Bill Beans
Leadership is a contact sport. Legacy is the mark you leave behind. James Kerr’s book, Legacy chronicles the All Blacks philosophy, addressing the importance of leadership and legacy in achieving success. Legacy leaders are essential to the life and sustainability of a club. They influence individual players and guide the team’s ultimate direction. Bill Beans is that legacy leader.
Bill was one of the original “first 15” in 1978. Arriving during Severn River’s founding season, he brought a wealth of experience and talent to the pitch and a passion and determination for growth and development for our fledgling club. His contributions to the club continued for over a decade.
Bill was a second row who not only knew every nuance of his position in depth but was keenly aware of the importance and fit of every position on the team. Bill ended his career just a few years before lifting jumpers in the line-out was permitted. Getting the ball cleanly to the scrumhalf required a skill at both jumping and being sure handed for a second row.
Timing and ball awareness came naturally to Bill. Those who played with him were continually amazed at his uncanny ability to get the ball to the scrumhalf without catching it first. He perfected a skill of having the incoming ball barely ricocheting off just a few fingers yet guiding it effortlessly in a perfect pass to the scrumhalf. He was a master at this technique.
In addition to being a skilled player, Bill was the team’s Coach, Selector and was critical in securing and preparing the fields for games and practices. He was a teacher to new players and a mentor to more seasoned teammates.
Bill introduced two traditions that Severn River still enjoys today. The inaugural banquet involved thanking every member of the team with a personalized certificate of appreciation. Some were serious, such has MVP’s, Hardest Hitter, Rookie of Year, and Unsung Hero. Most were funny. Following the second season, Bill volunteered to take over this portion of the banquet. Always looking for ways to acknowledge good play on the field and instill competition, Bill separated the Most Valuable Back, Most Valuable Forward, and Unsung Hero from the rest of the awards. This is where the Black Derby made its first appearance and started a special tradition that is now in its fifth decade.
Bill also was the originator of the coveted Leather Balls Award. This honor is given to a Severn River teammate who has gone beyond being a skilled player and has contributed to the sustainability, direction, and future of the club in ways that set them apart from their teammates. Bill was clear that this is not necessarily an annual award but should be given only when earned and warranted. Literally, hundreds of players have worn the Severn River Rugby Club Jersey over that last over 44 years. Less than 25 have been a recipient of the Leather Balls Award.
It will come as know surprise that a few seasons after the introduction of these two traditions, the team honored Bill with a Derby for Most Valuable Forward and presented him with a Leather Balls Award for his many contributions both on and off the pitch.
The New Zealand All Blacks have 15 Principles that they embrace. The last two deal with sustainability and legacy. Through Bill’s legacy Severn River Rugby continues to carry on and prosper. We will always be grateful to Bill for his legacy leadership. On behalf of all past and current players, please welcome Bill Beans into the Severn River Rugby Club’s Hall of Fame, Class of 2022!
Steve Compo
When Steve Compo first stepped on to a rugby pitch, you knew he was going to be an impact player on the field. The athletic skills he brought from his wrestling background played right into Steve quickly becoming an A-side flanker. He was a tough defender and mastered the art of stealing the ball in rucks and mauls. Steve was adamant about staying fit, attending all practices, and touring whenever possible. He made sure to hold his teammates to those expectations as well. Steve was a regular participant in the Saranac Lake tournament (insert one of many inappropriate stories here) and was a member of the 7s team that played in Trinidad. Over the years, Steve was awarded Most Valuable Forward, Unsung Hero, and the Leather Balls Award.
