DAYTON, Ohio (WKEF) — This weekend of October 4 to Oct. 6 is the 50th anniversary celebration of the Dayton Rugby Club. The club had multiple games and a dinner for this half-century milestone.
There were three games on Saturday, Oct. 5, men’s Division 4 was at 11 a.m., Men’s D3 at 1 p.m. and women’s D2 at 2:30 p.m.
Club leaders told Dayton 24/7 about the history of rugby in Dayton and the club’s charity works. They highlighted their work for the Alzheimer’s Association, Sinclair Alumni Association and when the club raised $40,000 for the Brighter Tomorrow Foundation.
When talking about the expansive history of the club, and its accomplishments in the sport, memories of the Fox Rocks the Square charity event came up. The event was a collaboration between our station and the club for three years in the late 90s. It featured legendary musicians including Eddie Money, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Former club president John Guhde said the spirit of giving back is alive and well within the rugby community.
“My favorite quote is ‘rugby is a ruffian’s sport played by ladies and gentlemen’, and I’ve added to that ‘with big hearts’. We’ve helped the community. These grounds here used to be a little league park, we cleaned it up and put in rugby pitches. What you’re seeing today [Saturday] is the result of a lot of our hard work,” said Guhde.
The nostalgia and sense of community and friendship was palpable and former team captain Kevin O’Donnel shared his thoughts on the 50-year-anniversary.
“It’s fabulous, it brings tears to your eyes. In rugby, it’s brotherhood and sisterhood, we’ve been friends and we help each other out no matter what the cause is, today [Saturday] is a great day for rugby in Dayton,” said O’Donnel.
A formal banquet will be at Dayton Liederkranz-Turner on Saturday, with doors opening at 6 p.m. and dinner at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 and can be registered for online. There will be an inaugural Hall of Fame ceremony and will be a signed jersey auction.
The Sunday, October 6 game will be on the Dayton Rugby Grounds at 10 a.m. between both the boys and girls sides for the High School 7s.
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