Richard Battock, Col, USAF
Richard "Dick" Battock was born on September 13, 1935 in Denver, Colorado. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 1957, he attended St. Louis University Dental School where he received his D.D.S. degree in 1960. Upon graduation, he took a commission in the U.S. Air Force where he served as a dentist for 30 years, retiring as a full colonel in 1990. His academic experience includes Adjunct Clinical Professor, Indiana School of Dentistry and Illinois School of Dental Medicine. He has lectured extensively in the US and many foreign countries, taught at the Royal Air Force Dental Post Graduate course and his publications have appeared in professional dental journals. He has taught English when stationed abroad and has been active in establishing dental civic action programs. Upon retirement, he became involved with the American Red Cross teaching CPR and first-aid classes and was also a substitute teacher working in the Tanque Verde School District. In addition to his stateside postings in California, Indiana, Illinois, and Arizona, his postings took him to Taiwan, Greece, Thailand, Spain, and England. While on his tour in England, Dick became very involved in the sport of rugby, which became his passion in life. After settling in Tucson, he helped establish the Davis-Monthan Mandrills Rugby Football Club. He was also involved with the US Armed Services Combined rugby team and led them on tours of England, Australia and Germany. He then was the President of the Old Pueblo Rugby Football Club and also helped establish the high school rugby program in Tucson. He passed away at the age of 70 on December 30, 2005 from complications of brain cancer
... "I've done a lot of other stuff, but the bottom line is that rugby is a players game and everything I've done has been geared to make it enjoyable for all who participate in it"
Col Battock was so revered that after his passing there was an award named after him: The Colonel Richard D. Battock Lifetime Achievement Memorial Award - awarded to individuals in recognition of their lifelong commitment of service to military rugby. This award was named after Colonel Battock, whose passion for the sport of rugby introduced and inspired countless military athletes to play the game. His tireless development of clubs and touring sides worldwide, and instrumental role in bringing the sport to varsity status among the Armed Services, began the era that brought military rugby to the prominence that warranted national recognition.
It was awarded for the first and only time in 2009 to DANIEL FLAHERTY, U.S. Army (Major, Retired),and ALAN OSUR, U.S. Air Force (Major, Retired), who were nominated by their respective Service rugby coaches and unanimously confirmed by the designated voting panel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps rugby coaches.
Player
1958-1960 - St. Louis University, St Louis, MO
1977-1979 - Bicester RFC, England 2-4 XV
1979-1984 - Scott AFB, IL
1984-1988 - Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
1988-retirement - Occasional with Old Pueblo Lions, Old Southwest and Red Rock Roaches
Coach
1977-1984 - Scott AFB, IL
1984-1990 - Davis-Monthan AFB AZ
1998-1999 - Old Pueblo Lions, AZ
1999-2000 - Assistant Coach, US Air Force Select Side
Referee
1979 - Oxfordshire Referees Society, England, C-3
1983-1984 - Missouri Referee Society, C-2
1987-1993 - Arizona Referee Society, C-2
Administration
1979 - Founder and first president, Scott AFB RFC, IL
1980 - One of the original members of the Combined Services Committee
1980 - 1984 - Director of Air Force Rugby
1984-1991 - Chairman, Combined Services Committee, USA Rugby Football Union and served on USARFU Board as such, as well as Pacific Coast Representative
1988 - President, Arizona Rugby Union
1999 - ? - President, Old Pueblo Lions RFC, Tucson AZ
Tours
1984 - Organized and managed the first Combined Services Tour to England
1986 - Organized Combined Services tour to England
1988 - Organized Combined Services tour to Germany/England
1989 - Organized and managed Air Force Selects tour to Japan and Korea
1990 - Organized and fund raised for the Combined Services tour to Australia
Eulogy and Memories
From Harry Laws: We all loved Dick as our brother. Such is the way of our game, but it was certainly more with Dick. It is true, he never made an enemy, was kind yet persistent, reliable and straightforward. A man you could trust with your life, to do the right thing. As I was searching for tidbits to share, I reviewed the minutes of past Combined Services Committee meetings and see Dick and others were always there, contributing to the mundane details associated with startups, so that players could play, referees could ref, and teams would become teams. We spent hours discussing the virtues of players we evaluated, sharing of visions of what the Combined Services should all be about, going over the details (again) for new administrators, and over beer(s) commenting how lucky we were to have capable comrades from all walks of life who wanted the same thing for 'our boys'. I reviewed a film of him giving a gift of an American flag flown over the capitol to a Japanese General (graciously received), and both enjoying the party after.... Our military rugby organization would not have gotten to where we are today without him. Pure and simple. We will miss him.
