Difference between revisions of "Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team"

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Ultimate is a team sport, etc etc.
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{{construction}}
  
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== History ==
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'''Ultimate Frisbee''', sometimes abbreviated '''Ultimate''', is an intercollegiate [[Club sports|club sport]], represented at our fair university by the '''Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team'''.  The sport is unique in that it has no referees and one of the founding principals is [http://www.upa.org/spirit the "spirit of the game"] requires a special level of sportsmanship (or sportspersonship). Columbia fields both a men's team, [[Uptown Local]], and a [[Ultimate Frisbee (women's and gender diverse) team]]. This page discusses the history of the sport's early years at Columbia. For current information about the teams visit their club sports pages.
  
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=== 1974 ===
 
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* The Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team was founded by [[David "Buddha" Meyers]] in the fall of 1974.
 
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=== 1976 ===
 
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* The team qualified for the 1976 East Coast Championship at (Amherst __) in April/May 1977 and was seeded ___.  In its first single elimination game Columbia lost  ___ to Penn State [confirm], the eventual East Coast champion.
 
  
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=== 1977 ===
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== Men's team ==
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* Spring 1977: For the spring 1977 season, Budddha got John Anthony (a Columbia graduate student), Dave Bloeme, the then reigning Frisbee World Champion and a graduate of Bronx High School of Science and Mark Dana (sp?) to join the Columbia squad. The team's potential was discovered in its game against ---?? Cornell/Princeton, both?] at Columbia's Baker Field when Buddha taught the team how to play a zone (3-3-1 was more common than 2-3-2 at the time) on the subway ride up to Baker Field & the team narrowly lost to a well-respected __ team.  That season's team consisted of several 'athletes" (certainly athletes by Ultimate's then standard of "athletic"), including refugees from Columbia's other sports programs, including Jerry McManus (baseball) and Bob Jarrett (lightweight football), Steve Kane, a self-acknowledged, but nonthelss excellant, goal hanger, running around to get open for Buddha, Bloeme, John Anthony & Ken Gary to throw to.  A typical play would have a Bloeme throw-off that pinned the other team in the corner by their goal line (this was before the ___ rule); Columbia would then apply its zone (often a "force side") and upon a turnover Columbia would score, often with Buddha throwing an air-bounce wrist flip (that is not a typo) to someone in the end zone.
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You can find out lots more about UPLO, how to join, and how our season is going all over the internet.  
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* Fall 1977: In the fall of 1977, Steve Kane & Jerry McManus were the co-captains, and despite the loss of Buddha & Bloeme, the team improved.  Other players joing at this time were Muarice Matiz (a cross-counrty refugee); Luis Pacheco (a varsity soccer player), and freshmen Ernie Cicconi, Paul Tvetenstrand and Bob Kennelly. and otehrs ----.  The highlight of the fall season was the crushing defeat of then top nationally-ranked Rutgers at Rutgers.  (By coincidence a poster for this game is on page __ of Ultimate the First Four decades). In contrast to the fall of 1977 when Columbia had Buddha and Bloeme, Columbia's humilating defeat of Rutgers, by a bunch of non-New Jersey, no-name players was an announcement that Columbia was a team to be reckoned with (even though one should never end a sentence with preposition).
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=== 1978 ===
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Find us on:
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* 1978  Florida Trip
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* Spring 1978
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Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/CU.uplo
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* Fall 1978.  End of season upset of BFC/BAD (their only loss of the year). Columbia teaches a very raw Pat King the intracies of the game.
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* Winter 1978-1979.  UPA founded; new regions; NY in Northeast Region; NJ in Mid-Atlantic.  Likley showdown between BFC/BAD & Columbia. 
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Twitter - @CU_UPLO
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=== 1979 ===
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* Spring 1979.  Florida trip (fun but not many victories).  team never quite clicks (plays about .500).  In Northeast semi-final at Amherst [confirm], loss to Cornell on a tipped disc goal with time running out.  Two unamed players (Strage & Gigi oversleep - who would have thought such reposnible yaoung men would do that?).  Cornell goes on to upset BFC/BAD; thus BFC?BAD's only losses in the 1978-1979 wer their final games of the fall & the spring.
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Website - http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/ OR http://www.uploultimate.com/
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* Fall 1979. Heiffers formed. Is this when the Schmidt Rule comes in ?
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* Winter 1980.  We win Syarcuse toureny 9was this the 1st or 2nd one?
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== Women's and Gender Diverse Team ==
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=== 1980 ===
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* 1980 Florida Trip.  Last minute car plans change so only 8 players go in Steve Kane's parents' staion wagon - Steve Kane, Chris Schmidt, Bob Kennelly, Mike Stage, Wally Don, Ken Gary,  Ernie Cicconi and Jeff Coffin. The team goes undeafeated, despite palying many doubleheaders with only 1 sub.  Columbia would have beeaten ___ by a larger margin, but Mike Strage confuses Ken Gary when he reciveing a throw-off.  There is no record of Bob & Jeff having anything to do with eclairs and Alberson's at 2:00 am {??}; such records are expugned & redacted in toto.
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* Spring 1980.
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History - Spectator April 8, 1981 page 3 reports the Women's Ultimate team beat SUNY Purchase on Monday April 6, 1981, 20-6 and the team had just been formed.  Ken Gary was the coach.  No players were named.       
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This team (formerly known as the Women's team) (formerly named Pandemic) is undergoing a name change in 2020 for obvious reasons.
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Twitter - @cultimatewomen
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= History =
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== 1973 ==
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* The Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team was founded by [[David "Buddha" Meyer]] in the fall of [[1973]].  Buddha was a graduate of Columbia High School in Orange, [[New Jersey]], where the game of Ultimate originated in [[1968]].  Many of Buddha's high school classmates had founded or were running other college teams on the East Coast, including Bob Evans at [[Princeton]], Dave Leiwant at [[Yale]] and Jon (JC) Cohn at [[Cornell]]. See the book "Ultimate:  The First Four Decades" for evidence of Columbia, Yale and Cornell Ultimate teams all being founded in 1973. In a July 3, 2023 email to Steve Kane, Jon Cohn confirmed the 1973 founding: "... Buddha was in the same CHS [Columbia High School] class as myself and David. The three of us certainly founded the teams at Cornell, Columbia, and Yale during our freshman year, which was the '73-'74 academic year. 
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The team's first shirt was a copy of the Columbia High School shirt stating Columbia Ultimate Frisbee in Columbia blue above concentric circles (supposed to be a Frisbee) on a white shirt.  In contrast, the Columbia High School shirt had black lettering and said C.H.S. Varsity Frisbee.  The sport at this time used a Master Frisbee (165Gs had not yet been invented), and the field was 60 yards long with 30 yard end zones.  Games were usually two 24 minute halves, with time stopped after goals and for out-of bounds.  The stalling count was 15 seconds.
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[[Image:Buddha_dos_domts_f_76_001.pdf|Buddha Humor;Fall 1976]]
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== 1975 ==
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* [[David "Buddha" Meyer]], takes junior year abroad and Larry Horlick and Jeff Birnbaum captain the team for the 1975-1976 academic year.  Raymond Tang was one of the steady players. The lefty freshman from Huntington, Ken Gary joined the team in the fall and recruited sophomores Jerry "Young" McManus, Mike Forlenza and Bob Jarrett for the spring season (and many to come). Despite the infusion of new blood, the team's record remains untarnished by victory.
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==1976 ==
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=== Spring 1976===
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===Fall 1976===
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** [[David "Buddha" Meyer]], a senior, returns from London School of Economics & is captain of the team.
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** The team won its first game at Yale on September __, 1976.  This was also Steve Kane [and Chris Schmidt's] first game.  A coincidence - I think not.
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    The Fall 1976 Record (2-2, excluding 2 scrimmages w/ Bronx Science & 1 with Stuyvesant, all Ws)
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    Fri 9/17/76  vs Bronx Science on South Field                    W (scrimmage)
