers and asked them if they could arrange for us to play a couple of 7's exhibition matches with our team. They graciously agreed and the Lady Ghost Riders were on their way to their first competition.
The General wasn’t kidding when he promised financial support for the new team. A 47-passager from Base services was put at the disposal of our 10-person squad that was making the trip. The trip was about 7 hours each way and we were able to obtain temporary housing billets at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
The first match the Lady Ghost Riders played was an exhibition sevens match against the defending national woman’s championship team Belmont Shore. I was allowed to referee the match. They scored some points but so did we. Those two Samoan girls definitely had the warrior spirit that is characteristic for their race. When they got the ball they ran right at the opponent almost daring them to try and make a tackle. These were BIG girls mind you. They put the fear of God into several Belmont Shore wings and fullbacks who tried to tackle them. The rest of the day our girls were piecemealed out to other sides that needed players.
That night, there was a big tournament party and we were all invited. I remember the girls at the door were not going to allow me to entry the party but the President of the Belmont Shores team (her name was Cathy and we actually dated for a while after the event) “vouched” for me and I was allowed entrance. Let’s just say it was an “interesting” evening. I’m not going to include the tale in this report, but I did tell the story to Joshua and two others when we had our meeting at Harry’s Sports Bar. I’ll leave it to their discretion whether to privately share it or not.
I remember we took a second bus trip and I seem to remember that it was a one-day event but I can't remember when and where we went nor who we played, but it I remember it happened.
After the second trip the club kind of disbanded. The two events we participated in allowed the opportunity for my girls to make contacts in the women’s rugby community. The two Samoan girls were poached by Belmont Shores and I endorsed the move 100%. They were of the caliber that they should be playing for a great team who would develop them and make them better players. A couple of the others drifted off to other clubs and several more lost interest. We were finally left with just 2 ladies showing up for the last practice.
I sent General Day a report of our efforts with a promise to try to reform the women’s club again next year. He sent me a personal note thanking me for my efforts and wishing the rugby club success in the coming season.
Chapter 13: West Coast Regional Military Championship Before we get started on this new topic, I want to talk about some bad news the club received during the season. Dick Abbott, owner of Dick’s Den passed away. Cliff and I, along with a few other team members attending the memorial service. He had two daughters who pledged to keep the bar open for at least a year but the land was a very attractive commercial property and I could tell that neither of the girls was excited about being full-time barkeepers. Looks like the club would need to find a new home in the future.
Because of our seeding experience in the previous year’s national military championship, Cliff and I put our heads together and came up with an idea to prevent that from happening again. We decided that if we hosted a championship for military rugby clubs on the west coast and won the event, the committee would be forced to give us one of the two top seeds in the 1982 event.
Putting on an event of this magnitude was not an easy undertaking. I cannot remember the reason why but we had to form an outside group that would “technically” host the event. Accordingly, “The Cardiff Arms Rugby Booster Association”, named after the famed Welsh rugby home ground, was created to serve this purpose. I worked the phones and tried to discover all the military-based clubs in the western region of the United States and invited them to the event. Ed Hagerty also placed an ad in Rugby Magazine publicizing the event.
Midweek prior to the event we were surprised to discover that a full side of players from the Okinawa “Green Machine” who were able to obtain government transport arrived at our doorstep. Other teams that arrived were from Holloman AFB “Airmen”, Twentynine Palms, Davis Monthan “Mandrills” and MCAS Yuma “Sidewinders”. In addition, 3-4 members from the Malstrom AFB “Black Eagles” made the trip from Montana to participate in the event. We wanted to set up an eight-team event with each team being guaranteed 3 matches – two on Saturday and one on Sunday. In order to accomplish this goal Camp Pendleton had to enter two different teams, so the Pendleton “Beavers” were pressed into service. In order to complete the field, we had to form a full side with the players from Malstrom as well as a small group of military ruggers currently playing for civilian teams where no military side existed who independently made it to the tournament with hopes of picking up a match or two as well as extra players pressed into service from the depth chart of other participating clubs. We called this conglomeration of players the “California Occasionals”. We had our eight sides and the tournament began as scheduled on Saturday morning.
I have to express thanks to the local Michelob distributor who provided sponsorship for the event which included event t-shirts and an insulated Michelob plastic mug for each player as well as a promise for more kegs of beer than we could ever drink in a weekend.
