History

The Peoria Rugby Club was formed by a ragged coalition of Bradley students, young Caterpillar engineers, and foreign expatriates in the Fall of 1973. Led by Bernie Zant, a Bradley University professor and former U of I rugger, the first match was played on the “quad” at Bradley, with club players from Quad Cities and Bloomington filling in key positions for the newly formed team. Included in this first "match" were several experienced players including Doug Clausen and Don Gurik from Quad Cities RFC, Dan "Wahoo" Walther from Bloomington Blues and ISU, and Baltazar “Balls” Weiss from University of Missouri Rolla.

See Sub-Pages listed below for the complete Peoria RFC History