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    Sat 9/18/76  at Princeton                                      L
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    Sat __/__/76 at Yale                                    21-20  W  (KG thinks it was 22-21)
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    Sun 10/24/76 vs County College of Morris at Central Park 18-14  W
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    Sun __/__/76 at Webb                                    15-10 L Called due to darkness
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 +
== 1977 ==
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=== Spring 1977 ===
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* For the spring [[1977]] season, Budddha recruits not only Rutgers transfer Mark Silverschotz, but also John Anthony, a Columbia graduate student and free-style partner of free styler Krae van Sickel; [http://www.amazon.com/Frisbee-Dogs-Throwing-Peter-Bloeme/dp/0962934631 Peter Bloeme], the then reigning Frisbee World Champion (his signature is on the 165G series if discs) and a graduate of Bronx High School of Science; and Mark Danna, a well known "free-styler" living in NYC (and also the author of [http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0915516195/ref=sr_1_olp_1/102-4404152-1584922?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1184427550&sr=8-1 "Frisbee Players Handbook", which was a round book sold in a disc)] to join the Columbia squad.
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** The team discovered its potential in its second game of the season when Buddha taught the team how to play a zone on the subway ride up to [[Baker Field]] & the team narrowly lost 25-24 to Cornell, one of the top teams in the country. The Cornell team had [http://www.upa.org/hof/inductees#cohn Jon "JC" Cohn] and [http://www.upa.org/hof/inductees#herrick Jim Herrick], Dan Weiss and Paul Brenner all of whom are in the Ultimate Hall of Fame. 
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** That season's Columbia team consisted of several "athletes" (certainly athletes by Ultimate's then standard of "athletic"), including refugees from Columbia's other sports programs, including Jerry McManus (baseball) and Bob Jarrett and Michael Forlenza (lightweight football), Steve Kane, a self-acknowledged, but nonetheless excellent, goal hanger, running around to get open for Buddha, Bloeme, John Anthony & Ken Gary to throw to.  Buddha had the world's finest wrist-flip airbounce (not a typo) and Bloeme, as reigning Frisbee World Champion, had pinpoint accuracy & amazing distance.  It wasn't until several years later that [http://www.amazon.com/Frisbee-Dogs-Throwing-Peter-Bloeme/dp/0962934631 Peter Bloeme] realized that others could run around and catch discs better than Kane, Jarrett and McManus; so Bloeme switched sports from Ultimate to become a trainer and showman for frisbee-catching dogs.
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** A typical play would have a Bloeme throw-off that pinned the other team in the corner by their goal line (this was before the "brick" rule); Columbia would then apply its zone (often a "force side") and upon a turnover Columbia would score, often with Buddha throwing an air-bounce wrist flip (that is not a typo) to someone in the end zone.
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** The team qualified for the 1977 East Coast Championship in April 1977. In its first single elimination game, Columbia lost to Penn State, the eventual East Coast champion.  Some Penn State views of the game and Buddha is [http://www.ultimatehistory.com/founders/Pg/buddha.html here, about 1/3 down]
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    The Spring 1977 Record (8-4, including play-off)
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    Sat 03/05/77  vs Glassboro at Central Park  28-13  L
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    Sat 03/26/77  vs Cornell at Baker Field      25-24  L
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    Sun 03/27/77  vs U New Haven at South Field  42-8  W 
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    Sat 04/02/77  vs RPI at Baker Field          27-14  W  (very cold)
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    Sun 04/03/77  vs Summit HS at South Field    25-9  W
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    Sun 04/03/77  vs Hastings Club at South F    18-11  W
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    04/9?10?/77  at County Collge of Morris    37-13  W
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                  vs Penn at CCM                25-20  W
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    Sat 04/16/77  vs Yale at Baker Field        35-14  W
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    Sun 04/17/77  vs Princeton at Baker Filed    29-26  L
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    Sun 04/24/77  at Webb                        19-8  W
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    04/30?/77    vs Penn State at Amherst      15-13  L  Penn State wins the Easterns
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=== Fall 1977 ===
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** In the fall of 1977, Steve Kane & Jerry McManus were the co-captains. 
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** Despite the loss of Buddha & Bloeme, the team continues to play well, but loses its 2 games to programs with "established" players with long Ultimate bloodlines (Princeton with Bob Evans from Columbia High School, and UConn with Dan Buckley & others from Staples High School).  In contrast, Columbia has a bunch of unknown players, including new teammates  Maurice Matiz (track refugee) and freshmen Ernie Cicconi, the pride of Hasbrouck Heights, and Paul Tvetenstrand.  and others Frank Busanic (Astoria ringer). 
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** The team shirt changes to a blue shirt with white lettering "Columbia Ultimate" above an actual replica of a 165G disc on it (which disc is signed by former Columbia player & then World Frisbee Champion, Peter Bloeme). It was also one of the few Ultimate team shirts to have numbers on the back. This shirt remains the team uniform through at least 1984.
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** Practices for 1977 and for several years thereafter are Tuesday & Thursday nights on South Field (which is in a dust-bowl like state).  On Thursday nights, practices are watched by the "pre-Pub" crowd.  The drinking age was 18 and there was a Pub in the basement of John Jay Hall that served beer and Thursday night was the most popular Pub night at John Jay). 
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  The Fall 1977 Record (5-2)
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    Sat 9/24/77  at UConn                    30-10  L
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    Sun 10/2/77  at U New Haven              26-8  W
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    Sat 10/8/77  at County College of Morris 18-16  W
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    Sat 10/15/77 at Princeton                23-18  L
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    Sun 10/16/77 vs UPenn at Baker Field    32-27  W
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    Sat 10/29/77 at Vassar                  32-13  W
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    Sun 11/12/77 vs Webb at Baker Field      26-25  W
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==1978 ==
 +
* Florida Trip 1978  --- was there one? ___
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=== Spring 1978 ===
 +
* An undefeated regular season was followed by a three-way tie for the final two spots in the Regionals with only the top four teams qualifying for the Eastern Nationals. 
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* Despite beating Princeton twice, the highlight of the season was the crushing defeat of then top nationally-ranked Rutgers at Rutgers (1974, 1975 & 1976 national champions).  In contrast to the spring of 1977 when Columbia had the well-known Buddha and Bloeme, Columbia's humiliating defeat of Rutgers, by a bunch of non-New Jersey, "no-name" players was an announcement that Columbia was a team to be reckoned with (even though one should never end a sentence with preposition).  However, Princeton & the other "established" teams got revenge in the Regionals. 
 +
* Photos of the Columbia Ultimate team at practice are on the first page of New York Times Sports section (p. 49) on Wednesday April 26, 1978.  Photos include Steve Kane handling, while Victor Garcia defends, and Jerry McManus skying over an unidentifed player.
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* Due to the primitiveness of the sport, tie-breakers for tournaments had not been fully developed yet.  So at the Regionals after a 3 way tie occurred for the final 2 spots for the Easterns, the NJ teams banded together and vote to have goal differential among the top 5 team determine the winner.  This was the only way Columbia would have been eliminated and Knights of Nee (a New Jersy Club team with alumni from NJ schools & many "old time/established" players) & Princeton would have qualified.  Columbia would have won goal differential among the 3 tied teams and goal differential for the tournament.  But Columbia (without "Buddha" or any other established NJ connection) got outvoted for the only formula that let the 4 NJ teams advance.  This tournament cemented the hatred for all things about [[New Jersey]].
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* The Glassboro game included one of the first brawls in Ultimate. During a tense, very low scoring game, it got ugly when a member of the Glassboro team ran onto the field from the sideline to throw a punch at Maurice. Lots of pushing and shoving ensued. Later that evening, Maurice had to visit the medical facility at Rutgers to get treatment for a small hematoma behind his ear. Needless to say, he did not sleep well given that was his second trip to the clinic that day. The first trip, early in the first game of the tournament, due to an errant Lou Pacheco (see Columbia Soccer) knee to the groin as they both went up to defend a long pass.
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 +
    The Record Spring 1978  14-3 (9-0 regular season; 5-3 tourney
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    Sat 03/04/78  at Delaware                              15-8  W
