Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team

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Ultimate Frisbee, sometimes abbreviated Ultimate, is an intercollegiate club sport, represented at our fair university by the Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team.

History

1974

• The Columbia University Ultimate Frisbee Team was founded by David "Buddha" Meyer in the fall of 1974.

1975

• Dave "Buddha" Meyer, takes junior year abroad and Larry Horlick and Jeff Birnbaum capatin the team for the 1975-1976 academic year. The team's record is untarnished by victory.

1976

• Dave "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 Stuyvtstan, all Ws) 
    Fri 9/__/76  vs Bronx Science on South Field                    W (scrimmage)
    Sat 9/__/76  at Princeton                                       L
    Sat __/__/76 at Yale                                     21-20  W  (KG thinks it was 22-21)
    Sat __/__/76 vs County College of Morris at Central Park 18-14  W
    Sun __/__/76 at Webb                                     15-10  L  Called due to darkness

1977

• For the spring 1977 season, Budddha recruits 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 to join the Columbia squad. The team discovered its potential in its second game of the season at 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 (Cornell had Jon "JC" Cohn and Jim Herrick, both of whom are in the Ultimate Hall of Fame, as well as Dan Weiss). 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. 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.

    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  Eastern Championship at Amherst. Penn State  

• 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 joining 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 others ----. The highlight of the fall season was the crushing defeat of then top nationally-ranked Rutgers at Rutgers (1974, 1975 & 1976 national champions). (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 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).
• 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 

Note: These games are being played with 24 minute halves.

1978

• 1978 Florida Trip
• Fall 1978. This was a great season. The "upset" of Boston Frisbee Club (BFC)/Boston Aerodisc( BAD) (their only loss of the season) was cool. BFC/BAD was the first non-NJ club of "all-stars", who were formed for the sole purpsoe of ecoming national cahmpions. 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 several years in the 1980s) the intracacies of the game. The season finale is the "hearse game" whne the team travels by Tom Glocer's 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 (and still an Ultimate powerhouse) for the first time, despite Princeton's captain Bob "God" Evans' protests of Ernie Cicconni's over-aggresive point play.

   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 10/26/78  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 Clevelnd Cirlce        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. UPA founded; new regions; NY in Northeast Region; NJ in Mid-Atlantic. Likely showdown between BFC/BAD & Columbia for the Northeast Regional Championship in the spring.

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   Touranment 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      

• Spring 1979. In Northeast Regional semi-final at Amherst [confirm], loss to Cornell on a tipped disc goal with time running out ends the season. Columbia had prevsioulsy beat Cornell in thsi doubleelimaintion tourney. Two unnamed players (Strage & Gigi oversleep - who would have thought such responsible young men would do that?). 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, 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. Heiffers formed. Is this when the Schmidt Rule comes in ?

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
    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 Columbai, 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 threey 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.

     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
                     at Riveria (Miami)  18-6  W

• The Spring 1980 Season. Another very good season, but with a dispaoointing end. The quality of the schedule is weaker than in prior seasons but still includes BFC/BAD & Dukes (of Conn).

    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

1981

At 1981 Fall Regionals, UMass

In the photo from L to R are: Bob Jarrett, Les Fritzemeier, Steve Kane, Jim Drennan (looking skyward), Phil Hirshhorn (dropping disc, which happened frequently at this tourney as Columbia played very poorly), 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.

External Links

• Uptown Local (men's team )
• NYPD (women's team)
• Google group