It was only later in his career that we realized his passion for rugby extended to making Severn River Rugby a premier club to come play for. Steve held several club positions: Communications Chair, Club VP, and most impactful; Club President for several years. Steve spent countless hours working to make Severn River a better club. One of his early missions during his leadership was to find Severn a more permanent home. He built a relationship with the American Legion, took their rundown baseball field, and helped develop it into what most of us consider to be “the best field in the union.” Steve convinced the union and the referee society to invest in Severn River, just as he had. He secured a $100k loan with the union (first of its kind), to put in a sprinkler system, sod the field, and add professional uprights. Steve also insured Severn’s future and their investment, by negotiating a 10-year lease with the American Legion. Steve viewed running the club like running a business, so he worked hard to make Severn financially secure. He worked with ACME Bar & Grill and its beer and liquor distributors to lock in financial support. That included sponsorships from PBR & Southern Comfort. He also coordinated the relationship with the Baltimore Ravens, which brought $30k per year in its infancy with the food stand. The Ravens fundraiser continues to bring in thousands of dollars a year to the club.
Steve also believed that the development of local youth programs was literally the future of our club. He worked with Pat Walsh promoting and demonstrating rugby during gym classes at local high schools and coached with Mike O’Brien at Arden Youth Rugby. He also worked with Northwestern Mutual to acquire 350 jerseys for Anne Arundel County youth programs.
Recruitment was another big item on Steve’s agenda. The recruitment of long-term men’s captain, Mike Bertoni, was one of his proudest accomplishments. Mike Bertoni had this to say, “He had some email blast he’d sent to the contact for every college rugby team, probably on the east coast. I wish I had saved it. I was the contact at Potsdam, so I got it and responded to him... he put me in touch with some jobs. About a year later, I am in Maryland and ready to get back into playing rugby and I give Steve a call. He gets me to the legion for practice that night. I have a blast and when it’s time for drinks afterwards, I tell him I can’t make it in because I have to get home because my dog needs to go out. Compo’s response: “What’s your dog have to do with me?” – logic I couldn’t defeat, so I went into the Legion for the first time that Thursday night and was completely hooked on the whole club by the time I walked out. A few weeks later, I found myself unemployed. Steve had an air duct cleaning company, so he gave me a job. To say I worked for Steve is a mis-statement; he employed me when I was at a really low point so I could stay around and play for Severn River while I figured my shit out. He did it for me and countless others. He was and is the most generous person I’ve ever met. He did anything and everything for the club and everyone in it.”
Steve has long represented and advocated for solidarity between the men's and women's teams. He didn’t want to hear sentences that started with “the men’s team” or “the women’s team;” he wanted to hear people’s ideas for the future of “The Club.” “One club,” he would repeat. “We are one club.”
Steve truly bleeds blue and green.
Tom "Dr. Doom" Guidotti
“It’s better to burn out, than to fade away”. When Neil Young wrote those lyrics in 1979, he must have been channeling Dr. Doom. Those of us who had the privilege of being around Doc, knew that he lived life “all in”. To some, he is a ghost or a legend of someone that did outlandish things at outrageous times. Others will know Tom as a father and husband. Some will know Doom as a fellow police officer. Opposing front row players knew him as one of the best Hookers in the old Potomac Rugby Union. Most of us knew him as a friend, a coach, and a very fine rugby player.
Tom “Dr. Doom” Guidotti was born in 1949. He graduated from Bladensburg High and headed to Kansas State to play linebacker. He returned to his Cheverly home area and served as a police officer for the District of Columbia Police Department, where he remained for most of his Severn River playing days. Doc came to Severn River after a successful stint with Washington Irish where he turned his football skills into violent artistry in mauls and rucks and master classes in front row play.
Doom joined Severn River for the fall season of 1981 and played and coached with Severn River until his untimely death in 1994. During his playing days, he was named Most Valuable Forward (1983), won the Leather Balls award (1991) and served as a selector from 1988 through 1994. Doc was a key player on Severn Rivers’ ERU Championship and the club’s ascension to the “A” Division. Doom turned to coaching in 1989 when he became an assistant to Brian O’Meara and was elected head coach in 1991 and 1992, coaching alongside Ralph Norton.
As a player, Doc was known for “always being in pursuit” and would remind the backs that he’d always be there … and he was. He had an uncanny ability to win loose balls with his physical play. His mentoring of younger players would influence an entire generation of Severn River pack players. He constantly pushed his pack peers to run, lift and get fit and he happily passed along his nuanced front row skills. Doc introduced many of us to “Doom Jangles” as a component of his fitness routine.
