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Nov 13, 1875: First rugby match played by Yale, against Harvard in front of 2,000 spectators who paid 50 cents each for admission.

1880s: Yale rugby gives birth to American football under the leadership of Yale rugby player Walter Camp.

1930: Yale Rugby is revived after WWI by British students at Yale who recruit their classmates to play against Harvard. Yale beats Harvard 11 - 0 in a match played inside the Yale Bowl in front of 9,000 spectators. Yale forms the first collegiate East Coast rugby club, and the club covers all of its expenses through admission fees from the Yale - Harvard match.

March 29, 1933: Yale rugby begins its touring tradition. The Bermuda Tourist Board in association with the Bermuda Athletic Club invite Yale to play in Bermuda as a way to attract visitors. Twenty Yale ruggers toured, accompanied by about 55 friends and Yale students (including the Yale Glee Club). Three hundred friends and fans went to the New York pier to see the Yale ruggers set sail.

1947: Yale rugby is revived after WWII under the leadership of WWII veteran and future NFL player Bill Schuler, and tours Bermuda again with Harvard, Princeton, and 400+ supporters.

1969: Yale tours transatlantic for the first time, to Ireland.

1978: YALE WOMEN’S RUGBY CLUB FOUNDED, one year before Princeton, and four years before Radcliffe/Harvard.

1981: With support from nearly 100 corporations, including Xerox and Ford, Yale Rugby conducts a goodwill tour of Zimbabwe, in support of the country’s independence.

2000s: Student leadership undertake to create an alumni database, which rugby alumni use to create Friends of Yale Rugby and Friends of Yale Women’s Rugby, with the goal of supporting the teams administratively and financially.

2013 - 19: FYR and FYWR join together under Chair Philip Lynch and recruit the first full time coaches of the men’s and women’s programs. The Yale Rugby Endowment in Honor of Ralph Bosch is established, combining with the Herrmann Endowment and the Fischer Tour Endowment as FYR’s focus for the long-term funding mechanisms for the programs.

2019 - Present: Warren Heffelfinger becomes Chair of FYR and leads fundraising efforts to grow the rugby endowments to $2.5M+. The Club achieves other hallmarks of an institutional rugby program, including rapid growth of the women’s team, a dedicated pitch, and a strength and conditioning program.

2023: Inaugural Yale Rugby Hall of Fame Class is Inducted

2024: Women’s program wins National Championship in Rugby 7s.

October 11, 2025: Largest gathering of alumni in our history to celebrate our 150th Anniversary and 2025 Hall of Fame class.