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    Sun 03/05/78  County College of Morris at Baker Field  17-6  W in football stadium in snow
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    Sat 03/25/78  U of New Haven at Baker Field            21-5  W
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    Sat 04/01/78  Lockhaven in NYC                          8-3  W one 15 minute half
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                  Brandeis in NYC                          24-9  W
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    Sun 04/02/78  at Rutgers                                22-15 W Major victory
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    Sat 04/05/78  at Vassar                                31-7  W
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    Sat 04/15/78  vs Princeton in NYC (Central Park?)      22-14 W
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                  vs Dartmouth in NYC                      21-5  W
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    REGIONALS AT RUTGERS
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    Sat 04/22/78  vs Columbia High School                  13-5  W
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                  vs Rutgers East (the B team)                    W
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                  vs Glassboro                                    L  Glassboro wins tourney
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                  vs Princeton                              +1  W
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                  vs DC Frisbee                                  W
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    Sun 04/23/78  vs Knights of Nee                          -6  L
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                  vs Rutgers                                      L  #2 in tourney
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                  vs Webb                                        W
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=== Fall 1978 ===
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* This was a great season.  The "upset" of Boston Frisbee Club (BFC)/Boston Aerodisc(BAD), in Boston, (their only loss of the season) was cool.  BFC/BAD was probably the first non-NJ club of "all-stars", who were formed for the sole purpose of becoming national champions.  Prior to the game with Columbia they were crushing all their opponents. 
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* Also, this season, Columbia is teaching a very raw Pat King (who later becomes the founder and star of NEW YORK/NEW YORK, the Ultimate World Champions for 1987 and 1989 - 1993) the intracacies of the game.
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* On October 28, 1978 while the ultimate team was beating Vassar & Uconn at Vassar, Columbia football was losing 69-0 to Rutgers. 
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* The season finale is the "hearse game" when the team travels by hearse to Princeton, arrives late (perhaps because the hearse didn't leave 114th St. until the scheduled game time), pulls up onto the field (with Princeton security follwing), and then goes on to beat hated rival Princeton who took part in the screwing of Columbia at the Spring 1978 Regionals, despite Princeton's captain Bob "God" Evans' protests of Ernie Cicconni's over-aggresive point play.  The hearse was bought for less than $1000 and partially owned by team-member [http://about.reuters.com/csr/corporategovernance/board/tomglocer.asp Tom Glocer], who couldn't keep a job in the US and was forced to move to England to get hired by some newspaper company.   
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    The Record Fall 1978  15-3
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    Sun 09/17/78  at Webb                            23-22 W
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    Sun 09/24/78  at Fairleigh Dickinson            22-2  W
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    Sun 10/01/78  UPenn at Baker Field              37-19 W  (14-11 at half)
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    Sat 10/07/78  at Bucknell                        30-17 L
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                  vs Rutgers                        31-28 W
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    Sun 10/08/78  at Penn State                      18-8  W
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    Sat 10/14/78  vs Knights of Nee at Central Park  29-16 L
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    Sat 10/15/78  at County College of Morris        25-20 L
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    Sat 10/21/78  vs Syracuse at Baker Field        41-24 W
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    Sat 10/28/78  at Vassar                          32-18 W
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                  vs UConn at Vassar                29-22 W
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    Sat 11/04/78  at Brandeis                        29-17 W
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                  vs BU at Brandeis                  29-11 W
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    Sun 11/05/78  vs Brown at Cleveland Circle      14-12 W
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                  at Boston Frisbee Club            24-20 W
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    Sat 11/11/78  at Princeton                      27-20 W
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                  vs Lehigh at Princeton            18-9  W
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* Winter 1978-1979.  Ultimate Players Association (UPA) founded. New regions are established and NY including NY is in the Northeast Region while NJ is in the Mid-Atlantic Region.  Not only is Columbia freed from the NJ dominated Mid-Atlantic Region, but a likely showdown between BFC/BAD & Columbia for the Northeast Regional Championship in the spring (and entry to the Nationals) appears likely.
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== 1979 ==
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* Winter/Indoor 1979
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    The Record 4-0
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    Syracuse Tournament in Carrier Dome (starts at midnight)
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    02/03/79  vs. Syracuse  15-6  W
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              vs. Cornell    13-10  W
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              vs. Hampshire  15-6  W  Tournament Champion
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    02/17/79  at  UConn      36-31  W
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* Florida Trip
 +
    The Record 0-3-1
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    03/11/79  at Univ of Fla 18-18  T
 +
    03/13/79  at U of So Fla 18-16  L
 +
              vs Orlando    20-15  L
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    03/15/79  at U of Miami  20-18  L     
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 +
[[Image:fla1979.jpg|center|thumb|650px|Ultimate team in Florida 1979: Front row: (l-r) Unknown, Steve Kane, Maurice Matiz, Ernie Cicconi (26), Ken Gary (with helmet); Back row: Eric K, Bob Kennelly (with can), Alex Bagley, Tom Gloser, Bob Jarrett, Ted Phillips, Chris Schmidt.]]
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=== Spring [[1979]] ===
 +
* In Northeast Regional semi-final at Amherst, the team loses to Cornell on a tipped disc goal with time running out and the season ends.  Columbia had previously beaten Cornell in this double elimination tourney.  Two unnamed players (Mike Strage & Alex Bagley) oversleep - [sure Strage I could see doing that, but Alex?]  Cornell goes on to upset BFC/BAD; thus BFC/BAD's only losses in the 1978-1979 were their final games of the fall & the spring. 
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* In sum, despite a great deal of talent (& probably the "deepest bench" ever), including in no particular order, Steve Kane, Ken Gary, Maurice Matiz, Chris Schmidt, Ernie Cicconi, Bob Kennelly, Mike Strage, John "GG" Getsos, Grog, Bob Jarrett, Dave Dewitt (who becomes a long-time key Ultimate player in Florida after only one year at Columbia), Alex Bagley, Tom Glocer, Mike Forlenza & others, the team just never really gelled.
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    The Record  9-6, including playoffs
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    Sun 03/25/79  vs County Collge of Morris at _____    ____  L 
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                  vs Webb                                ____  W
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    Sat 3/31/79  vs Boston Frisbee Club at ______      23-13 L
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    Sun 04/01/79  vs Hampshire at Yale                  26-11 W
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    Sat 04/07/79  at Vassar                              30-9  W
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                  vs Dukes of Conn                      18-13 W
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    Sat 04/14/79  vs Dartmouth at Central Park            +4  W cold & rainy
 +
                  vs Cornell at Central Park              -1  L
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    SECTIONALS at _____
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    Sat  04/21/79 vs Central Conn                        +12  W
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                  vs Webb                                -6  L
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    Sun 04/22/79  vs Wesleyan                            23-11 W
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    REGIONALS at Amherst
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    Sat 4/28/77  vs Cornell                              +3  W
 +
                  vs Middlebury                            +1  W Middlebury blew it & great play by Flu
 +
                  vs Boston                              20-8  L
 +
    Sun 4/29/77  vs Cornell                              -1  L Last second tip play loss; Cornell goes on to upset Boston
 +
 
