The annual New York 7s (seven-a-side) rugby tournament has taken place (since 1959) on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The tournament used to be held at Van Cortlandt Park (in the Bronx), but it’s now held at Randalls Island.
New York Rugby Club
48th Annual New York 7s - Nov 25, 2006
The NEW YORK 7s TOURNAMENT is the largest sevens tournament in the United States. The tournament has been held on the Saturday following Thanksgiving since 1959 and traditionally marks the end of the Fall rugby season in the New York Metropolitan area.
With teams and players traveling from as far away as Central and South America, South Africa, Australia, the UK, France, Canada, and many other countries, the level of play is truly spectacular. Each year the New York Rugby Club plays host to nearly 100 rugby clubs that come to New York for world class competitive rugby and great fun in one of the world’s greatest cities.
26 November 1960, New York Times, “Rugby Tourney Today,” pg. 18:
About thirty teams from the Ivy League and Little Three colleges will play in the second annual seven-a-side rugby tournament today at Van Cortlandt Park Stadium, The Bronx.
28 November 1964, New York Times, “45 Rugby Teams Entered In Bronx Tourney Today,” pg. 38:
Forty-five teams are entered in a rugby tournament to be held on four fields in Van Cortlandt Park, the Bronx, today. (...) The tournament is five years old.
25 November 1977, New York Times “Come to the Free-for-All” by Alex Yannis, pg. 77:
About 100 rugby teams, including 20 squads of women, will compete in a tournament from dawn to dusk, rain or shine, on Randalls Island tomorrow. Admission and parking will be free, courtesy of Manufacturers Hanover Trust, sponsor of this seven-a-side tourney, which has been conducted under the auspices of the New York Rugby Club for 20 years.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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