The Beginnings
One of Belmont Shore’s founders you all know quite well. Syd Manning, an All Coast guard on the 1957 Long Beach State Univ. football team, joined mates John Reed, Bill Matz, Ray Alderson and Jim Harriman, among others, to form the Long Beach Rugby Club in 1964. Most of the members of the new club were ex-Long Beach State footballers. The best player on those early teams was Don Montgomery. The coach at the time, and an integral force behind the club’s success, was Steve Woolridge. Steve also played number eight and led the club to its first-ever state championship--over Piedmont Gap RFC--in 1965.
The Early Years
Over the next 10 years, the Long Beach Rugby club evolved like any organization. There were ups and downs, but overall success. Some notable players of the era include Brad Woolridge, Harry Schmidt, Shawn McKinney, Joe Bochenck and Steve Bowling. In the early ‘70s, Dr. Dale Toohey arrived from Australia and recruited away many of the Long Beach Rugby Club’s stars to play for his Cal State Long Beach university side. Dissension followed within the Long Beach RFC and in 1974, the Belmont Shore Rugby Club was formed.
The Revolution
The exodus to the quaint town by the bay was lead by Steve Woolridge. Three particularly important Long Beach members--both on the field and off--went with Steve. They were John Morris, an outstanding fullback from England, and Stu Ledsam and Gary Montgomery, both members of UCLA’s National Championship teams in 1971 and 1972. The new Belmont team was just above average in its early years. Other standout players of this era were backs Rich Spindler and Gary Bernstein, and forwards Jim Sterbentz and Jack "Sasquatch" Rutherford. In 1978, BSRFC won the second division title with hard play from flyhalf Dick Johnson (also the coach), hooker Red Phillips, back Red Smith and forward Bob Aydelot.
The Transition
In 1979, the Long Beach Rugby Club, suffering from a lack of organization and limited recruiting experience, finally folded. The demise was hastened by the departure of administrator Henry Lee who made off to Hawaii along with all of the club’s funds. While it was unfortunate that a 25-year-old club had folded, it was a boon to the fledgling Belmont Shore squad.
Building
The early ‘80s were a time when Belmont struggled to find an identity. While several outstanding players joined the club - notably Joe Wilmoth, Eli Braithwaite, John Russi, Mike Gooing and Brian Parkhouse in the scrum, and Mike Schaub, Nick Bozzo and Joe Collinsworth in the backline - the club lingered in the second division. The club expected to improve further with the addition of ex-Long Beach State members George Scott and Louis Ortiz, rookies Art Coffee and Ken Beckman and Stanford’s George Kerekas. In 1981, Belmont laid the groundwork for a very strong team with the addition of Welshman Roger Rees, hooker Bruce Winter and ex-Seattle Seahawk Charlie McShane. The club finished second in league at 5-2 and yearned to break into the first division. Its prospects brightened with the addition of five new starters in 1982. Winger Marty Popelka, hooker Pat McNally, center Jerry Denham, eight man Larry Castagnola and super-prop Randy Morris all joined the club. The 1982 squad allowed only one try against them in easily winning the second division crown.
Evolution of the Club
The 1983 season was time for Belmont Shore to take its place among Southern California’s elite. The "big four" at the time were Santa Monica, Newport Beach, OMBAC and Los Angeles. Belmont looked to compete with the addition of Phil Drum, England’s Steve Gates, Jeff Lyle, Ray LaBau, Dave Zuck, Russ Houck, Scott Smith, Randy Del Prado and Paul Gray. After an opening victory over Santa Monica, Belmont dropped the next three but still finished a respectable third in the division. The seasoned 1984 team was the most successful to date posting a 19-4-1 record en route to second place in the first division. They advanced to the Pacific Coast Territorial Championships where they finished second after convincingly defeating perennial powerhouse Old Blues along the way. The 1984 club also won the Santa Barbara Tournament. In 1985, Belmont Shore was 70 players strong and fielded a tough old boy’s team. From 1985-89, Belmont finished first or second in the first division four times. In that span, it also won championships in the Cypress, Las Vegas, Santa Barbara and OMBAC tournaments.
The late ‘80s witnessed the coming of coaches Bob Wilson of Australia and Denis Berg of New Zealand, along with strong administrative leadership from Mike Tracy.
