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Dick Liesching ‘59 (1936-2018) R.I.P.
BY JOSEPH ASCH '79 ON AUGUST 25, 2018 / PERMALINK / E-MAIL THIS / FB
John and Tim Liesching have forwarded a notice that will affect all Dartmouth rugby players: It is with a very heavy heart that we share the sad news of our father’s (Dick Liesching) passing on August 21st. In most recent visits with him in his ailing health, we shared emails from many of his former Rugby teammates wishing him well. Each note was read several times to him — and after each note, he repeated his teammate’s name and it was clear that he made a connection. That connection is the same one that many of you wrote about in the “Collection of Dartmouth Rugby Reflections” that was compiled for his 80th birthday just over 2 years ago. We never fully understood and appreciated the impact DRFC had on our father’s life until we read how it impacted your lives. This was the greatest gift of all for which we are eternally grateful. We are also grateful for the love, support and friendship that you gave our father throughout his life. Thank you for always bringing a smile to our Dad’s face — and making him part of such a world-class organization. Dartmouth was such an influential part of his life. We know he is in a better place now — and undoubtedly sharing DRFC stories with anyone he sees. For those that wanted to access the “Collection of Dartmouth Rugby Reflections”, a pdf link can be found here. Thank you again for being such an important part of our father’s life. God bless. 
Dick Liesching Young.jpg Allyn Freeman offered this obituary for Dick in Rugby Today magazine: It’s a sad day for Dartmouth Men’s Rugby with the passing of Richard “Dick” Liesching, a true rugby innovator at the university [sic], and also, importantly, a pioneer in the history of the sport in the United States. Liesching, a high school student at Blundell’s School, Devon, England, decided to attend an American university, choosing Dartmouth, and entering in the fall of 1955. Four-years later in the fall of 1958, he would make a radical proposal to the Dartmouth RFC by suggesting a winter tour to England. Rugby clubs in the USA had not been overseas since an All-American Team from California visited Down Under in the early 1900s. For fifty-years, other than spring break trips to Bermuda by Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, and the New York RFC, not one college or club side played out of the country. Liesching contacted his father in England who worked vigorously to arrange a seven-game match schedule in three-weeks for the visiting fifteen from the United States. Nineteen Big Green students headed across the Atlantic to convince a dubious British press that Americans could play a high standard of rugby. Dartmouth won five and lost two, surprising their opponents and earning merited praise for hard tackling and knowledge of the rules of the game. Corey Ford, a noted author, wrote up the tour for Sports Illustrated, and also arranged for the team to make an audience appearance on the popular Ed Sullivan Sunday night television program. At Dartmouth, Liesching served as club president and coach, imparting the English way to make the sport clubbable and fun. Dartmouth rugby alumni honored him in 2013 at a dinner with the title “Dartmouth Rugby Legend.” These alumni previously established the annual Dick Liesching Award at the university [sic] to be given annually to a deserved undergraduate. He traveled often to see the Big Green play, and enjoyed meeting all the school’s ruggers that came after his graduating Class of 1959. Every rugby club in the USA owes a debt of gratitude to Dick Liesching who opened up the wonderful experience of touring abroad. I expect that Dick is once again young and strong; and with any luck, he’s playing hard on a perfect green rugby field in Hanover. Addendum: The extended Liesching Family expresses their deepest gratitude for all those who have so deeply touched Dick’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to “Friends of Dartmouth Men’s Rugby” in honor of Dick Liesching at 6083 Alumni Gym, Hanover, NH 03755. In addition, a Memorial Service celebrating Dick’s life and the DRFC will take place on Saturday, September 29th at Rollins Chapel in Hanover — the same day the DRFC hosts Cornell. For more details, you can reach out to John and Tim Liesching at: johnliesching@gmail.com. http://www.dartblog.com/data/2016/04/012535.php Rugby Men Look Back BY JOSEPH ASCH '79 ON APRIL 10, 2016 / PERMALINK / E-MAIL THIS / FB 
DRFC Reflections1.jpg What you are, we once were What we are, you one day will be They played rugby for Dartmouth, and to a man they are proud of the fact. And the finest among them each year won the Dick Liesching Rugby Award. As Dick reaches his autumn years, all but two of the fifty-five award winners have written reminiscences that have been assembled into a book. Three copies were printed and given to Dick, Will Gray and the DRFC yesterday in Hanover; we can all share the on-line version. 