Dr. Doom was Severn River, through and through. Always to be seen with his Severn blue jacket or Hawaiian shirts, he toured England in 1989 and Barbados in 1992 with the club. He had a way of mentoring and coaching those that needed love and affection and kicking your ass if you just needed an ass kicking! Those of us that played with and knew Doc have never really recovered from his passing.
Talking about Doc and not reflecting on his colorful approach to life would sort of be missing the point of who he was. He was full of life. He played hard and lived hard. In a “never forget this moment”, he introduced a few Severn ruggers to the life of a DC cop! He was the life of every party, everywhere. His singing was animated and legendary. His performances at weddings, parties or any club social gathering are mythical. His home-brew may not have been award winning, but it was memorable! He could be found waiting for a match under the bleachers after one of his night shifts, ready to shed his police uniform and put on the Severn River number 2. He could be found trying to talk a ref into letting him play with a cast on his broken arm. He was the guy that “everyone” called a friend. He was the person you could never not have a good time with. He was larger than life and although his life was short, he lived it to the fullest.
Dr. Doom was a dad, a husband, a cop, a bow-legged fabulous rugby player, a coach, and most of all...a friend. He had a huge impact on Severn River Rugby on and off the field.
Three cheers for Dr. Doom!
Thanks to the Severn River HOF Committee and alumni Dave Metrinko, Ralph Norton, Pete Freeman and Wendell Harsanyi for their memories and insights.
Meredith McAlister Kraus
In the summer of 2006, Meredith McAlister, along with Chelsea Renoe, Sherri Korpella and Kirk Wiggins, founded the Severn River women’s rugby team. In its infancy, the ladies practiced with the men’s team and scraped together a few additional ladies to enter 7s tournaments on the weekends. In the fall of 2006, they managed to recruit enough ladies to compete in their first fall 15s season, under the tutelage of Coach Kirk Wiggins.
In those early years, there was no women’s executive board. The only governing body was the men’s club administration. Therefore, all the women’s team planning and organizing fell to the Captain, Coach, and Selector. As the women’s team’s first Selector, Meredith helped develop match schedules, event agendas, and travel itineraries. She quickly saw the need to have a women’s team representative on the club’s E-board, and was the first woman elected to the position.
Women’s Team Founder, Selector, Governor, Club Treasurer, Women's Captain, Women’s Coach, and Women’s Match Secretary are all positions that Meredith has held. In addition to maintaining offices within the club, she also represented Severn River externally. She was the Capital Rugby Geographic Union Women’s D1 Coordinator and Select Side Administrator, as well as the Capital Rugby Union Representative for the USA Rugby Congress. She was awarded the Leather Balls accolade in 2016 for all the hard work she did for the club.
Meredith was also a force to be reckoned with on the pitch. She spent 12+ years in the Severn River jersey kicking ass. Any team that knew her avoided contact with her, and any team that didn’t know her soon regretted their “I’ve got the back with the stupid bow in her hair” comment. Meredith's teammates would laugh and say, "Yeah, you go get that girl with the bow. Let me know how that works out for you." It usually ended with that girl hobbling off the field with the concussion she'd just received, compliments of Meredith McAlister and her bow. During her time on the pitch, Meredith won the Most Valuable Back and the Steel Tits awards. She also made multiple MARFU and Capital Selects teams.
Meredith was always pushing team unity, on and off the pitch: always picking her teammates up and making them want to work harder, always making sure everyone was included in team gatherings and social events. She was, and still is, inviting everyone to hang out, meet up, keep in touch, and go places together.
Meredith's respect for and commitment to Severn River's unity, success, and longevity isn't exclusive to the women's side. She has long represented and advocated for connection and camaraderie between the men's and women's teams, past and present. Meredith's humility and respect for Severn River's roots have moved her to turn down two previous Hall of Fame nominations, in order to honor the club's founders and the first waves of selections.