The club foreign experience program
In the 90's Belmont Shore continues to evolve and started to finally get some good foreign players from New Zealand this along with the aforementioned assistance of Bob Wilson and Dennis Berg the club continues to improve and the club saw the first Belmont Shore RFC players elected to the National team. Chuck "tuna" Tunicliff and Jay Wilkerson were the mainstays of a quality team that was being built in Long Beach. There were other quality players that now started to come to Belmont Shore RFC because of the good reputation and the high standard of playing completion that took place at Belmont Shore RFC. Players like Kurt Kelder, Tommy Constantine, and Jeff Stone led a quality class of Santa Barbara to Belmont Shore RFC and along with the current players and foreign influx Belmont Shore RFC won numerous tournaments and made it a point to be in the Pacific Coast Championship.
The sun starts to shine on the club
In 1997 Belmont Shore was invited and accepted the invitation to join the top competition in the club called the Super League. By joining this top tier competition the club had to be at the top of their game in order to get through competition like Aspen, Golden Gate, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Ombac, New York and others from around the country. With Owen Glenn and Doug Pye natives from “kiwi land” coming on board in the late 90's the club took off.
The monkey off our backs and clear sailing
In 1998 Belmont Shore RFC won their first National Championship with a win over New York Old Blue. The first championship was achieved with the help of Phil Coffin, Scott Line, Jason Holland, Al Amato, Kelly Blue, Kyle Quinn, Chris King, Shaky Stevens, Ray Pua, and other determined and committed players. Phil Coffin (an ex-All Black Prop) was a player and head coach of the club and was the first coach Belmont Shore RFC had who set standards for players on and off the field which brought great respect and sportsmanship to the club. The following year Belmont Shore RFC lost the Super League Championship on a league oversight which allowed Denver to pick up some exceptional players from another club not in the Super League and these players made the difference in a close loss to Denver. The next two years Belmont Shore RFC did not make it to the finals but had at least gotten the monkey off their backs when it came to winning the big games.
Decade of dominance
From 2002 to 2006 Belmont Shore under the excellent coaching and dedication of Matt Webber the club appeared in 5 consecutive National Super League finals. Matt brought a different drive to the club challenging each player to sacrifice and commit to a philosophy built on hard work and discipline. This approach created for a well oiled machine that over powered teams across the country. Under Webber’s six year reign the team lost only five games out of a total of approximately 95 games. In 2007 and 2008 the team saw the championship legacy continue under the influence of Jonnie Cox. Cox, an Australian who grew up in England would take the team to the 2007 National Super League Championship defeating the Chicago Lions in front of a packed crowd at Little Q. In 2008, a rematch of the 2005 Super League final in Hartford Connecticut against NYAC was scheduled for Glendale, Colorado, only this time to be nationally televised live on ESPN Classics. Anybody who recalls watching this game should remember this game went into triple overtime and although a 50 meter sudden death conversion put the game away for NYAC. During this Championship Legacy their were so many exceptional players with the club that during the 2007 Rugby World Cup Belmont Shore RFC placed 5 players on the National team including Chris Osentowski, Henry Bloomfield, Mike Petri, Mike Hercus, Valenese Malifa and if it were not for injuries Francois Viljoen and Ben Weidimer would have been there too. Other notable players during this 8 year dominance include Titus Day, Craig Wells, Greg Alley, Mike Kenedy, Waisea Naigulevu, Ruan Walters, Kirk Khasigian, Al Lakomskis, Ray Pua, Johnny Pua, Quinten Berry, Lee Peina, Alex Hamil (Super League Top Try Scorer in 2002 with 15 Tries), Peter Galicz, Tony Fratangelo (Top Try Scorer in 2006 with 10 Tries), Sinipati Uiagalelei, Mike Kedgley, Ata Malifa, Peter Sio (Super League Top Try Scorer in 2009 with 8 Tries), and Peter Dahl.
As a direct result of the downturn in our US economy the club announced their decision in October of 2009 to withdraw from the Rugby Super League and partake in the Division 1 competition. Under the coaching of South African born Greg Cummins the Club lived up to once again making it to the 2010 National D1Championship in Glendale, Colorado, but fell short to the Las Vegas Black Jacks.
Belmont Shore holds the Super League Championship a record of four times, and made it to the Championship a record nine times – five more visits than any other team. We were 2008 Super League Finalists, and went undefeated in the 2009 regular season, losing to Life in the Quarterfinals. We are currently rebuilding our infrastructure and look forward to continuing our Championship Legacy by bringing home a D1 National Championship in the near future.