Dick Liesching1.jpg Corey Ford SI1.jpgIn this photo taken a couple of years ago, Dick Liesching ‘59 is flanked by Will Gray ‘59 and Bob Phillips ‘60. Dick was the Dartmouth Rugby Football Club’s President and the chief organizer of the the Club’s now-legendary 1958 tour of England. That event was significant enough to merit a feature story in Sports Illustrated by author Corey Ford (the first paragraphs are at right), an adopted member of the Class of 1921, whose spirit guides the team to this day. The entire team also appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, a kind of current events canonization that has no real equivalent in modern American life (the 60’s officially began when the Beatles appeared on the show on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1964). Take a look at the book. As Ted Bracken ‘65 wrote: There is something quite powerful about looking into the faces of the boys in the green hoops through the years, from the formality of the lads with their high-top football cleats in the ’50s, through the long hair and posturing of the ’70s, to the larger teams of today. Thank you, Dick. Addendum: Although the DRFC uses the College’s facilities to train, it is quite resolutely not a varsity team — nor will it ever will be if many of the team’s present and past members have their say. DRFC is a student-run club and proud of it, man. The squad hasn’t lost an Ivy League game in almost a decade (my sense is that if the team does not win an Ivy game by at least 50 points, it has had an off day). Longtime DRFC coach and current technical director Alex Magleby ‘00 was also the coach for several years of the U.S. Rugby Sevens team, which has qualified to play in the upcoming Summer Olympics in Argentina. Madison Hughes ‘15 is the captain of that squad. Addendum: The Alumni Magazine ran a story about the team and its history in the September-October 2015 edition. Addendum: John Liesching has written an update on yesterday’s events in Hanover: Yesterday was a perfect day in Hanover, NH. We were spoiled with great weather, a great game and a great outcome - as Dartmouth fought hard to outlast Penn State 30-25 in the opening round of the Varsity Cup. After the rugby game in the “Liesching Trophy Room”, I presented 3 books — to my father, to DRFC (whom Dan Kenslea ‘75, Chairman of DRFC’s Board of Governors, accepted on behalf of) and to Will Gray ‘59 (a great friend of my father’s who became my trusted advisor throughout this project). We were also joined by an extended family of very notable DRFC alums which included many award winners: Denny Goodman ‘60; Jeff Hinman ‘68; Jud Porter ‘76; Pancho Ryan ‘81 and Will Scheiman ‘14 and many other legends of their own: Rich “Boomer” Akerboom (also on the Board); Alex Magleby; and Coach Gavin Hickie - among many others. As you know, the book was Dad’s 80th birthday present - it had grown to over 175 pages of reflections from all prior Dick Liesching Rugby Award recipients. The idea started last summer after I played a pick-up golf game with Dr. Chris Ley, the ‘73 award winner, where over the following months a friendship grew. I was struck by his genuine act of kindness and sought to uncover it. Later in the fall after Wayne Young produced an address list overnight, I wrote every rugby award recipient explaining my project and emphasizing this is about each of their experiences and the influence it had on their lives - not about my father. What happened in the days that followed were truly magical. Responses literally poured in. I found myself immersed in each individual’s story. More times than not, a tear would roll down my cheek when reading the impact DRFC had on their lives. Finally, I realized that what my father shared with us, as kids and adults, was very real.
| The text being discussed is available at | http://www.dartblog.com/data/2018/08/013970.php and http://www.dartblog.com/data/2016/04/012535.php |