GRR: Eagle Men
Like some of the early 20th Century players on our All-American list, Nate Ebner hasn't played a lot for the USA, but there's a reason, and that reason doesn't reduce his ability or influence as a player.
Dave Hodges was unstoppable.
An All American in football and rugby at Occidental, Hodges, like many of the top players from the late 1990s, came to the game late, but embraced it quickly. A cinder block of a man who could play lock, flanker, or No. 8, he was a leader by example, taking on the toughest jobs and the nastiest roles with no complaint, and perhaps even relish.
Most of us now know Brian Vizard as the head of the US Rugby Football Foundation, and as a TV announcer and analyst, but before all of that, Viz was the captain of the USA team.
In a time when the best of thw West Coast often came from California exclusively, Jeff Lombard was an outlier.
A big, powerful flanker from Western Washington University, the lifetime Northwesterner cut his teeth in the always imposing British Columbia league, and forced his way onto the USA national team at a time when playing in Washington and BC was a quick road to obscurity.
Former USA Men's 15s Head Coach Peter Thorburn has died.
The New Zealander, who coached North Harbour for many years, was an All Black Selector, coached the New Zealand 7s team, the New Zealand age-grades, and Bristol in England, was 81. He died after a short illness.