In the first round Holloman defeated Twentynine Palms 10-4. The Pendleton Beavers scored a last second try to narrowly defeat Okinawa Green Machine 4-3. The Pendleton Ghost Riders defeated MCAS Yuma Sidewinders 24-0. Davis-Monthan Mandrills defeated the California Occasionals, score unknown.
In the second round Yuma defeated Twentynine Palms 18-0. The Okinawa Green Machine, seeking revenge after their narrow first-round loss punished the Occasionals 47-6. The Pendleton Beavers pulled off their second upset of the tournament defeating second-seeded Davis Monthan 9-4. The Ghost Riders blitzed Holloman 33-0.
We had planned a fantastic party for Saturday night. Trying to find a place that could comfortably accommodate 150+ beer drinking ruggers and invited female party guests without tearing the place down proved difficult. Dick’s Den was just not large enough to host this party. I came up with a brilliant idea. There were several industrial warehouse buildings in Oceanside that were empty and had concrete floors. I was able to find and rent one for the evening with the promise that we’d be responsible for any damage. So, the party was on! Players were instructed to bring their Michelob mugs which served as their ticket for admission to the all-you-can-drink event. The distributor provided a refrigerated beer truck with taps on the outside. Songs were sung, friendships cemented and ice-cold Michelob beer was consumed in copious amounts during the evening. After the party ended the clean-up crew of Ghost Riders got to work sweeping the place clean and then hosing the place down to get rid of all the spilled beer. When we were done you couldn’t tell we’d ever been there. It was a great function!
I’m sure that Sunday morning came too early for some but everybody was ready to play and finish the tournament in fine fashion. The Occasionals defeated Twentynine Palms (score unknown) to finish 7th in the event. The Okinawa Green Machine defeated MCAS Yuma 18-0 to finish in 4thwhile Yuma finished 6th. Davis Monthan defeated Hollomon 24-6 to finish 3rd while Hollomon was placed 5th. The final was set with the two Camp Pendleton sides facing off in the tournament championship.
Here is the story as written by Corporal N.H. North in the Camp Pendleton Base Newspaper; “The atmosphere was electric as both Pendleton teams took to the turn to do battle for the championship. Both sides displayed outstanding team play showing that they were up for this duel of the tournament. The Ghost Riders fullback Mike Ferguson opened the scoring by way of a penalty kick but the Beavers fought back, forging an error and capitalizing as Nick Faaleava scored a penalty kick, tying the contest 3-3 just before the half. The Ghost Riders continued to launch fine attacking moves, only to be thwarted by their club-mates on the Beaver side. It was then that the Ghost Riders reasserted their team play and energies as Ferguson took advantage of a Beaver error, scoring a penalty kick. Again, the Ghost Riders struck at the Beaver defense and a perfectly weighted kick by Jay Voelzke found the lightening quick winger Danny McMillon, who darted down the field to score a try which was converted by Ferguson. The final score was 12-3 Ghost Riders over the Beavers. Both teams took 1st and 2nd place respectively in the tournament.”
A panel of referees, coaches and rugby administrators served as selectors, caucused and came up with an All-Tournament team which included members from each participating side that impressed those selectors their skills and superior play. Although tired and beat up from the weekend of hard play, the Ghost Riders and the All-Tournament side agreed to play a 20-minute exhibition match, much to the entertainment of all present. The Ghost Riders prevailed winning 12-0.
After hosting a successful tournament what would be the next task for the Ghost Riders? It was off to Dayton Ohio to pursue the 1982 National Military Rugby Championship.
Chapter #14: 1982 National Military Championships & Epilog
This is going to be a much shorter chapter because I was separated from the USMC on Aoril 15, 1982 and was not involved with the day-to-day activities of the club after that date. I took a position with a brokerage firm in their Louisville Kentucky office which was only about a 2 ½ hour drive from Dayton. I kept in touch with Cliff and was aware to the squad’s travel plans to Dayton. Unlike last year, the team’s air connections both to and from Dayton was uneventful and without delay.
I made arrangements to meet the team at the same barrack we were accommodated at in the previous year. Lucky for me the MP’s failed to strip the blue sticker off my car when I separated so I had no problem getting on and off the base. I got there Thursday afternoon while the team was having a non-contact run-through practice. They’d left a made-up bottom bunk for me.
