Club History

as va g u el y re m e m b er e d by J o h n Y o u n g

R u g by in Li ttl e R o c k st ar te d in M e m p hi s! In th e la te S pr in g of 1 9 7 3 J o h n Y o u n g m ov e d to Li ttl e R o c k af te r pl ay in g fo ur ye ar s at th e U ni ve rs it y of Fl or id a. H av in g al re a dy t w o ye ar s of c o a c hi n g as th e ol d es t (& m os t e x p er ie n c e d) pl ay er at th e U ni ve rs it y, h e c h o os e to re u ni te wi th hi s m e nt or , P hil W hy at t, in th e F all pl ay in g fo r th e M e m p hi s B ull s. Tr av eli n g to tr ai ni n g t wi c e a w e e k, ev er y g a m e b ei n g a n “a w ay ” g a m e, a n d a se ri o us g as oli n e sh or ta g e e n c o ur a g e d hi m to tr y to st ar t a te a m in Li ttl e R o c k.

O n e of th e a w ay g a m es wi th th e M e m p hi s B ull s w as at th e U ni ve rs it y of Ar k a ns as in F ay et te vil le. At th e so ci al af te r th e g a m e, J o h n m et se ve ra l pl ay er s w h o w er e so o n to gr a d u at e as w ell as g o o d c o nt a ct s in Li ttl e R o c k of R u g by al u m ni fr o m th e U ni ve rs it y. J o h n c o nt a ct e d se ve ra l of th es e pl ay er s in th e S pr in g of 1 9 7 4 in a n at te m pt to st ar t R u g by in Li ttl e R o c k.

T h e fir st pr a ct ic e w as o nl y a lit tl e di sa p p oi nt in g in th at o nl y o n e p er so n (n o e x p er ie n c e) a n d a d o g joi n e d J o h n. H o w ev er , th e se c o n d pr a ct ic e re all y st ar te d th e te a m wi th D av e Cl ar k a n d Di c k H ar w ell le a di n g th e re cr ui ti n g. T h at S pr in g w as all pr a ct ic e, so m e o n th e fi el d, a lo t in th e b ar s, a n d ev e n a fe w c h oi r pr a ct ic es all in pr e p ar at io n fo r o ur fir st g a m e. Ri ve rC it y R u g by Cl u b’ s fir st g a m e w as w o n a g ai ns t th e B si d e of th e M e m p hi s B ull s in th e S u m m er of 1 9 7 4.

At te n di n g th at g a m e w as W ar re n E dr is a n d a s m all gr o u p of e x p er ie n c e d R u g g er s th at w er e liv in g at th e Li ttl e R o c k Ai r F or c e B as e. W ar re n st ar te d th e se c o n d te a m in th e ar e a, th e Ly o ns R u g by F o ot b all Cl u b, pl ay in g th ei r fir st g a m es in th e F all of 1 9 7 4. T h at F all al so sa w th e fir st R u g by T o ur n a m e nt in Li ttl e R o c k w hi c h w as or g a ni ze d by th e U ni ve rs it y of Ar k a ns as R u g by Cl u b. T hi s to ur n a m e nt so o n b e c a m e a n a n n u al af fa ir b et te r k n o w n as th e O za rk R u g by T o ur n a m e nt .

D ur in g th e S pr in g of 1 9 7 5 th e t w o cl u bs or g a ni ze d th e Ar k a ns as R u g by F o ot b all U ni o n a n d fo r m all y a p pli e d fo r m e m b er sh ip in th e W es te rn R F U wi th fo ur c h ar te r m e m b er s: Ri ve rC it y R C, Ly o ns R F C, F or t S mi th R F C, a n d th e U ni ve rs it y of Ar k a ns as R F C. O u a c hi ta R F C a n d H ar di n g R F C st ar te d R u g by in th e fa ll of 1 9 7 5. In th e Wi nt er of 1 9 7 6 th e n a m e w as c h a n g e d to th e O za rk R F U to gi ve a br o a d er b as e to th e ar e a se rv ic e d by th e u ni o n. In th e S pr in g of 1 9 7 7 Sil o a m S pr in gs R F C joi n e d th e U ni o n; th e U ni ve rs it y of O kl a h o m a joi n e d d ur in g th e sa m e su m m er .

