What your mates are saying…
| Name | Years Played (eg 77-81) | Your Team Memories |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Jagga | 22 – 23 | Learning how to play rugby with the guys, feeling like I was apart of something great, had fun on the field, but gave it up once I got concussed (still miss it tho!) |
| J La mond | 78 | 1. Beating the Marines from Camp LeJeune in 1978 in 2 feet of snow. With a Military Base of 40,000 troops to choose from…The Marines were defeated handedly by the gang green. 2. Watching Dave Henderson (granpa) successfully execute a Drop Goal shocking both sides. 3. Learning to kick from Dave Henderson 4. Refining “Lock” techniques from our South African coaches (Deon and Bookie). 5. Waking up to tourists taking my picture on a New Orleans trolley wearing beads and not much else. The end results of dancing the “Zulu warrior” on the GMU bus roof driving in the Mardis Gras parade. |
| J. La mond | 78-79 | 1. Watching Dave Henderson (“Granpa”) execute a perfect Drop Goal on the run. I cant recall the opponent but, I do recall the hopeless expressions on their faces. 2. Learning Lock Play from our South African coaches… Dion and Bookie.. And learning to kick from Dave Henderson. 3. Waking up in a New Orleans trolley car after riding in the Mardi Gras parade and dancing the Zulu Warrior on top of the GMU bus. |
| Mark Klear | 2007? | |
| Patrick Vanlandingham | 1987-1992 | The trip to England/Wales was legendary! Winning the Bartoletti Cup (Penn State) in 1991. So many great memories. This was a great team in my days. |
| George Wilson | ||
| Jeff Mercer | Late 60’s/early 70’s | I remember playing at the US Park Police headquarters at Haynes Point, at George Mason, and several other locations I was not a student at the college. I remember Rick Stafford, George Wilson, Bard True, Nick Sholl, Tony and others, memories foggy after 50+ years. |
| Pstrick Hayes | 91-95 | There are so many… Spring tournaments, tour to England & Rugby East Final Four but mostly so many great people and teammates. |
| Mike Johnson | Early 90’s | Brotherhood! |
| Tony Frye | ’74 – ’88 | First season I played with the then public George Mason side down at Gravely Point; second year took on the re-start of the George Mason University rugby Team as a virgin student club, we were really bad, but won a few matches, but what I remember most was getting thumped severely by most more seasoned clubs. |
| Greg Nichols | 83-86? | |
| Kurt Mills | 1988-1994 | Too many to share. |
| Chris Wells | 1974-76 | I’m in the old picture on your webpage, front row 4th from left. In the early days there were some large personalities on the team. A lot of fun. |
| Robert Olson | 88-92 | England /Wales tour |
| Salvatore Montemarano | 91-95 | |
| Max Dacey | 2024-2026 | Coaching mostly. I’m thankful to the board for bringing me on as a coach. |
| Josh David | 91-95 | vs Army in the mud and rain at home, 92. That picture says it all. Doesn’t get much better. |
| Bob Elliot | 94-96 | Eastern Collegiate Final Four Orlando! |
| Carl Turner | 77-83? | B Ray, Micky, JP, Juice, Tony, Stumpy, Jack, O’C, Jake, Gaetjen, Sully, Ski, Lueker, The H Bros – Haines and Henderson, Joe Cline, Coop, Cook, Wayne, Bard, Deon & Bucky, the BDOgger, Rizzo, Matty – the Quinns, Bosch and many more – Man we sure had fun! The legendary elephant walks at Club 4209! |
| Tim Campen | 1966-1968 | George Wilson and I “appropriating” 30 sheets of 4×8 foot plywood to make a dance floor in the barn at Rick Dowden’s farm! Jody Taylor almost drowning at the bottom of a maul in 6 inches of water at Potomac Park while playing GW. Rick Dowden getting his jaw broken against UVA in 1968. His jaw was wired shut for 4 weeks! GMason rugby started me down a rugby path for the next 30 years. I played at several US Army posts around the country. In Germany I played second row for 3 seasons with the Royal Regiment of Wales. We played on the best pitches I’d ever seen in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, where Hitler held his rallies! |