The 'grateful nation' phrase his wife Genelle heard when given the flag from his coffin, includes a nation of military and civilian rugby players who never would have taken the field had is not been for Dick. And as I now reflect, let's make that many nations whose rugby players had the fortune of playing a US Service team, a situation that would not have occurred without the contributions of our own Dick Battock.
God rest his soul.
From Terry Brady (teammate at Scott AFB): I can't remember when I first met Dick Battock but it had to be at the Scott bar. He was a force of nature. He ran the Scott Dental Clinic and handled tough referrals from all over. He was an O-6 at the time and a very credible dentist. He worked on one of my difficult dental problems and remarked, "the old man still has some tricks."
He had started the Rowdies and I took over the task as #2 through 1980. I remember Zack Zacour as a quick winger and we attracted quite a few on base guys of all ranks. We played in the St Louis Rugby league and were dominated regularly. Dick chose a kit of black with white trim and a yellow stripe across the chest. We looked like bumble bees but pretty cool and distinctive. For me to be playing fly half, we had to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. I moved to scrum half the following year and we were about 50% in a very competitive league. The one great thing about St Louis was we were always traveling and the opposing team always had a keg for us. There was hard competitive play but great camaraderie after the match. I remember a few punches thrown but always great fun at the end. We mostly played in Forrest Park.
Dick is listed as the manager but in fact he played regularly as second row. He had to be 40 in those years and was single as having been through a few wives. He adopted rugby late in life and we Rowdies became his family. He was a special guy and I miss him to this day. He always had a bottle of Pinch available in his apartment. He was somewhat of a lost soul but he loved Rugby.
There are many vignettes but (Harry will appreciate this) we were playing the Bombers in 1980 and think and it was close. They were penalized on the 5 meter line and I was scrum half. Instead of moving it to the backs, I picked up the ball and drove into the Bombers entire forward line thinking I could get a touch if they were not paying attention. They were and I got called for a penalty for holding on to the ball after being tacked. Battock chewed me out unmercifully after the play as he was above me on the pile. He said I was too small to run into a pack of 250 pounders and should have given it to him. He would have gotten the try. I admitted "he was correct, sir." We had a great laugh about it later. I could certainly feel it the next day.
From Bruce Carter (famed Army rugger and referee extraordinaire): Dick Battock was certainly a dedicated and accomplished man. I'd like to think that I was, too, but I'm afraid that the main trait we shared was a love of rugby songs. We met at a western regional military tournament held at Camp Pendleton in 1985. There were six or eight teams, making for quite a party. After getting up on a table and reciting Eskimo Nell I suddenly had a wingman, the Colonel whom I had already been told had the entire D-M team staying at his BOQ. I have no doubt that my facility with lyrics as much as with a rugby ball accounted for my selection to tour the UK with the USCS the following year.
When Dick was in heaven's waiting room I visited him in Tucson. He was in a room by himself. So as not to alarm the staff, the other patients or any visitors the nurse allowed me to close the door while I sang every song I could recall Dick enjoying, which was all of them.
Benefitting firsthand from Dick's dedication to and talent for organization, seeing the joy it gave him and the respect it earned him, inspired me to devote as much time to rugby admin as possible. There were giants in those days, The Meanest in pride of place.
From Bret McLaughlin (teammate and all star player): He was a crucial member of the Arizona Rugby Governing Body from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990, not just the Military side. He was paramount in supporting the other Military Rugby programs in the state (MCAS Yuma, Fort Huachuca AZ) with assisting in placement into AZ rugby and scheduling in the beginning. I would also add the long running and remembered Michelob Classic Rugby Tourney held in Tucson Arizona annually that he was part of the overall committee and Chair for the Military Rugby Division. Also, as I remember, was integral in establishing a Arizona North-South Rugby Match annually from which allowed many to shine when their clubs were not at the top of the brackets - and fought hard to get Military Players consideration for selections. Locally in Tucson, when The University of Arizona program (Coach - Dave Sitton) was just starting to flourish, Dick and a few others were invited to provide coaching options and additional support in the form of scheduling scrimmages with the Az Military clubs. Military West Coast Championships (when they had them in mid 1980s) Dick and DMAFB was always in the hunt or as the champ. Another moment as a coach - I believe it was 1985, the championship match was between Camp Pendleton and DMAFB, after 80 minutes, it was 0-0, a vote decided to make it a 7s Overtime of which DMAFB won. I would also add that Dick elevated Military Rugby by creating a pack-5 concept of attack in those early 1980s and especially at DMAFB and with the USAF select squad.