 +
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 +
===  Fall 1979 ===
 +
 
 +
* With Maurice Matiz & Ken Gary graduating in May 1979, the Heifers, a NYC Club team is formed.  Although in its beginning stages Columbia is assisting the Heifers, a rivalry quickly develops.  The Heifers did have a cool shirt though, in both black & yellow versions, of a large uddered cow jumping over the NYC skyline.  Conceived by Ken Gary & drawn by Alex Toran.
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* The 10/6/79 Cornell victory at Vassar is an upset.  A unique defense is devised.  Bob Kennelly and Bob Jarret shadow Paul Brenner, while the rest of the team plays a zone.  Separate from this zone, Ken Gary makes the most uncharacteristic play of his career, but it is effective, as Cornell stops doing short passes up the middle of the field.
 +
    The Fall 1979 Record 9-7, including play-offs
 +
    Sat 09/29/79  at Webb                            22-15 L
 +
                  vs UConn                            23-19 W
 +
    Sun 09/30/79  at Dukes                            20-13 L
 +
    Sat 10/06/79  at Vassar                          26-22 W
 +
                  vs Cornell                          17-7  W Upset.
 +
    Sun 10/21/79  vs Kings Point (at Baker Field?)    34-4  W
 +
    IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT at Harvard
 +
    Sat 10/27/79  vs Dartmouth                        -10  L
 +
                  vs Cornell                          -6    L
 +
                  vs Yale                            +4    W
 +
    Sun 10/28/79  vs Harvard                          +5?  W
 +
    SECTIONALS AT SUNY PURCHASE
 +
    Sat 11/03/79  vs Wesleyan                        12-5  W
 +
                  vs Central Conn                    12-3  W
 +
    Sun 11/04/79  vs Heifers                          29-13 L
 +
                  vs UConn                            13-7  W
 +
    REGIONALS AT AMHERST
 +
    Sat 11/10/79  vs Hampshire                        -10  L
 +
                  vs Syracuse                        +6    W
 +
                  vs Heifers                          -4    L  Season over - # 5 in NE Region
 +
 
 +
== 1980 ==
 +
 
 +
* Winter Indoor Season 1980
 +
    The Record 6-1
 +
    Sun 02/03/80  at Fordham          30-5  W
 +
    Sat 02/09/80  at UConn            19-18 W
 +
                  Yale at UConn      23-5  W
 +
    Sat 02/09/80  at SUNY Purchase    67-30 W  Not a typo (no wind indoors)
 +
    SYRACUSE TOURNAMENT
 +
    Sat 02/29/80  vs Brandeis        17-7  W
 +
                  vs Hampshire        14-4  L
 +
                  vs Syracuse        19-14 W
 +
                Three way tie for first between Columbia, Hampshire & Syracuse
 +
* [[1980]] Florida Trip. 
 +
** Last minute car plans change so only 8 players go in Steve Kane's parents' station wagon - Steve Kane, Chris Schmidt, Bob Kennelly, Mike Stage, Wally Don, Ken Gary, Ernie Cicconi and Jeff Coffin. 
 +
** The team goes undefeated, despite playing three doubleheaders with only 1 sub.  Columbia would have won by a larger margin in one of the games, but Mike Strage confuses Ken Gary when he receives a throw-off.
 +
** L'affaire eclair almost costs the team 2 players.
 +
      The Florida Record 6-0
 +
      Sun    03/09/80 at U Fla            18-14 W
 +
                      at U Fla            15-10 W
 +
      Tues  03/12/80 at USF              19-11 W
 +
                      at USF              14-11 W
 +
      Thurs  03/14/80 at Riveria (Miami)  18-7  W Dave Dewitt's team
 +
                      at Riveria (Miami)  18-6  W
 +
* The Spring 1980 Season. 
 +
** Another very good season, but with a dispointing end. 
 +
    The Record - Spring 1980 13-2, including play-offs
 +
    Sat 03/22/80  at County Collge of Morris      +4  W
 +
    Sat 03/29/80  vs Dartmouth at Flushing Meadow 15-8  W
 +
                  vs Boston                        8-7  L
 +
    Sun 03/30/80  vs RPI at Baker Field                W
 +
                  vs Dukes                        19-7  W
 +
    Sat 04/05/80  vs NJ Plastic Exchange          10-8  W
 +
                  at Rutgers                      10-6  W
 +
                  vs Roland & Fish (NYC Club)    14-13 W
 +
    Sun 04/13/80  vs Discmasters at Baker Field        W
 +
                  vs Hampshire                          W
 +
    Sat 04/19/80  at Vassar                            W
 +
    SECTIONALS AT SUNY PURCHASE
 +
    Sat 04/26/80  vs Kings Point                  +20? W
 +
                  vs Discmasters                  +8 ? W
 +
                  vs Yale                          +3?  W
 +
    Sun 04/27/80  vs Central Conn                      L  Eliminated - Season over
 +
 
 +
*  The Fall 1980 Season
 +
**  C'mon Chris, Ernie Phil, someone do you have this season's record?  & comments
 +
**  1980-1981 school funding is $1760 ($500 Athletic Dept. and $1260 from JBC - Student Government) per Bill Ebner's 4/28/80 letter.  From memory, prior seasons' funding did not include JBC Student government fees (the student government funding did not exist) and usually the team got about $300-$500 per year.
 +
 
 +
== 1981 ==
 +
 
 +
* Winter/Indoor 1981  Record 2-0
 +
    Sun 2/22/81 W @SUNY Albany             24-11 Indoor ? outdoor
 +
    Sun 3/1/81  W @Jersey Jolt (New Brunswick) 13-8  indoor ? outdoor
 +
 
 +
* Florida 1981
 +
    The Florida 1981 Record 5-2
 +
    Fri 3/6/81 L at Duke
 +
    Sun 3/8/81 W at Bradenton (FL)
 +
    Mon 3/9/81 W at  USF (Tampa)
 +
    Wed 3/11/81 L at Riviera (Miami)  Dave Dewitt's team
 +
    Thu 3/12/81 W at U of Orlando
 +
                W      at U of Orlando 2nd game
 +
    Sat 3/14/81 W at Wash DC Frisbee Club
 +
 
 +
=== Spring 1981 ===
 +
 
 +
** The Record Spring 1981 23-7 (inc. 3 tourneys) 
 +
  Sat 3/21/81 W Clouds of NJ @ Paramus 22-9
 +
                W Rutgers 18-15
 +
  Sun 3/22/81 L Heiffers @ Baker Field 19-10
 +
                L Webb 17-12
 +
  Tue 3/24/81 L Bronx Science @South Field 17-16 Capt. EC, please explain
 +
  Sat 3/28/81 W Gators (of CT) @Norwalk 32-8
 +
                W Dukes (of CT) 15-12
 +
                W Rutgers 17-10
 +
  Sun 3/29/81 W Wesleyan 21-12
 +
  Sat 4/4/81 W @Vassar 19-9
 +
                W SUNY Albany 20-7
 +
                W Upstate All-Stars 33-24
 +
  Sun 4/12/81 W Central Conn @ Baker 24-21 Overtime
 +
  [Sectionals @ Norwalk CT]
 +
  Sat 4/18/81 W Central Conn         17-14
 +
  Sun 4/19/81 L Dukes 13-12
 +
                W Central Conn 14-11
 +
                W Gators (CT) 23-15
 +
                W Bronx Science 15-12
 +
  '''Northeast Regionals'''
 +
  Sat 4/25/81 W Umass @ Wellesley 21-16
 +
                W SUNY Binghamton 16-14
 +
 
 +
  Sun 4/26/81 W Dartmouth @ Harvard 17-15
 +
                W Harvard 12-9
 +
                L Middlebury 13-11
 +
  '''Easterns @ Purchase NY'''
 +
    Sat 5/2/81 W WPI 19-7
 +
                W Harvard 23-6
 +
                L Jersey Jam 11-10
 +
                W Princeton 10-9
 +
  Sun 5/3/81  L Glassboro State 14-11 Boro is     
 +
 
 +
  '''Ivies @ Princeton'''
 +
 
 +
    5/16/81 W Yale 20-1
 +
                W Princeton 17-14
 +
                W UPenn 15-9
 +
    '''Columbia is Ivy League Champs'''
 +
 