| John Sadowski | 78-86 | Good Games, Good Times, Good Friends. |
| Ryan Warren | 89-92 | ENGLAND TOUR!! And many I likely should not list here. What a magnificent time! |
| Hank Adolfi | 72-76 | Jets over the field, playing in puddles 10 “ deep in Anacostia, so many good friends… |
| Bob Koury | 1972 ++ | |
| Allen Bacher | 66-73 | Beating Navy @ Annapolis in a winter rain! |
| Steve Fox | 72-78 | Whole lot of C side matches an occasional B side match and my one and only A side match filling in for Tommy McCarthy. Wonderful camaraderie and great parties |
| James Franca | 71-82 | I coached the team for 10 seasons ( 5 years) beginning I think in 1982 |
| Marty Quinn | ‘76-‘81 | Teammates made it- Unit, Heffy, Grandpa, Whaler- My hooker was in my wedding, RIP Mr. Love. Road trips were the best, convincing GMU to give us a bus to take to Mardi Gras, what were they thinking. |
| George Wilson | 66-76 | We won’t our fair share of games, lost quite a few, but never lost a party!!! |
| Gary Holt | Prior to 77 | I came to George Mason from a team called Turkey Thicket. The name from the park where we practiced and played. We were affiliated with Catholic University. Many other clubs have come and gone but George Mason and its sister club NOVA have continued to exist. This is due to the excellent leadership for both clubs that has continued from the beginning. The wonderful memories are too many to list. Both clubs were like an extended family. |
| Barry Broadway | 1982-1986 | Meet life long friends and enjoyed playing and learning the game. Wish I would have known then what I have learned since. Look forward to catching up. |
| David Henderson | 73-78 | I went to the S. African embassy and asked for help coaching our young team . We got 2 excellent forwards to help turn our club around. The trip to Mardi Gras. |
| Rick Stafford | 1965-74, 78 | New York 7’s Tournament 1966: shin deep mud on Thanksgiving weekend at Downing Stadium. An epic road trip with 7 guys wedged into a Mercury Comet. “Dixie Cup” Tournament at UVA in 1968 at the old No-Name field. After winning the tournament and thinking we’d collect our first ever trophy, were amazed to be presented a soggy dixie cup full of beer. Hosting the Bank of England RFC in 1973 we outdid ourselves showing hospitality, and proved to the Brits why we were famous for winning parties! The first Club banquet was held in 1973 at Marriott Crystal City, proving we could act with a modicum of civility around wives and girlfriends when necessary. Barbecues and bonfires were often celebrated at Dowdy’s field in Arcola, which fortunately accommodated the non-ambulatory survivors of late night excess. |
| Chris Downey | 84-87 | “B” champions 1986 BWU Rugby Tournament Mary Washington after party- Fredericksburg |
| Jules Clifford | 86-88 | |
| Heins Louis Martinez | ?? | |
| Chris Gleason | 92-94 | Yes. |
| Kris Pabotoy | 2003 | East Coast Final Four! |
| Mark Owens | 1986-87 | |
| Steve Henderson | 74-80 | First team President once the team went back to George Mason University and split from NOVA rugby. Was match secretary a few times in my tenure while at GMU. Was a fullback my entire time until my doctor and knees finally said enough. Brought my girlfriend (now my wife of 45 years) to her first match when we played American University she hasn’t been the same since. My brother and I played our entire time at GMU. Lots of great friends and memories. |
| Fred Byrne | 71 to 75. Head Dummy 74 and 75 | Don Ellenberger, Melvin Meadows, John Brown, Owen McGill, Gary Holt, Judge Shropshire, Kunta Kentes(though he only played two or three games for George Mason in his stored career), Roberto, Koury, Nick Scholl, Jim Franca, Tommy self, David Bramble, Brad Frye, the Tasmanian Devil, Mike and Dick Poole, John Kirchner, John Barba and all of the rest of the lads that made my life just really, really fun. There’s a story behind everyone of these names and it’s always funny. |
| JON TRAN | 1997-2001 | |
| Trung Tran | 1994-1996 | Making it to the east coast final four with Tony brown |