Corey Ford's New House

Last fall as the Dartmouth men's rugby team marched to its fourth consecutive New England championship and a berth in next spring's national Sweet 16, planning continued for the team's long-awaited clubhouse. The new building has gotten people thinking about an old friend, Corey Ford '21A.

From the club's inception in 1951 until Ford's death in 1969, the noted humorist and writer led a second life as the patron saint and coach of the Rugby club he founded and guided to international prominence and a 1959 appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. In his will Ford bequeathed his house to the College on the condition that proceeds of its sale be used to establish a fund for the future construction of a rugby clubhouse.

At a price of around $1 million, the new clubhouse, slated to open in the spring of 1999, will include locker rooms, a kitchen, a banquet room for traditional postgame meals with the visiting team, and a viewing deck. Both the men's and women's teams will call the clubhouse home, a twist Corey Ford probably would embrace as an extension of the traditions of

sportsmanship and camaraderie he ultimately cherished in the sport. As a faithful believer in the integrity of the sport, its players, and even its modern adaptations, Corey would trust his squad's decision. "Since the players are much more familiar with the game than I am," he once wrote, "I never bother them with advice."

Then: Corey Ford's favorite team played Ed Sullivan's stage in 1959. Now: Ruggers are getting a new place to play the clubhouse Ford willed to the team 30 years ago.