 +
**  Schmidt Rule.  Some Timing is uncertain.  In the midst of a fierce and acrimonious mutli-month (multi-year?) debate <ref> See, for example, UPA Newsletter, June 1980, Vol. I, No. 2 entilted "Time for a Change? Time versus Points" which addresses the issue. </ref> concerning whether games should be by points (i.e first to 21) or by the 'traditional" time (which was leading to stall tactics and a lot of end of game disputes as to whether time had run out on last second goals (the sport has no referees, let alone time-keepers), Columbia's captain, Chris Schmidt, proposes the most elegant solution, the "Schmidt Rule", that states the game must end on a score (thus eliminating stalling as the clock runs out & disputes whether time ran out before a last second goal is scored.  I can't find Chris Schmidt's letter to the UPA newsletter, but, the Schmidt Rule is adopted at the Northeast Region Captains meeting in September 1981 and is adopted nation-wide. <ref> Northeast Region Captians Meeting, UPA Newsletter, October - November 1981, p. 10; see also "Condors top Circus with Schmidt Rule" re: the Santa Cruz Tournament, in the same issue, p. 13 </ref>
 +
 
 +
The Spring of 1981 is also the year of the cagey Captain Ernie Cicconi's end run around a Connecticut nemesis using the famed loser's bracket and the pretty co-smart Princeton captain to pick the perfect score for both Columbia and Princeton to advance one fine day in Purchase New York.  Our hats off to our fearless leader in one of his great acts (and surely not the last).
 +
 
 +
===  Fall 1981 ===
 +
** Someone has to get the record
 +
** Northeast Regionals Nov 7-8, 1981, Amherst MA
 +
*** "The first game in Pool D was Columbia v. Hostages (a Boston all-star team).  Columbia, the third-place team in 1979, was playing with an even smaller squad than the Hostages.  Columbia can give anyone a tough game, and they jumped out to a 4-2 lead.  Twice Columbia dropped scoring passes in the endzone.  Both times the Hostages took the disc the lenghth of the field for a score.  So, if Columbia catches those two scores, the Hostages are looking at a 6-0 deficit!  The Hostages were able to come back from a 4-2 score however and win the game.  The most imporant plays of the first day (for the entire 16 team tourney) were those two dropped passes." <ref> "Hostages take a gutsy victory", Ultimate Players Assocaition UPA Newsletter Vol II, No. 5 January-February 1982. </ref>  The Hostages go to the Nationals and come in 4th. 
 +
*** Other games in that Pool D was vs. Cornell, which Columbia lost, and vs. Brockport which resulted in ___?
 +
 
 +
[[Image:UltimateUMass1981.jpg|center|thumb|650px|At 1981 Fall Regionals, UMass]]
 +
 
 +
In the photo from L to R are:  Bob Jarrett, Les Fritzemeier, Steve Kane, Jim Drennan (looking skyward), Phil Hirschhorn (dropping disc, see desription of tourny above), Chris Schmidt, Dave Rosenfeld, Tom Jacobson, Jeff Coffin, Paul Tvetenstrand, Chris Klein, Chris Betts, Mike Strage, Greg Telonis.  This photo was later turned into a prize winning Christmas tree ornament.
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
<references />
  
 
== External Links ==
 
== External Links ==
−
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/ Uptown Local ( men's team )]
+
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/ Uptown Local (men's team )]
−
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/nypd/ NYPD (women's team) ]
+
* [http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/nypd/ NYPD (women's team)]
−
* [http://groups.google.com/group/CU-ultimate google group]
+
* [http://groups.google.com/group/CU-ultimate Google group]
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Club sports]]

Latest revision as of 16:45, 3 July 2023

LogoFavicon.png This article is under construction.
The contents of this article are undergoing revision,
or should be revised. Please feel free to contribute.

Ultimate Frisbee, sometimes abbreviated Ultimate, is an intercollegiate club sport, represented at our fair university by the Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team. The sport is unique in that it has no referees and one of the founding principals is the "spirit of the game" requires a special level of sportsmanship (or sportspersonship). Columbia fields both a men's team, Uptown Local, and a Ultimate Frisbee (women's and gender diverse) team. This page discusses the history of the sport's early years at Columbia. For current information about the teams visit their club sports pages.


Men's team

You can find out lots more about UPLO, how to join, and how our season is going all over the internet.

Find us on:

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/CU.uplo

Twitter - @CU_UPLO

Website - http://www.columbia.edu/cu/ultimate/ OR http://www.uploultimate.com/

Women's and Gender Diverse Team

History - Spectator April 8, 1981 page 3 reports the Women's Ultimate team beat SUNY Purchase on Monday April 6, 1981, 20-6 and the team had just been formed. Ken Gary was the coach. No players were named.

This team (formerly known as the Women's team) (formerly named Pandemic) is undergoing a name change in 2020 for obvious reasons.

Twitter - @cultimatewomen

History

1973

  • The Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team was founded by David "Buddha" Meyer in the fall of 1973. Buddha was a graduate of Columbia High School in Orange, New Jersey, where the game of Ultimate originated in 1968. Many of Buddha's high school classmates had founded or were running other college teams on the East Coast, including Bob Evans at Princeton, Dave Leiwant at Yale and Jon (JC) Cohn at Cornell. See the book "Ultimate: The First Four Decades" for evidence of Columbia, Yale and Cornell Ultimate teams all being founded in 1973. In a July 3, 2023 email to Steve Kane, Jon Cohn confirmed the 1973 founding: "... Buddha was in the same CHS [Columbia High School] class as myself and David. The three of us certainly founded the teams at Cornell, Columbia, and Yale during our freshman year, which was the '73-'74 academic year.


The team's first shirt was a copy of the Columbia High School shirt stating Columbia Ultimate Frisbee in Columbia blue above concentric circles (supposed to be a Frisbee) on a white shirt. In contrast, the Columbia High School shirt had black lettering and said C.H.S. Varsity Frisbee. The sport at this time used a Master Frisbee (165Gs had not yet been invented), and the field was 60 yards long with 30 yard end zones. Games were usually two 24 minute halves, with time stopped after goals and for out-of bounds. The stalling count was 15 seconds. File:Buddha dos domts f 76 001.pdf

1975

  • David "Buddha" Meyer, takes junior year abroad and Larry Horlick and Jeff Birnbaum captain the team for the 1975-1976 academic year. Raymond Tang was one of the steady players. The lefty freshman from Huntington, Ken Gary joined the team in the fall and recruited sophomores Jerry "Young" McManus, Mike Forlenza and Bob Jarrett for the spring season (and many to come). Despite the infusion of new blood, the team's record remains untarnished by victory.