T h e T wi n Ci ty R F C w as fo r m e d in 1 9 8 0 w h e n Ri ve rc it y R F C a n d th e Ly o ns R F C c o m bi n e d. T h e or igi n al n a m e of T wi n Ci ty R F C w as c h a n g e d to th e Li ttl e R o c k R F C in 1 9 8 7 to id e nt ify m or e wi th o ur g e o gr a p hi c lo c at io n.

T h e Li ttl e R o c k R F C w o n th e Di vi si o n I O za rk U ni o n C h a m pi o ns hi p in 1 9 8 6. T h e Li ttl e R o c k R F C c h a n g e d to Di vi si o n II in 2 0 0 0 a n d w o n th e O za rk C h a m pi o ns hi p in 2 0 0 0, 2 0 0 2, a n d 2 0 0 3.

Greater Little Rock Rugby Club, Inc. is a not for profit, tax exempt entity that exists to promote Rugby in the Greater Little Rock area. We own, without debt, 34 acres just east of I-530 at the Pratt Rd./145th Street exit, 7 miles south of downtown Little Rock. We have cleared the trees from about half of our land and have prepared three pitches, complete with well, sprinkler systems and Struckman Bermuda grass. We have constructed an 80' x 30' pavilion complete with restrooms facilities, showers, storage and the largest, most-bodacious fireplace in the area. You have to sit by a fire to believe it!

We are nearing completion of a 1.5 mile jogging trail around the perimeter of the property. We need the trees cleared for one more pitch. As with any property, there is always something to do...mowing, fertilizing, tree-planting, watering, etc. There is a crew working every Saturday morning during the Spring, Summer and Fall. Come out and see what the Ruggers have done.

Rugby in Little Rock started in Memphis! In the late Spring of 1973 John Young moved to Little Rock
after playing four years at the Univeristy of Florida. Having already two years of coaching as the oldest ( & most experienced) player at the University, he chose to reunite with his mentor, Phil Whyatt, in the Fall playing for the Memphis Bulls. Travelling to training twice a week, every game being an "away" game, and a serious gasoline shortage encouraged him to try to start a team in Little Rock.

One of the away games with the Memphis Bulls was at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. At the social after the game, John met several palyers who were soon to graduate as well as good cotacts in Little Rock of alumni from the University. John contacted several of these players in the Spring of 1974 in an attempt to start Rugby in Little Rock.

The first practice was only a little disappointing in that only one person ( no experience) and a dog joined John. However; the second practice really started the team with Dave Clark and Dick Harwell leading the recruiting. That Spring was all practice, some on the field, a lot inthe bars, and a few choir practices all in preparation for their first game. RiverCity Rugby Club's first game was won against the B side of the Memphis Bulls in the Summer of 1974.

Attending that game was Warren Edris and a small group of experienced Ruggers that were living at Little Rock Air Force Base. Warren started the second team in the area, The Lyons Rugby Football Club, playing their first game in the fall of 1974. That Fall also saw the first Rugby Tournament in Little Rock which was organized by the University of Arkansas Rugby Club. This tournament soon became an annual affair better known as the Ozark Rugby Tournament.

During the Spring of 1975 the two clubs organized the Arkansas Rugby Football Union and formally applied for membership inthe Western RFU with four charter members: RiverCity RC, Lyons RFC, Fort Smith RFC and the University of Arkansas RFC. Ouachita RFC and the University of Harding RFC started in the Fall of 1975. In the Winter of 1976 the name was changed to the Ozark RFU to give broader base to the area serviced by the union. In the Spring of 1977 Silom Springs RFC joined the Union and the University of Oklahoma joined during that same summer.

The Twin City RFC was formed in 1980 when RiverCity RFC and the Lyons combined. The orginal name of Twin City RFC was changed to the Little Rock RFC in 1987 to identify more with our region.

The Little Rock RFC won the Div. I Ozark Union Championship in 1986. The Little Rock RFC changed to Div. II in 2000 and won the Ozark Championship in 2000, 2002, and 2003.

The Little Rock RFC has recently been admitted to the Mid South Rugby Union beginning in Spring 2008