Portal:Okinawa 1977-1978 Men

< 1976-1977 Season 1978-1979 Season>

Okinawa 1977-1978 Men Portal

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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Team Record

Fall 77 Record
Date	Opponent	Score	Notes
<date>	JASDF	25-20
<date>	JASDF	10-0
13 Dec	Japanese Navy side (JMSDF)	<score>	T by Berube, Jenner, C by Harding
24 Dec	Japanese Self Defense Ground Force (JSDGF)	18-0	T by Harding, Malone, Forberg; C by Blachette (1) and Simmons (2)

Spring 78 Record
Date	Opponent	Score	Notes
<date>	at Clark	<score>	International Friendship tournament, 2nd to RAF team from Hong Kong
<date>	RAF in Manilla	<score>
15 Jan	JASDF	<score>
May 20	Taipei Giants	18-8	T by Guzzo, Gill (2), Douglas, C (4) by Douglas
Jun 20	Miyazaki-ken All stars	0-6
Jun 20	Gurukun	4-10	T by Jenner
Jul 13	Camp Schwab 9th MarDiv	12-6	T by Grippo, Buzzo C (2) by Harkness

Roster
Last Name, First Name	Service Rank	Notes
Gill, Dennis	AF Capt	<class>
Malone, Mike	MC	<class>
Second Row	MC, Major	<class>
Hudsell, Eddie	NA, 1/C PO
Burnett, Eddie	USMC Capt
Grippo, Tom	Army Lt
Jenner, Dave	Navy PO	<class>
Hartnett, Greg	<firstName>	<class>
Guzzo, Bob	<firstName>	<class>
Douglas, Bill	<firstName>	<class>
Danforth, Jim	<firstName>	<class>
Blemberg, PJ	<firstName>	<class>
Berube, Paul	<firstName>	<class>
Beyers, Gary	<firstName>	<class>
Harkness, Dennis	<firstName>	<class>
Egan, Frank	USMC Major	<class>
Lamont, Dave	<firstName>	<class>
Chinn, Courtney	<firstName>	<class>
Knowles, Mike	<firstName>	<class>
Homan, Mike	<firstName>	<class>
Simmonds, (Spud) Tom	Navy Lt	<class>
Harding, Irv	<firstName>	<class>
Kaufield, Mike	AF	<class>
Forberg, Steve	AF	<class>
Moy, Way	MC	<class>
Blanchette,John	AR	<class>
Holguin, Steve		<class>