1976

Spring 1976

Fall 1976

    • David "Buddha" Meyer, a senior, returns from London School of Economics & is captain of the team.
    • The team won its first game at Yale on September __, 1976. This was also Steve Kane [and Chris Schmidt's] first game. A coincidence - I think not.
    The Fall 1976 Record  (2-2, excluding 2 scrimmages w/ Bronx Science & 1 with Stuyvesant, all Ws) 
    Fri 9/17/76  vs Bronx Science on South Field                    W (scrimmage)
    Sat 9/18/76  at Princeton                                       L
    Sat __/__/76 at Yale                                     21-20  W  (KG thinks it was 22-21)
    Sun 10/24/76 vs County College of Morris at Central Park 18-14  W
    Sun __/__/76 at Webb                                     15-10  L  Called due to darkness

1977

Spring 1977

  • For the spring 1977 season, Budddha recruits not only Rutgers transfer Mark Silverschotz, but also John Anthony, a Columbia graduate student and free-style partner of free styler Krae van Sickel; Peter Bloeme, the then reigning Frisbee World Champion (his signature is on the 165G series if discs) and a graduate of Bronx High School of Science; and Mark Danna, a well known "free-styler" living in NYC (and also the author of "Frisbee Players Handbook", which was a round book sold in a disc) to join the Columbia squad.
    • The team discovered its potential in its second game of the season when Buddha taught the team how to play a zone on the subway ride up to Baker Field & the team narrowly lost 25-24 to Cornell, one of the top teams in the country. The Cornell team had Jon "JC" Cohn and Jim Herrick, Dan Weiss and Paul Brenner all of whom are in the Ultimate Hall of Fame.
    • That season's Columbia team consisted of several "athletes" (certainly athletes by Ultimate's then standard of "athletic"), including refugees from Columbia's other sports programs, including Jerry McManus (baseball) and Bob Jarrett and Michael Forlenza (lightweight football), Steve Kane, a self-acknowledged, but nonetheless excellent, goal hanger, running around to get open for Buddha, Bloeme, John Anthony & Ken Gary to throw to. Buddha had the world's finest wrist-flip airbounce (not a typo) and Bloeme, as reigning Frisbee World Champion, had pinpoint accuracy & amazing distance. It wasn't until several years later that Peter Bloeme realized that others could run around and catch discs better than Kane, Jarrett and McManus; so Bloeme switched sports from Ultimate to become a trainer and showman for frisbee-catching dogs.
    • A typical play would have a Bloeme throw-off that pinned the other team in the corner by their goal line (this was before the "brick" rule); Columbia would then apply its zone (often a "force side") and upon a turnover Columbia would score, often with Buddha throwing an air-bounce wrist flip (that is not a typo) to someone in the end zone.
    • The team qualified for the 1977 East Coast Championship in April 1977. In its first single elimination game, Columbia lost to Penn State, the eventual East Coast champion. Some Penn State views of the game and Buddha is here, about 1/3 down
    The Spring 1977 Record (8-4, including play-off)
   Sat 03/05/77  vs Glassboro at Central Park   28-13  L
   Sat 03/26/77  vs Cornell at Baker Field      25-24  L
   Sun 03/27/77  vs U New Haven at South Field  42-8   W  
   Sat 04/02/77  vs RPI at Baker Field          27-14  W  (very cold)
   Sun 04/03/77  vs Summit HS at South Field    25-9   W
   Sun 04/03/77  vs Hastings Club at South F    18-11  W
    04/9?10?/77  at County Collge of Morris     37-13  W
                 vs Penn at CCM                 25-20  W
   Sat 04/16/77  vs Yale at Baker Field         35-14  W
   Sun 04/17/77  vs Princeton at Baker Filed    29-26  L
   Sun 04/24/77  at Webb                        19-8   W
    04/30?/77    vs Penn State at Amherst       15-13  L  Penn State wins the Easterns

Fall 1977

    • In the fall of 1977, Steve Kane & Jerry McManus were the co-captains.
    • Despite the loss of Buddha & Bloeme, the team continues to play well, but loses its 2 games to programs with "established" players with long Ultimate bloodlines (Princeton with Bob Evans from Columbia High School, and UConn with Dan Buckley & others from Staples High School). In contrast, Columbia has a bunch of unknown players, including new teammates Maurice Matiz (track refugee) and freshmen Ernie Cicconi, the pride of Hasbrouck Heights, and Paul Tvetenstrand. and others Frank Busanic (Astoria ringer).
    • The team shirt changes to a blue shirt with white lettering "Columbia Ultimate" above an actual replica of a 165G disc on it (which disc is signed by former Columbia player & then World Frisbee Champion, Peter Bloeme). It was also one of the few Ultimate team shirts to have numbers on the back. This shirt remains the team uniform through at least 1984.
    • Practices for 1977 and for several years thereafter are Tuesday & Thursday nights on South Field (which is in a dust-bowl like state). On Thursday nights, practices are watched by the "pre-Pub" crowd. The drinking age was 18 and there was a Pub in the basement of John Jay Hall that served beer and Thursday night was the most popular Pub night at John Jay).
  The Fall 1977 Record (5-2)
   Sat 9/24/77  at UConn                    30-10  L
   Sun 10/2/77  at U New Haven              26-8   W
   Sat 10/8/77  at County College of Morris 18-16  W
   Sat 10/15/77 at Princeton                23-18  L
   Sun 10/16/77 vs UPenn at Baker Field     32-27  W
   Sat 10/29/77 at Vassar                   32-13  W
   Sun 11/12/77 vs Webb at Baker Field      26-25  W

1978

  • Florida Trip 1978 --- was there one? ___

Spring 1978

  • An undefeated regular season was followed by a three-way tie for the final two spots in the Regionals with only the top four teams qualifying for the Eastern Nationals.
  • Despite beating Princeton twice, the highlight of the season was the crushing defeat of then top nationally-ranked Rutgers at Rutgers (1974, 1975 & 1976 national champions). In contrast to the spring of 1977 when Columbia had the well-known Buddha and Bloeme, Columbia's humiliating defeat of Rutgers, by a bunch of non-New Jersey, "no-name" players was an announcement that Columbia was a team to be reckoned with (even though one should never end a sentence with preposition). However, Princeton & the other "established" teams got revenge in the Regionals.
  • Photos of the Columbia Ultimate team at practice are on the first page of New York Times Sports section (p. 49) on Wednesday April 26, 1978. Photos include Steve Kane handling, while Victor Garcia defends, and Jerry McManus skying over an unidentifed player.
  • Due to the primitiveness of the sport, tie-breakers for tournaments had not been fully developed yet. So at the Regionals after a 3 way tie occurred for the final 2 spots for the Easterns, the NJ teams banded together and vote to have goal differential among the top 5 team determine the winner. This was the only way Columbia would have been eliminated and Knights of Nee (a New Jersy Club team with alumni from NJ schools & many "old time/established" players) & Princeton would have qualified. Columbia would have won goal differential among the 3 tied teams and goal differential for the tournament. But Columbia (without "Buddha" or any other established NJ connection) got outvoted for the only formula that let the 4 NJ teams advance. This tournament cemented the hatred for all things about New Jersey.
  • The Glassboro game included one of the first brawls in Ultimate. During a tense, very low scoring game, it got ugly when a member of the Glassboro team ran onto the field from the sideline to throw a punch at Maurice. Lots of pushing and shoving ensued. Later that evening, Maurice had to visit the medical facility at Rutgers to get treatment for a small hematoma behind his ear. Needless to say, he did not sleep well given that was his second trip to the clinic that day. The first trip, early in the first game of the tournament, due to an errant Lou Pacheco (see Columbia Soccer) knee to the groin as they both went up to defend a long pass.
    The Record Spring 1978  14-3 (9-0 regular season; 5-3 tourney
    Sat 03/04/78  at Delaware                               15-8  W
    Sun 03/05/78  County College of Morris at Baker Field   17-6  W in football stadium in snow
    Sat 03/25/78  U of New Haven at Baker Field             21-5  W
    Sat 04/01/78  Lockhaven in NYC                          8-3   W one 15 minute half
                  Brandeis in NYC                           24-9  W
    Sun 04/02/78  at Rutgers                                22-15 W Major victory
    Sat 04/05/78  at Vassar                                 31-7  W
    Sat 04/15/78  vs Princeton in NYC (Central Park?)       22-14 W
                  vs Dartmouth in NYC                       21-5  W
    REGIONALS AT RUTGERS
    Sat 04/22/78  vs Columbia High School                   13-5  W
                  vs Rutgers East (the B team)                    W
                  vs Glassboro                                    L  Glassboro wins tourney
                  vs Princeton                               +1   W
                  vs DC Frisbee                                   W
    Sun 04/23/78  vs Knights of Nee                          -6   L
                  vs Rutgers                                      L  #2 in tourney
                  vs Webb                                         W