We discovered that we earned the number seed in the tournament which gave us a first-round Friday bye in the 12-team tournament. Our first match would be on Saturday against the winners of the Fort Sill vs Fort Polk qualifying match. There was a big difference in the mental attitude between the team last year and the team this year. We were confident but not cocky. We knew we were the best team in the tournament, we just had to go out and prove it. We scouted the match which Ft. Sill won and finalized our game plan.
The Ft. Sill team played us reasonably close in the first half but we blew them away in the second half. I can’t remember the exact score but the margin was at least 30 points. While our team was playing, I went over to the next field to scout our two potential opponents for the next round where I learned our next match would be against our old adversary Wright-Patterson. I was absolutely delighted as we had a score to settle with these birds from last year. The Saturday afternoon match started fairly even but later our superior skill set became apparent and we were able to successfully avenge our loss from last year defeating Wright-Patterson 20-7. We would play Fort Benning in the final on Sunday.
I scouted the Fort Benning squad and was reasonably impressed with their match conditioning. After all this was home of the army airborne school so we figured they’d be in good shape. There pack was exceptionally strong – perhaps as big and strong as our own. Their only obvious weakness was their wings, who although quick were noticeably inexperienced. We created a plan that would hopefully give us the advantage late in the contest.
We started the contest by instructing our wings and outside centers to loop inside and take the ball back into the forwards. The forwards were instructed to set the maul and maintain possession as long as possible. We thought this would be way to test and wear down their pack and set up our strategy for the second half. The first half was basically played in-between the 22 lines for each side and the score was 0-0 at halftime. In the second half we became dedicated to getting the ball out to our wings and allowing them to show some pace. Early in the second half our wing broke a tackle and scored a try between the posts and we took a 6-0 lead. Later in the half our flyhalf executed a perfect box 1 kick and the ball bounced right into our wings hands and we scored a second between the posts try for a 12-0 lead. That was how the match ended. Camp Pendleton was the 1982 National Military Rugby Champion!
We were presented the trophy and had a fantastic celebration. I have included a couple of pictures of the post-event celebration that I found in an old forgotten photo album. I went out to a local carry-out and bought 3-4 cases of beer and brought them back to the barrack and we enjoyed a small victory celebration there. As a reward for winning the championship the tournament organizing committee presented us with a full set of Canterbury National Champion jerseys. I was speechless when Cliff, who told me that by a unanimous team vote, I was to be awarded with the first of the 15 jerseys. I can tell you that a tear welled up in my eyes when he made the announcement and presentation. I still have the never-been-worn jersey as one of my lifetime prize possessions.
Later that evening I said goodbye to everyone and headed back home to Louisville. At that time, I had no idea that I would never see most of them ever again. I kept in touch with Cliff by phone and managed a small college fund for his two sons on his behalf. The first contact I had with anyone or anything related to the Pendleton Ghost Riders Rugby Club was 40+ years later when I made contact with Joshua on the Marine Rugby Facebook group.
Where did my rugby career go after leaving Camp Pendleton? I joined the Louisville Rugby Football Club, a highly successful club in the Indiana RFU and Midwest RFU. After a few seasons I started having problems with my back which ended my playing career. I became what the English call an “Alickadoo”, focusing on the administration of the sport at the club, local union and national union level. I served as Secretary and Treasurer of the Midwest Rugby Football Union for about 9 years and was elected to serve 4 years as one of the 4 MWRFU representatives to the United States Rugby Football Union. During that time, I served 2 years as Treasurer of the entire United States Rugby Football Union. As part of my official duties, I got to accompany the US Eagles when they participated in the first Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 1987. In 1990 I decided to retire from rugby administration and concentrate on making some money. I still meet every year with the Louisville RFC “Old Boys” during Kentucky Derby week.
So ends the story of the founding of the Camp Pendleton Ghost Riders RFC. I appreciate the administrators and moderators of this forum for allowing me permission to publish this story. It belongs on a group called “Pendleton Rugby”. I’m so glad I took the time and the opportunity to commit the story to written form for posterity. If this didn’t happen, then it wouldn’t be too many years in the future before the story would be lost forever. Thanks again and good luck to both the men’s and women’s rugby programs at Camp Pendleton.
Brad Sharp Bonita Springs, Florida
