Congratulations to this month’s Alumni of the month, Dave Hiltzik
When did you play?
2009-2013, including a pseudo-victory-lap living in the Black House after graduation.
What position did you play?
Flanker, after a brief foray into the back line during which time I decided I wasn’t smart enough to play in the back line. Now I play in the back line for the Detroit Tradesmen. Joke’s on them.
What was your favorite memory as a member of the club?
Beating MSU my senior year was pretty big. When we played them the previous year, I remember Spoons giving an emotional speech about how in four years he had never beaten MSU and he was pissed about it. Unfortunately for him and the other seniors who took the field that day, we fell short. Over 70 points short.
It was a great deal of mental conditioning in addition to the grueling hours of physical torture at the hands of Stu that prepared us for our rematch. That day really drove home the idea that you can lose mentally long before you lose physically on the field, and hearing the whistle blow and seal our victory was one of my most inspirational and treasured memories.
Did you receive any special honors as part of the club
Arnold Cowmeadow Award for Most Inspiring Player (2012) and Most Valuable Forward (2013).
What are you doing now?
I currently work in the operating room in Royal Oak as a scalpel jockey. I also play for the aforementioned Tradesmen and pine for my glory days back before I was injury-prone and out of shape.
Any other interesting stories?
Too many. But one of my favorite things about Michigan Rugby was being surrounded by dozens of people who were instantly ready to do any outrageous thing at a moment’s notice. One story that stands out is the time, Dabbler, Tony Hawk, Queequeg, Chief, and I built forts with all the furniture in the Black House. We invented a game which involved the throwing and dodging of unopened beverage cans in an attempt to damage each others’ forts and/or personnel. The spoils of war were a pack of Gushers locked in a safe in the middle of the room. I remember very clearly that it was a Tuesday.
That day rivals my experiences on the rugby field as my greatest sensation of the blood-boiling thrill of battle. Hours of warfare passed, perhaps days, before we met in the center of no-mans-land to parley. After wary negotiation it was decided that victory would be awarded to the team that could best complete a harrowing series of challenges: First a demonstration of their most fearsome war cry, then a treacherous sled run down the stairs and through the foyer, and finally a gauntlet and test of skill barefoot in the unforgiving snow.
It was Queequeg, Chief, and I who won this final challenge, but a corrupt member of the Black House gentry (Ram Jam) emerged from his chambers and foolishly declared Tony and Dabbler to have won the day. A peace treaty was eventually reached and, with the Gushers in the treasure chest, we broke bread as the sun set on our newfound alliance. However, to this day the true outcome of the battle remains hotly debated, and many have since begun to question the nobleman’s character and the nature of his relationship with Tony Hawk.