Fall 1978

  • This was a great season. The "upset" of Boston Frisbee Club (BFC)/Boston Aerodisc(BAD), in Boston, (their only loss of the season) was cool. BFC/BAD was probably the first non-NJ club of "all-stars", who were formed for the sole purpose of becoming national champions. Prior to the game with Columbia they were crushing all their opponents.
  • Also, this season, Columbia is teaching a very raw Pat King (who later becomes the founder and star of NEW YORK/NEW YORK, the Ultimate World Champions for 1987 and 1989 - 1993) the intracacies of the game.
  • On October 28, 1978 while the ultimate team was beating Vassar & Uconn at Vassar, Columbia football was losing 69-0 to Rutgers.
  • The season finale is the "hearse game" when the team travels by hearse to Princeton, arrives late (perhaps because the hearse didn't leave 114th St. until the scheduled game time), pulls up onto the field (with Princeton security follwing), and then goes on to beat hated rival Princeton who took part in the screwing of Columbia at the Spring 1978 Regionals, despite Princeton's captain Bob "God" Evans' protests of Ernie Cicconni's over-aggresive point play. The hearse was bought for less than $1000 and partially owned by team-member Tom Glocer, who couldn't keep a job in the US and was forced to move to England to get hired by some newspaper company.
   The Record Fall 1978  15-3
   Sun 09/17/78  at Webb                            23-22 W
   Sun 09/24/78  at Fairleigh Dickinson             22-2  W
   Sun 10/01/78  UPenn at Baker Field               37-19 W  (14-11 at half)
   Sat 10/07/78  at Bucknell                        30-17 L
                 vs Rutgers                         31-28 W
   Sun 10/08/78  at Penn State                      18-8  W
   Sat 10/14/78  vs Knights of Nee at Central Park  29-16 L
   Sat 10/15/78  at County College of Morris        25-20 L
   Sat 10/21/78  vs Syracuse at Baker Field         41-24 W
   Sat 10/28/78  at Vassar                          32-18 W
                 vs UConn at Vassar                 29-22 W
   Sat 11/04/78  at Brandeis                        29-17 W
                 vs BU at Brandeis                  29-11 W
   Sun 11/05/78  vs Brown at Cleveland Circle       14-12 W
                 at Boston Frisbee Club             24-20 W
   Sat 11/11/78  at Princeton                       27-20 W
                 vs Lehigh at Princeton             18-9  W
  • Winter 1978-1979. Ultimate Players Association (UPA) founded. New regions are established and NY including NY is in the Northeast Region while NJ is in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Not only is Columbia freed from the NJ dominated Mid-Atlantic Region, but a likely showdown between BFC/BAD & Columbia for the Northeast Regional Championship in the spring (and entry to the Nationals) appears likely.

1979

  • Winter/Indoor 1979
    The Record 4-0
    Syracuse Tournament in Carrier Dome (starts at midnight)
    02/03/79  vs. Syracuse   15-6   W
              vs. Cornell    13-10  W
              vs. Hampshire  15-6   W   Tournament Champion
    02/17/79  at  UConn      36-31  W
  • Florida Trip
    The Record 0-3-1
    03/11/79  at Univ of Fla 18-18  T
    03/13/79  at U of So Fla 18-16  L
              vs Orlando     20-15  L
    03/15/79  at U of Miami  20-18  L
Ultimate team in Florida 1979: Front row: (l-r) Unknown, Steve Kane, Maurice Matiz, Ernie Cicconi (26), Ken Gary (with helmet); Back row: Eric K, Bob Kennelly (with can), Alex Bagley, Tom Gloser, Bob Jarrett, Ted Phillips, Chris Schmidt.


Spring 1979

  • In Northeast Regional semi-final at Amherst, the team loses to Cornell on a tipped disc goal with time running out and the season ends. Columbia had previously beaten Cornell in this double elimination tourney. Two unnamed players (Mike Strage & Alex Bagley) oversleep - [sure Strage I could see doing that, but Alex?] Cornell goes on to upset BFC/BAD; thus BFC/BAD's only losses in the 1978-1979 were their final games of the fall & the spring.
  • In sum, despite a great deal of talent (& probably the "deepest bench" ever), including in no particular order, Steve Kane, Ken Gary, Maurice Matiz, Chris Schmidt, Ernie Cicconi, Bob Kennelly, Mike Strage, John "GG" Getsos, Grog, Bob Jarrett, Dave Dewitt (who becomes a long-time key Ultimate player in Florida after only one year at Columbia), Alex Bagley, Tom Glocer, Mike Forlenza & others, the team just never really gelled.
    The Record  9-6, including playoffs
    Sun 03/25/79  vs County Collge of Morris at _____    ____  L  
                  vs Webb                                ____  W
    Sat 3/31/79   vs Boston Frisbee Club at ______       23-13 L
    Sun 04/01/79  vs Hampshire at Yale                   26-11 W
    Sat 04/07/79  at Vassar                              30-9  W
                  vs Dukes of Conn                       18-13 W
    Sat 04/14/79  vs Dartmouth at Central Park            +4   W cold & rainy
                  vs Cornell at Central Park              -1   L
    SECTIONALS at _____
    Sat  04/21/79 vs Central Conn                         +12  W
                  vs Webb                                 -6   L
    Sun 04/22/79  vs Wesleyan                            23-11 W
    REGIONALS at Amherst
    Sat 4/28/77   vs Cornell                               +3  W
                  vs Middlebury                            +1  W Middlebury blew it & great play by Flu
                  vs Boston                              20-8  L
    Sun 4/29/77   vs Cornell                               -1  L Last second tip play loss; Cornell goes on to upset Boston


Fall 1979

  • With Maurice Matiz & Ken Gary graduating in May 1979, the Heifers, a NYC Club team is formed. Although in its beginning stages Columbia is assisting the Heifers, a rivalry quickly develops. The Heifers did have a cool shirt though, in both black & yellow versions, of a large uddered cow jumping over the NYC skyline. Conceived by Ken Gary & drawn by Alex Toran.
  • The 10/6/79 Cornell victory at Vassar is an upset. A unique defense is devised. Bob Kennelly and Bob Jarret shadow Paul Brenner, while the rest of the team plays a zone. Separate from this zone, Ken Gary makes the most uncharacteristic play of his career, but it is effective, as Cornell stops doing short passes up the middle of the field.
    The Fall 1979 Record 9-7, including play-offs
    Sat 09/29/79  at Webb                             22-15 L
                  vs UConn                            23-19 W
    Sun 09/30/79  at Dukes                            20-13 L
    Sat 10/06/79  at Vassar                           26-22 W
                  vs Cornell                          17-7  W Upset. 
    Sun 10/21/79  vs Kings Point (at Baker Field?)    34-4  W
    IVY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT at Harvard
    Sat 10/27/79  vs Dartmouth                        -10   L
                  vs Cornell                          -6    L
                  vs Yale                             +4    W
    Sun 10/28/79  vs Harvard                          +5?   W
    SECTIONALS AT SUNY PURCHASE
    Sat 11/03/79  vs Wesleyan                         12-5  W
                  vs Central Conn                     12-3  W
    Sun 11/04/79  vs Heifers                          29-13 L
                  vs UConn                            13-7  W
    REGIONALS AT AMHERST
    Sat 11/10/79  vs Hampshire                        -10   L
                  vs Syracuse                         +6    W
                  vs Heifers                          -4    L  Season over - # 5 in NE Region

