Bob Latham
In 1976, Bob Latham headed to Stanford University. An accomplished junior tennis player, Bob abandoned his racket, found rugby and quickly became an ace on the rugby pitch. Upon graduating from Stanford, Latham continued his academic and athletic career while attending law school at the University of Virginia and playing for the Virginia Rugby Club and the Infidels Rugby Club. Life would lead him to the state of Texas where he made an everlasting mark on the state's rugby community. From 1983 to 1996, Latham played for the Dallas Harlequins and served as the club president during the team's national final four appearances. He was a Texas Rugby Union select side player and cemented his legacy in the Texas Rugby Hall of Fame. A hallmarked rugby career was just the beginning for Latham, as some of his greatest achievements came in an administrative role, including championing the sport's presence in the Olympic Games. Not only did he manage a distinguished law career, but he also spent countless hours and years providing pro-bono legal work and representing USA Rugby in international meetings and events. A two-time Chairman of USA Rugby, Bob is the only American to have served on the World Rugby Council (formerly IRB), where he worked to get a seat for USA Rugby, and serves on the eleven-member Executive Board of World Rugby.
Learn More About Bob Latham>>
Dr. Julia McCoy
A self-proclaimed "B plus athlete, with an A side mind," Dr. Julia McCoy has made a profound impact on both men's and women's rugby in the U.S. The native of Jonesboro, Arkansas was a trailblazer for women in sports from a young age. She attended Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas earning Female Intramural Athlete of the Year honors in her junior and senior seasons. Her academic career would lead her to medical school at the University of Arkansas in 1989 and an internal medicine internship at the University of Memphis in 1990. She began her rugby career in 1991, playing alongside Eagle Krista McFarren for the New Orleans Halfmoons Club and helping lead the team to a nationally ranked third place finish in her first season. Her love for the game took off like wildfire and led her to notable coaching roles throughout the USA. She would become a two-time head coach of the Eagles Women's 7s team, coaching the squad to a semifinal appearance in the 2009 Rugby World Cup 7s. After her tenure in 2009, she served as a USA Rugby Board member, and set up a database that recruited crossover athletes (including 2016 Olympians Alev Kelter and Jessica Javelet). She was the founder and coach of the American Rugby Pro Training Center Women's 7s that represented the Texas Rugby Union and won the US Women's National 7s Club Championship title in 2015. Jules sent development players abroad from the USA pool to support the USA Women's 7s Program, some of whom are current USA WNT 7s players. ARPTC's high school residency program also boasted current U23 USA players in both 7s and 15s.
Learn More About Julie McCoy Here>>
Chris O'Brien
No matter the sport, Chris O'Brien's athleticism has always shined. As a placekicker for the San Diego State Aztecs from 1984 to 1985, O'Brien was a first-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection and still holds the record for the highest field goal percentage in SDSU history. For the SDSU Rugby Club, he was an All-American selection and led the backs and team to the Pacific Coast RFU playoffs in 1985. After the conclusion of his collegiate career, he signed free agent preseason contracts with the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Jets. Chris graced the pitch for the USA Eagles from 1988 to 1994 at flyhalf. With the Eagles 15s squad Chris played 94 games earning 22 total caps. He participated in four Eagle 15s tours including starts against New Zealand and England in the 1991 Rugby World Cup. He simultaneously played for the Eagles 7s squad earning 72 total caps, playing in the 1993 Rugby World Cup and captained the Eagles 7s to the plate final in the 1994 Hong Kong 7s. His coaching resume is gaining as much notoriety as his playing career, having served among the coaching ranks at the University of California Berkeley and Stanford University, before blazing his own trail at Cal Poly.
