Colby Slater
Colby Edmund "Babe" Slater (April 30, 1896 – January 30, 1965) was an American rugby union player who captained the United States national rugby union team that won the gold medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
![]() Slater in 1924 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Colby Edmund Slater | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | April 30, 1896 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Berkeley, California | ||||||||||||||||||||
Date of death | January 30, 1965 68) | (aged||||||||||||||||||||
Place of death | Clarksburg, California | ||||||||||||||||||||
University | UC Davis | ||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record | ||
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Men's rugby union | ||
Representing the ![]() | ||
Olympic Games | ||
![]() | 1920 Antwerp | Team competition |
![]() | 1924 Paris | Team competition |
He was a member of the American rugby union team, which won the gold medal in 1920 and 1924.
Biography
Colby Slater was born on April 30, 1896 in Berkeley, California,[1] the son and youngest of four children of John Slater and Louise Slater (born Chenery[2]).[3] With his older brother, Norman, Slater attended Berkeley High School and played for the school's rugby team in 1912 and 1913, winning a state championship in 1912.[2][3] In 1914, Slater enrolled at the University Farm School in Davis, California.[3] (The University Farm School was then a branch of the College of Agriculture at the University of California, Berkeley and is considered a precursor to the University of California, Davis, which claims him as an alumnus.[3]) Slater graduated from the University Farm School in May 1917, and enlisted in the United States Army shortly thereafter.[3] He served with the Medical Corps in France during World War I.[3] In 1919, Slater returned to California and began his career as a farmer.[3] In 2011, Slater was inducted twice into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, as a member of both the 1920 and 1924 national teams. In 2012, Slater was again inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, but this time as an individual player.
References
- "Colby Slater". espn.co.uk. ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
- Casey, Patrick. "Colby Slater". The Rugby History Society. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
- "Colby E. "Babe" Slater". Peter J. Shields Library at the University of California, Davis. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
External links
- profile
- Colby E. “Babe” Slater Papers at Special Collections Dept., University Library, University of California, Davis