From Craun Fansler (teammate, assistant coach): I first met Dick in the Summer of ’84. I had been at Davis Monthan AFB since January ’83 and had been playing for the base team. The team had met Dick at the Military Nationals in May of ’84 when I was unable to attend. They told of this “larger than life” guy who was PCS-ing to DM and was going to be our new coach. Being pretty new to the team I was pretty exciting about being able to start fresh with new team leadership. We hit it off right from the beginning. Turns out we both started playing around the same time, Dick in ’77 in the UK and me in ’76 in New Jersey. In late 76 I attended college in the UK so Dick and I were schooled in English rugby.
Dick’s enthusiasm for the game hit you right in the face. Easy to tell he loved the game and wanted you to love it too. As our head coach, Dick’s plan was to create rugby players that understood the game. He wanted to teach the game to our players so that they could play anywhere in the world. Not only did he help us develop a game that suited our team he scripted practices to teach us new skills and help us improve in areas that needed it. He was so organized and methodical. Most players were not used to that. After playing in England I was all for it. Before the season started that Fall, Dick installed me as team captain and for most of the next 6 years, that was our relationship; coach, captain, friend.
Regularly, we would travel to tournaments with more players than the allotted roster size. Always including everybody was important to Dick and I to build team unity. He would go find a team that was shorthanded and offer our boys to them. More times than I can remember, coaches and players from those other teams would come up to us after the tournament and tell us that our boys understood the game so well and would assume leadership roles during the games, teaching and helping their players. He and I were always proud of that and it was all his doing.
Once at a tournament in Las Vegas, we were up against UCLA and were manhandling them pretty badly. We were way ahead and our team starting clowning around and getting a little sloppy. Dick was pissed. He was yelling and cursing them up and down the sideline. I was coaching from the far sideline and could hear him loud and clear. One of the UCLA players came up to one of our boys and asked who was that guy yelling like a madman at them. “That’s our coach,” said our player. “If that’s how he acts when you guys are winning, I wouldn’t want to be around when you lose,” the UCLA player responded.
After a couple of years in the mid 80’s playing for the Air Force at the Interservice Championships, Denny Meredith brought me up as his assistant for the Air Force side in ’88. It was Dick’s help that got me that gig. And for most of the next 18 years, I got to support Denny, Larry Grant and Doc Holliday as their assistant coach at Interservice/Armed Forces Championships. It was the ride of my life and I have Dick to thank.
In December ’05, I was TDY to Nellis, AFB in Las Vegas. An email came in that said Dick had taken a turn with his battle against cancer. I took the first flight of the day out of Vegas on Sunday and got to Dick’s and Genelle’s house at about 10:00 am. Genelle had told him I was coming and he was smiling that big Dick smile. He had a bed in his den and he held my hand and we mostly talked about rugby. He knew it was a matter of time and he told me he was OK. Several rugby players from Old Pueblo stopped by, including a lot of kids that were involved with the youth rugby Dick had been working with. Genelle said it was like that most days. I remember thinking to myself that “this was a life well lived.”
I got the word in late December that Dick had passed. I flew into Tucson for the funeral. The service was packed with family and rugby folks from Tucson. We all went to a bar that night and told our favorite “Dick Battock stories”. Dick would have had a blast although he would have steered the conversation away from himself. The next day, the funeral was about an hour south of Tucson at the Arizona Veteran’s Cemetery outside Fort Huachuca. The ceremony was at an outdoor pavilion and after it was over, everyone departed except 6 of us: Jerry Gallion, Mike Malone, Matt Godek, Mike McDowell, Doc Holliday and myself. We circled DIck’s coffin, sang a few songs, toasted our friend and had a final rendition of “He’s the Meanest…”.
I retired in ’07 and a few years later found myself in Tucson on business and took a drive down to Fort Huachuca. Found Dick’s grave stone and stuffed one of my Chief coins at the base of it.
The stone read Col Richard Battock - Our Gentle Giant.
Dick loved rugby. He loved teaching the game because he wanted everyone to feel the joy he felt when he was around rugby. If you were a player, fan or had any connection to the game, Dick was your friend.