Learn More About Chris O'Brien>>
Mike Petri
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Mike Petri began his rugby career at 14 years old at Xavier High School, where he served as captain of the nationally ranked #3 high school rugby team. His decorated career includes captaining the USA National Team at the Under 19, Collegiate All- Americans, and senior Eagles levels. His former clubs include Philadelphia Whitemarsh, Penn State University, Belmont Shore, and his longtime home club, the New York Athletic Club. He played professionally in the Premiership in England, the Pro 12 in Wales, and in the USA with Major League Rugby. He has also played for the prestigious Barbarians international side. His career with the USA National Team spanned three Rugby World Cup tournaments between 2007 and 2015, amassing 57 test caps in 65 appearances. He currently is the most capped scrumhalf and backline player in USA Eagles history. He is also the author of the renown rugby children's book, R is for Rugby: An Alphabet Book, and continues to be involved in the game as a founder of several youth rugby programs, a coach, and a TV commentator.
Learn More About Mike Petri>>
Peter Watson
Peter Watson has been instrumental in the success of USA Rugby Referees and the New England Rugby Referees Society and has shaped the game of rugby both nationally and in New England by coaching, assigning, and influencing areas within the referee and administrator space for decades. Peter refereed consistently from 1987 until 2005. The last six or more years of his officiating career were at the level of the National Panel, the highest domestic level attainable for a referee in the United States. These included overseeing matches in the Rugby Super League, the highest level of men’s club rugby in the US at that time, as well as top-tier collegiate matches. Most notably, he served as the Laws Chair for the Referee and Laws Committee at USA Rugby for nearly 20 years, as an IRB (later World Rugby) Educator and Trainer from 1995 and as a National Performance Reviewer and Referee Coach since 2006.
Learn More About Peter Watson>>
Dr. John Fowler, Chairman's Award
After traveling up the 405 freeway with his father to watch a UCLA rugby game as a high school student, it was only fate that John Fowler would appear on the pitch for the Bruins one day. John appeared at second row and flanker and was a member of UCLA tours to England and Wales. He was selected to the Los Angeles County, Southern California, and Pacific Coast representative sides during various seasons from 1975 to 1979. John continued his rugby career with the Santa Monica Rugby Club from 1980 to 1982 and the Cincinnati Wolfhounds from 1983 to 1986. John played for the Eagles 15s squad from 1980 to 1982, appearing in 27 games and earning 7 total caps. He was also a member of the Eagles 7s squad from 1981 to 1986 appearing in the Hong Kong 7s on five occasions. But John’s finest work was off the pitch. His entire Eagle career was played while he attended medical school at UCLA and completed his emergency medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati. John, his wife Dianne, and their six children lived in the Republic of Turkey for over 20 years. During his time there, he founded the Emergency Medical Association of Turkey, served as the Director of the Ephesus Emergency Medicine Training and Research Center, and was an advisor to Turkey’s Ministry of Health. In 1999, a powerful and devastating earthquake struck Turkey. Thanks to the education and training that John provided, he and his former trainees were uniquely qualified to lead and assist with the rescue efforts. John has authored many scholarly articles and spoken at numerous medical conferences.
Learn More About John Fowler>>
Dale Toohey, Lifetime Achievement Award
As a native of New South Wales, Australia, rugby is in Dale Toohey's blood. Toohey made his mark on the collegiate rugby community in America serving as the Long Beach State University head coach from 1974 to 2003. While at Long Beach State, he garnered an 87% winning percentage, 15 Southern California Rugby Football Union championships, three Pacific Coast RFU championships, three national final four appearances, and developed 13 Collegiate All-Americans from these sides. He earned induction into the California State University, Long Beach Athletic Department Sports Hall of Fame. On the administrative level, Toohey was a member of the USA Rugby National Technical Committee for eight years and has represented USA Rugby and presented papers at the Asian Pacific Coaches conferences in New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and Canada. Dale was present at the infamous 1975 Chicago meeting when the USA Rugby Football Union was formed and was the first chairman of the National Collegiate Committee, establishing the first national championship in 1980.
Learn More About Doc Toohey>>
Find out more about the US Hall of Fame and the US Rugby Foundation at https://www.usrugbyfoundation.org/