1980

  • Winter Indoor Season 1980
    The Record 6-1 
    Sun 02/03/80  at Fordham          30-5  W
    Sat 02/09/80  at UConn            19-18 W
                  Yale at UConn       23-5  W
    Sat 02/09/80  at SUNY Purchase    67-30 W  Not a typo (no wind indoors)
    SYRACUSE TOURNAMENT
    Sat 02/29/80  vs Brandeis         17-7  W
                  vs Hampshire        14-4  L
                  vs Syracuse         19-14 W
               Three way tie for first between Columbia, Hampshire & Syracuse
  • 1980 Florida Trip.
    • Last minute car plans change so only 8 players go in Steve Kane's parents' station wagon - Steve Kane, Chris Schmidt, Bob Kennelly, Mike Stage, Wally Don, Ken Gary, Ernie Cicconi and Jeff Coffin.
    • The team goes undefeated, despite playing three doubleheaders with only 1 sub. Columbia would have won by a larger margin in one of the games, but Mike Strage confuses Ken Gary when he receives a throw-off.
    • L'affaire eclair almost costs the team 2 players.
     The Florida Record 6-0
     Sun    03/09/80 at U Fla            18-14 W
                     at U Fla            15-10 W
     Tues   03/12/80 at USF              19-11 W
                     at USF              14-11 W
     Thurs  03/14/80 at Riveria (Miami)  18-7  W Dave Dewitt's team
                     at Riveria (Miami)  18-6  W
  • The Spring 1980 Season.
    • Another very good season, but with a dispointing end.
    The Record - Spring 1980 13-2, including play-offs
    Sat 03/22/80  at County Collge of Morris       +4   W
    Sat 03/29/80  vs Dartmouth at Flushing Meadow 15-8  W
                  vs Boston                        8-7  L
    Sun 03/30/80  vs RPI at Baker Field                 W
                  vs Dukes                        19-7  W
    Sat 04/05/80  vs NJ Plastic Exchange          10-8  W
                  at Rutgers                      10-6  W
                  vs Roland & Fish (NYC Club)     14-13 W
    Sun 04/13/80  vs Discmasters at Baker Field         W
                  vs Hampshire                          W
    Sat 04/19/80  at Vassar                             W
    SECTIONALS AT SUNY PURCHASE
    Sat 04/26/80  vs Kings Point                   +20? W
                  vs Discmasters                   +8 ? W
                  vs Yale                          +3?  W
    Sun 04/27/80  vs Central Conn                       L  Eliminated - Season over
  • The Fall 1980 Season
    • C'mon Chris, Ernie Phil, someone do you have this season's record? & comments
    • 1980-1981 school funding is $1760 ($500 Athletic Dept. and $1260 from JBC - Student Government) per Bill Ebner's 4/28/80 letter. From memory, prior seasons' funding did not include JBC Student government fees (the student government funding did not exist) and usually the team got about $300-$500 per year.

1981

  • Winter/Indoor 1981 Record 2-0
    Sun 2/22/81 W	@SUNY Albany	             24-11 Indoor ? outdoor 
    Sun 3/1/81  W	@Jersey Jolt (New Brunswick) 13-8  indoor ? outdoor
  • Florida 1981
   The Florida 1981 Record 5-2
   Fri 3/6/81	L	at Duke		
   Sun 3/8/81	W	at Bradenton (FL)	
   Mon 3/9/81	W	at  USF (Tampa)
   Wed 3/11/81	L	at Riviera (Miami)  Dave Dewitt's team
   Thu 3/12/81	W	at U of Orlando
               W       at U of Orlando 2nd game
   Sat 3/14/81	W	at Wash DC Frisbee Club

Spring 1981

    • The Record Spring 1981 23-7 (inc. 3 tourneys)
  Sat 3/21/81	W	Clouds of NJ @ Paramus	22-9
               W	Rutgers			18-15
  Sun 3/22/81	L	Heiffers @ Baker Field	19-10
               L	Webb			17-12
  Tue 3/24/81	L	Bronx Science @South Field 17-16 Capt. EC, please explain
  Sat 3/28/81	W	Gators (of CT) @Norwalk	32-8
               W	Dukes (of CT)		15-12
               W	Rutgers			17-10
  Sun 3/29/81	W	Wesleyan		21-12
  Sat 4/4/81	W	@Vassar			19-9
               W	SUNY Albany		20-7
               W	Upstate All-Stars	33-24
  Sun 4/12/81	W	Central Conn @ Baker	24-21	Overtime
  [Sectionals @ Norwalk CT]
  Sat 4/18/81	W	Central Conn	        17-14
  Sun 4/19/81	L	Dukes			13-12
               W	Central Conn		14-11
               W	Gators (CT)		23-15
               W	Bronx Science		15-12
  Northeast Regionals 
  Sat 4/25/81	W	Umass @ Wellesley	21-16
               W	SUNY Binghamton		16-14

  Sun 4/26/81	W	Dartmouth @ Harvard	17-15
               W	Harvard			12-9
               L	Middlebury		13-11
  Easterns @ Purchase NY
   Sat 5/2/81	W	WPI			19-7
               W	Harvard			23-6
               L	Jersey Jam		11-10
               W	Princeton		10-9
  Sun 5/3/81   L	Glassboro State		14-11 Boro is      

  Ivies @ Princeton

   5/16/81	W	Yale				20-1	
               W	Princeton			17-14
               W	UPenn				15-9	
   Columbia is Ivy League Champs
    • Schmidt Rule. Some Timing is uncertain. In the midst of a fierce and acrimonious mutli-month (multi-year?) debate [1] concerning whether games should be by points (i.e first to 21) or by the 'traditional" time (which was leading to stall tactics and a lot of end of game disputes as to whether time had run out on last second goals (the sport has no referees, let alone time-keepers), Columbia's captain, Chris Schmidt, proposes the most elegant solution, the "Schmidt Rule", that states the game must end on a score (thus eliminating stalling as the clock runs out & disputes whether time ran out before a last second goal is scored. I can't find Chris Schmidt's letter to the UPA newsletter, but, the Schmidt Rule is adopted at the Northeast Region Captains meeting in September 1981 and is adopted nation-wide. [2]

The Spring of 1981 is also the year of the cagey Captain Ernie Cicconi's end run around a Connecticut nemesis using the famed loser's bracket and the pretty co-smart Princeton captain to pick the perfect score for both Columbia and Princeton to advance one fine day in Purchase New York. Our hats off to our fearless leader in one of his great acts (and surely not the last).

Fall 1981

    • Someone has to get the record
    • Northeast Regionals Nov 7-8, 1981, Amherst MA
      • "The first game in Pool D was Columbia v. Hostages (a Boston all-star team). Columbia, the third-place team in 1979, was playing with an even smaller squad than the Hostages. Columbia can give anyone a tough game, and they jumped out to a 4-2 lead. Twice Columbia dropped scoring passes in the endzone. Both times the Hostages took the disc the lenghth of the field for a score. So, if Columbia catches those two scores, the Hostages are looking at a 6-0 deficit! The Hostages were able to come back from a 4-2 score however and win the game. The most imporant plays of the first day (for the entire 16 team tourney) were those two dropped passes." [3] The Hostages go to the Nationals and come in 4th.
      • Other games in that Pool D was vs. Cornell, which Columbia lost, and vs. Brockport which resulted in ___?
At 1981 Fall Regionals, UMass

In the photo from L to R are: Bob Jarrett, Les Fritzemeier, Steve Kane, Jim Drennan (looking skyward), Phil Hirschhorn (dropping disc, see desription of tourny above), Chris Schmidt, Dave Rosenfeld, Tom Jacobson, Jeff Coffin, Paul Tvetenstrand, Chris Klein, Chris Betts, Mike Strage, Greg Telonis. This photo was later turned into a prize winning Christmas tree ornament.

References

  1. ↑ See, for example, UPA Newsletter, June 1980, Vol. I, No. 2 entilted "Time for a Change? Time versus Points" which addresses the issue.
  2. ↑ Northeast Region Captians Meeting, UPA Newsletter, October - November 1981, p. 10; see also "Condors top Circus with Schmidt Rule" re: the Santa Cruz Tournament, in the same issue, p. 13
  3. ↑ "Hostages take a gutsy victory", Ultimate Players Assocaition UPA Newsletter Vol II, No. 5 January-February 1982.

External Links

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