JIM POWERS

Originally from Omaha, Jim Powers followed his older brother Vince to UNL and played second row for the club between 1976 – ’80.  He earned the MVP award in fall of 1977 and co-captained the squad between 1979-’80.  He was also selected to play on the first All-Nebraska team in 1980 that consisted of players from the various men’s rugby club throughout the state.  His favorite collegiate competitions were the annual Big 8 and Heart of America tournaments.  He has fond memories of some regular season games as well and shared the following:

KU & Halloween

Jim vividly recalls his first Big 8 road match vs. KU that took place on Halloween in 1976. His car broke down on the way to the group rendezvous at Student Union, and the club left without him.   A random van stopped and asked what was wrong and Jim explained that he missed his ride to Lawrence. As luck would have it, the van was full of members of the UNL cheerleading squad as the football team was also playing their game in Lawrence over the same weekend. They offered for him to join them, and it was an offer he could not refuse.  He arrived in Lawrence a few minutes after kick off.  The cheer squad jumped out of the car and gave a loud Nebraska cheer to the fans.  “In that moment, I was king!” recalls Powers. The KU players had different thoughts and really let Jim “have it” during the game.  When it was all over, the craziness of Halloween in Lawrence ensued!

Iowa State Fall of 1978 

The UNL team beat a tough ISU squad on a cold winter day.  Afterwards, the ISU post-game party host said that they should hold a “carbash.” The car was sitting in their backyard and the Huskers obliged to the idea.  It was a blast until the roommate arrived and said “What happened to my car?” A fight ensued between the ISU roommates as the car was now trashed.  It was at that point in time the Husker squad decided it was to scoot back to Lincoln.

NU vs. Missouri

During the fall of ’79, the Huskers beat Missouri Tigers at “Nuclear Field” on a controversial kick that was called good by the referee who said the ball was blown back in between the goal posts at the last second. The Missouri players chased the Sir off the field and UNL celebrated their win long into the night.

Jim’s first game with the GOATS

Jim’s remembers playing in his first match against the newly formed Omaha GOATS in Lincoln during the spring of 1979.   Former UNL rugger and one of the GOATS founders, RJ Neary, asked if would be okay if he let the team mascot (a live goat) stay at his house.  According to Powers, “I stupidly said yes, and when we returned home from the game, the goat had eaten Tim Flynn’s (roommate and teammate) textbooks and was beginning to munch on our notebooks as well. Aside from that, he was a good goat!” 

His Last UNL Game

The team played a difficult home game against a highly rated KU squad on Labor Day weekend in 1980.  It was a very hard fought game, and although KU won, NU’s strong performance on the field earned it a great deal of respect and helped enforce an emerging bond between the two clubs. The game was followed up by a well-attended post-game party that included a spirited “carbash.”  Little did he know, this would be his last game played with UNL as he tore his ACL shortly thereafter in a practice.  Despite his many games, this was his first and only serious injury playing a sport he loved.

The First UNL Try in an International Game

The first UNL Try in an international match took place in the summer of 1980 when Husker teammates Scott Carlson and Jim Powers were selected to play on the Heart of America All-College side. Powers started at second row against the traveling team from Cross Keys, Wales during the game in Lawrence.  The Cross Keys players were huge and the team was full of “hard men from a coal mining region,” but they were not accustomed to the summer heat and high humidity in Lawrence.  That proved to be the team’s advantage as the match wore on and the select side eventually prevailed. 

Jim recalls their opponents being “very physical and difficult to move,” but he scored the first try of the game on a line out when he outjumped his opposition, landed with the ball almost behind their line, and without thinking too much, took off for the try line.  He was able to get by their scrumhalf who seemed shocked at the large ball runner coming at him. He ran about 10 meters and dove to touch it down just before their winger got to him.  The best part was the reaction of his teammates from the combined schools. Jim still remembers getting picked up in the air by a huge prop from Missouri as they celebrated.  The score happened fast and early in the game, and filled everyone with confidence as we were nervous playing the “huge, tough looking guys.” 

The Cross Keys players turned out to be great guys and they sang great mix of Welsh rugby songs and coal mining ballads all night.  Jim recalls that, after this game which they lost, “Scott (Carlson) and I were asked to play on KU’s touring side to go to England, Wales, and France. I was all set to go (In fact, I am in the team picture still up at Johnny’s in Lawrence) but sadly tore my ACL at a UNL practice and could not go.”  Jim still has the jersey he traded with one of the Welsh players. 

When not taking a walk down memory lane, he practices law at McGrath North in Omaha and has worked at this firm for over 40 years.  He and his wife Mary have four adult children.

Powers stressed unequivocally, “Without a doubt the best part of all of it all was the fun of playing, the comradery, and the lifelong friendships made over the years!”