The Philadelphia Gryphons RFC have returned from Sydney, Australia, with a brand-new piece of hardware for the trophy case. In its inaugural year at the biannual Bingham Cup, the Hoagland Cup was brought back to the states from down under by a group of very happy, very tired ruggers.
In pool play, the Gryphons lost two of three and were seeded to play in the new division designed to include more skill levels, as the Sydney team has taken home the big trophy the last four consecutive years. They battled hard through the competition and went into the final game down three injured players. Just before the game, the “Rocky” theme “Gonna Fly Now” was played and inspired them to victory.
Alice Hoagland, for whom the cup is named and mother of Mark Bingham, attended the final game. The Bingham Cup is named in honor of the openly gay rugby player who died on Flight 93 during the events of Sept. 11, 2001.
The Gryphons will be celebrating even more at their first Saturday social at Stir this month. All are welcome to come welcome them back starting at 9 p.m. Sept. 6.
The 2016 Bingham Cup location will be announced Nov. 1. For more photos and more information on the Gryphons, go to philadelphiagryphons.org.
GG9 recap
The final numbers are in from the Gay Games in Cleveland and Philadelphia truly brought back the precious metals, with a total of 74 medals and ribbons, breaking down as 50 gold (of which 37 were for the three softball teams), 11 silver, nine bronze and four ribbons for rodeo.
The rest of the medal distribution was as follows: One medal each for basketball and flag football, two medals for bowling and rodeo and a total of 21 medals for track and field. Other non-medal sports Philadelphians participated in were billiards, swimming, tennis and soccer, though the soccer team performed well and just missed winning two games by a point each.
Next up: Gay Games X in Paris in 2018. The countdown begins in 1,000 days.
Short stops
• Registration is in full swing for Stonewall Kickball fall league play. Go to stonewallkickballphilly.leagueapps.com for registration, rules and reasons to get out and play!
• Sports and recreation information can be found on the inside back cover of PGN every fourth Friday of the month or any time on epgn.com.
Got something sporty to share? Email [email protected].