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The St. Louis Hurling Club was founded in the Summer of 2002 on the south side of Tower Grove Park, by three former Milwaukee Hurling Club mates, Paul C. Rohde, Dan Lapke, and Patrick O’Connor.
The vision included introducing the sport of hurling to the metro St. Louis area, creating opportunities to play the sport, developing better hurlers, and developing strong St. Louis representation in nationwide competition.
Through targeted recruiting and promoting the sport, potential Hurlers continued to join, and in Autumn 2002, small scrimmages were being held at the southwest corner, and eventually the northeast section of Tower Grove, to allow for the continued growth of people coming out to learn the sport.
The Club’s objectives were set out January 10th, 2003 at the first meeting of what became the executive Board of Directors: (a) recruit at least 30 active members (exceeded), enabling a minimum two-team league, (exceeded, with a three-team league) (b) increase awareness of the sport and the club in the metropolitan area through aggressive marketing, (achieved) (c) establish a strong national reputation of St. Louis hurling through victories in nationwide competition, (achieved) (d) improve quality of play to a level adequate for consideration into the North American County Board in 2004 (achieved one year ahead of schedule).
In March 2003, the downtown and AOH-Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day parades saw Hurling represented for the first time in the history of St. Louis. On April 26, 2003, St. Louis played its first national match at Chicago’s Gaelic Park, defeating the University of Notre Dame 3-9 (19) to 2-3 (9). A follow-up loss to Atlanta in the tournament placed St. Louis a respectable 2nd place in its first outing as a Club. Two subsequent matches against Milwaukee rounded out national competition for St. Louis in 2003.
In May 2003, the St. Louis Hurling Club was honored, one year ahead of the Club’s objective date, with the rare invitation to join 21 other American cities aligned with the North American County Board (NACB). NACB is overseen by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the governing body of hurling at its top level in Ireland.
The St. Louis Hurling Club is the first association of American-born hurlers ever invited to join NACB in a club’s first year of organization, and is the second-largest club of primarily American-born hurlers in North America.
A seven-member executive committee was officially formed on May 22nd, 2003 to officially lead the Club’s operations.
Television, radio, newspaper and magazine exposure increased the number of interested Hurlers, and in September 2003, the first ever St. Louis Hurling Club season was held, an 8-week league featured three teams: Brown & Brown Financial, Black Thorn Sons of Liberty, and McGurks Black Shamrocks, with McGurks defeating Brown & Brown, winning the first ever Gateway Cup on November 22nd, 2003.
September also brought a Proclamation from the Irish Consulate office, commending the Club on its league and advancing the sport of Hurling.
In April 2004, the Club’s success allowed for the addition of a fourth team, Llywelyn’s Red Dragons, and began its Spring league, welcomed by the Missouri House of Representatives through a state resolution commending the Club for its success. Black Thorn Sons of Liberty defeated McGurks for the Spring league Cup on June 19th, 2004.
September marked several firsts in Hurling, courtesy of the North American County Board tournament in Boulder, CO:
- St. Louis was represented in the NACB tournament for the first time ever. The result included victories over Milwaukee and a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Seattle;
- St. Louis won the inaugural North American Championship of the new Jr.-C Division;
- For the first time ever, a team of North American-born Hurlers won an NACB championship!
The St. Louis Hurling Club returned home to begin its Autumn 2004 season on September 18th with a Proclamation from the City of St. Louis, congratulating the Club on its National Championship and commemorating the first anniversary of the inaugural league, where Hurling was played among St. Louisans for the first time.
Mayor Francis Slay proclaimed September 25, 2004 “St. Louis Hurling Club Appreciation Day”, and in November, the United States Senate recognized the Club for its national championship in the Congressional Standard.
The momentum from the NACB tournament made for spirited play in Autumn 2004. The league closed out with the Celtics defeating the Sons of Liberty on November 13, 2004. The third league championship produced three separate champion teams. Parity for the teams within the Club continues to be a top priority, as it has proven to help recruit more interested potential Hurlers.
The 2005 Spring & Autumn leagues marked the first time teams remained together as a unit throughout the year. McGurks Black Shamrocks were the first squad to go undefeated in league play in Spring, but lost to Llywelyn’s Dragons in the championship, marking four different champions for the first four championships. McGurk’s found its way back on the trek to the Gateway Cup in Autumn 2005, defeating Black Thorn.
For the first two and a half years, no two teams have made consecutive appearances in the championship match. Team parity remains a priority, ensuring maximum competition and a more enjoyable experience for all involved. More than anything else, we are all Hurlers of the same Club.
While St. Louis did not repeat as Jr. C champions in the 2005 NACB tournament in Philadelphia, the Jr. C squad included new Hurlers experiencing the NACB tournament, and competition among 70 other participating teams, for the first time. St. Louis also sent its first Jr. B division team, a testament to improved development of Hurling skills by the Club through 2004-2005.
2005 marked the inaugural appearance of the St. Louis Gaelic Football team, which advanced to the Jr. D football finals after defeating Phoenix with an exciting triple-overtime win.
Alongside our 2006 Spring and Autumn leagues, the Club stays committed to representing the city in national competitions, festivals, and exhibition matches to promote the popularity of Hurling in St. Louis and across the country. The Club has also begun to expand into the sport of Gaelic Football. Training for both sports is provided by Club members. Newcomers welcome!
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