Olympic Club RFC

The game of rugby in the Bay Area received a boost in 1906 when, citing concerns about the safety of American football, the universities of California and Stanford dropped football in favor of rugby. The Big Game was played as rugby from 1906 to 1914.[5]

In 1907 an Englishman and rugby devotee named Edgar Pomeroy joined the San Francisco Olympic Club and lobbied for the formation of a rugby team. With the support of the club president and the board, the Olympic Club rugby team was formed in 1908, playing five other teams including Stanford and University of California in the first season. The club won the local championship the next season, in 1909.[4]

Pomeroy and fellow Olympic Club member Joseph Hickey became officials with the California Rugby Union. They arranged a series of touring matches to the West Coast for New Zealand's All Blacks team in 1913. On October 4th, the Olympic Club played the champion All Blacks side at St. Ignatius Field. While the OC lost 19–0 it was a closer match than the game played a month later in which the United States national side was defeated 51–3. New Zealander Jim Wylie stayed in California after the tour, later joining the Olympic Club and becoming a coach of the side.[4] The colleges resumed playing American football after 1914 but rugby had gained a toehold in the Bay Area.