The Gisborne High School First XV of 1924 is where it all began for HSOB.
Most of the players decided to keep together and formed their own rugby team in 1925, electing to call themselves High School Old Boys.
From those promising beginnings, HSOB celebrates its centennial on March 28-30 next year at its Anzac St clubrooms.
Celebrations will include a Saturday night dinner at which noted rugby journalist Phil Gifford will be guest speaker.
The centenary will also feature rugby (the premier men’s team playing opposition yet to be confirmed and JAB rugby), netball, squash, football and cricket (Past v Present).
HSOB kicked off in 1925 with a junior team (from the First XV) and a third grade team.
HSOB Juniors won their first game 6-5 against Ormond Rovers - the HSOB third grade side won 6-nil against Rovers - and won the championship as they had done the previous season as the First XV.
The side ended the 1925 season undefeated.
The Gisborne Times described the Poverty Bay junior rep backline of 1925, dominated by HSOB, as “a splendid attacking and defending line”.
HSOB reunion organisers found the description amusing and satisfying.
“So HSOB is a backs club, not a forwards club,” said James Warren, himself a back, who made 23 appearances for Poverty Bay.
“Always has been,” said Graeme Torrie (also a back, 41 Poverty Bay caps).
“I won’t argue with that,” said Mike Edwards (another back).
“So, you guys will back me when I have a go at (club stalwarts) Wayne Ensor and Guy Middleton (both forwards),” Warren said.
HSOB won its first Poverty Bay Premier championship title in 1937 and won again in 1938.
Club members today can proudly boast they have won 20 premier titles – more than any existing rugby club in Poverty Bay.
The next 18 championships were won in 1945, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1998, 1999, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2016, 2017.
The original HSOB teams played in maroon jerseys, black shorts and black socks with a maroon top, and were ironically called “The Reds” which is ironic considering “the Thin Blue Line” is a common reference today within the club which has played in blue and white hoops since 1949.
The early teams trained at Rutene Rd Reserve while club chairman Tom Kane and Jack Fergusson led efforts to secure clubrooms at The Oval.
Plans in 1949 to purchase two NZ Railways sections were unsuccessful.
The club was able to buy a shed on the corner of Fox St and Clifford St belonging to a Mrs Angell for 150 pounds. It was moved to the Oval with additional timber being provided by players, including All Black great Richard “Tiny” White.
The club facility was completed in 1951 and underwent a major upgrade in 1971, including the building of two squash courts.
White remains the club’s most prestigious footballer and is one of three All Blacks produced by HSOB.
The lock played 55 matches for the All Blacks, 23 of those tests, between 1949 and 1956.
White starred when the All Blacks won their first test series against the Springboks in 1956.
Brian Fitzpatrick, a second five-eighth, debuted for the All Blacks in 1951 while playing for HSOB.
He moved to Wellington in 1952 and toured Britain and France with Bob Stuart’s 1953-1954 All Blacks.
Fitzpatrick, father of All Black great Sean, played 22 matches for the All Blacks, including three tests.
Mike Parkinson debuted against the touring Australian side of 1972 and toured Britain and France with the 1972-1973 All Blacks captained by Ngātapa’s Ian Kirkpatrick.
Parkinson played 20 matches for the All Blacks, including seven tests.
Several other HSOB players also wore the black jersey, but not while residing in Poverty Bay and playing for HSOB.
They are Norm Wilson (1949 and 1951) - Otago hooker, who was also a television commentator in the 1970s.
Keith Bagley (1953 to 1954) - Manawatū lock.
Mark Irwin (1955 to 1956 and 1958-1960) - Otago prop.
Mick Cossey (1958) - Counties winger.
Rico Gear (2004-2007) - North Harbour, Nelson Bays and Canterbury winger.
Māori All Blacks were Jim Leach, Pomare Kutia, Kahutia Bullivant, Parkinson and Gear.
The club diversified into netball in 1928 as High School Old Girls, whose top team enjoyed long periods of dominance in the Poverty Bay competition.
HSOG reached their peak in 1982 when they were beaten in the national club final by Hamilton’s Verdettes, a side featuring three Silver Fern internationals.
In 1993, HSOG finished sixth in the Caltex Cup national league.
Luminaries in HSOG include Jan Duncan, Leigh Gibbs, who captained and coached the Silver Ferns and Sandra Edge, a Silver Fern legend who was inducted into the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
HSOB played cricket for a season in 1925-1926 and has been a regular fixture in Poverty Bay cricket since the 1935-1936 season when the Turanganui and Whataupoko clubs decided to amalgamate under the HSOB name for the betterment of cricket.
New Zealand international John Guy is the club’s most prominent player.
HSOB Squash Club is in recess while a HSOB football team reformed in recent years.
Torrie is a proud HSOB man as he listens to the club’s history being discussed before him.
“The club has contributed a lot to Poverty Bay sport over the years,” he said. “A hell of a lot actually without a lot of recognition.”
More information on the centenary, including registration, is at HSOB@gmail.com or on the HSOB Facebook page.
