ST. LOUIS BOMBERS RUGBY CLUB

 “CHAMPIONS AWARD”

The St. Louis Bombers Rugby Club began in 1962 evolving from Thurmers (late ’50s), Schumachers Mortuary (1960) and Blacks/Sisler-Hummell (1961) rugby clubs.  Frank Hauff and Gene Gladstone were inaugural coach and captain.  The Bombers immediately dominated the MRFU (Missouri Rugby Football Union) as champions 5 out of their first 6 years. In the 1964 and 1965 seasons the Bombers were undefeated and held all MRFU opponents scoreless in every match.

The Bombers fielded teams in all 3 MRFU divisions (Div 1, 2 & 3). In a 13 year span beginning in 1996 under head coach Ron Laszewski the Bombers won 38 of 39 possible MRFU championships.  The Club has produced 7 USA National Team players (2 World Cup players), 30+ USA Trialists/Western USA representative players, 6 All -Americans, 5 USA Div 1 Sweet 16 and Elite 8 National Championship appearances.  The Bombers earned promotion to USA Rugby’s Super League (the top 14 clubs in the nation) from 2006-2009. Coach Laszewski was the first American to achieve IRB Level 3 coaching accreditation (the highest level in the world at the time), has coached over 70 players who have gone on to USA National Team selection, and is the founding father of the national champion Lindenwood University varsity rugby program.

The Bombers continue to thrive, reaching the 2017 USA Rugby National Championship match, are current members of USA Rugby’s Midwest D1 Premiership, and coach numerous local youth and high school teams.  Current Missouri State HS Rugby Champions SLUH (Tier 1) and Lindbergh (Tier 2) are coached by Bombers.