Tributes are planned to commemorate two members of the Class of 2010, who ‘exemplified the best of the rugby ethos and brotherhood.’
By Marc Glass
The UMF Rugby community has launched initiatives to memorialize two Rugby alumni and members of the Class of 2010 who passed away earlier this year.
Led by UMF Rugby head coach Tony Solis ’07, Bates Rugby head coach Mike Milliken ’07, and longtime former UMF Rugby head coach and club founder Walter “Woody” Hanstein, the tributes involve the creation of the inaugural Taylor James Steeves ’10 Cup Match and a fundraising campaign to support the acquisition of the Brewster Taber Hammond ’10 Scoreboard for the UMF Rugby Pitch.
More information about the Taylor James Steeves ’10 Cup Match and banquet will be available on the UMF Rugby Alumni and Friends Facebook page. Those wishing to make gifts toward the acquisition of the Rugby Scoreboard to be unveiled at the annual alumni match in May 2019 are encouraged to give online. When prompted, just choose “The Brewster Taber Hammond ’10 Rugby Scoreboard Fund” in the drop-down menu to designate your gift. For more information about both commemorative initiatives please contact Tony Solis ’07.
Solis says the efforts to honor Steeves, who lost a courageous battle with lung cancer in late July, and Hammond, who succumbed to a heart attack in April, will “celebrate the extraordinary lives” of the two former Farmington players and provide the tight-knit UMF Rugby community with an opportunity to heal.
“Rugby played a huge role in lives of Taber, Taylor, and their families while they attended UMF,” says Solis. “They were both strong, aggressive competitors who were also filled with compassion and empathy. On the field, they would battle between the lines, but they would be the first to help a competitor who was injured. They exemplified the best of the rugby ethos and brotherhood.”
UMF Rugby head coach Tony Solis ’07 will lead Farmington against Bates in the inaugural Taylor James Steeves ’10 Cup Match on Sept. 29, 2018. (Photo by Marc Glass)
Solis says the annual fall league match between Bates and Farmington, scheduled this year for Saturday, Sept. 29, at UMF, will be henceforward known as the Taylor James Steeves ’10 Cup Match. Following this year’s match that coincides with UMF’s Fall Fest celebration, the clubs will host a banquet to remember Steeves and invite members of his family as guests of honor.
“Taylor was, for Mike and me, one of our dearest and closest friends,” says Solis, who is a fitness specialist at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta. “His work as a respiratory therapist is evidence of his commitment to others. Day in and day out, he helped people work through the limitations of their illness so they could realize a higher quality of life. That ability to brighten other people’s lives was the light in his life.”
Hanstein, a longtime Farmington-based attorney and novelist, recalls an interview Steeves gave to teammate and former club captain Mark Garrido, who documented the success of UMF Rugby in a series of YouTube videos.
UMF Rugby Club founder Woody Hanstein says the efforts to honor Steeves and Hammond are timely opportunities for Rugby alumni to reunite — with each other and the spirit of the game. (Photo by Marc Glass)
“Taylor talked about what Rugby meant to him in terms of the strength of the camaraderie, the importance of selflessness, and not wanting to ever let his teammates down,” says Hanstein. “It was vintage Taylor. He always thought the beauty of the game could be found in the team effort.”
Milliken, wellness program manager at Bates College, says Steeves was a modern-day Renaissance man, whose diverse gifts and talents were evident on and off the pitch.
“There were so many facets to him,” says Milliken. “He was a great athlete and a truly high-impact player. But he was also the guy who landed the lead in his high school musical, was a drama counselor at a kids summer camp, and a skilled writer. He would demonstrate powerful athleticism on the field and then be the first to break into song with the competition after the match.”
Head Coach Mike Milliken ’07 will lead Bates against Farmington in the inaugural Taylor James Steeves ’10 Cup Match. (Photo by Marc Glass)
Solis says efforts to secure funding for the Brewster Taber Hammond ’10 Scoreboard will be grassroots and global, as Hammond’s Malta Rugby Football Union teammates in Pieta, where he worked as a prosthetics designer and clinician at the time of his passing, have pledged support for the functional memorial.
“He enjoyed listening to his patients talk about the activities they wished they could do and then engineering prosthetics that helped make their dreams a reality,” says Solis of Hammond, who earned a master’s in prosthetics and orthotics at the University of Hartford after graduating from UMF with a degree in Community Health Education.
Solis says one of Hammond’s most satisfying accomplishments was developing a prosthetic for a young girl born with a malformed leg. “There’s a video of him high-fiving her as she takes her first steps. The family is just overjoyed and overcome with the positive emotion.”
Milliken, who was classmates with Hammond at Mount Blue High School in Farmington, says his teammate’s fierce demeanor on the field, brawny build, and sleeve of tattoos belied his warmth and friendliness.
“He was definitely the guy you were thankful was on your side and that you didn’t have to play against,” says Milliken. “He had a furious physicality and was relentless in matches. But he was also completely gregarious off the field and the life of any gathering he attended.”
For Hanstein, who has coached or guided the UMF Rugby Club and hundreds of players over the past 28 years, the efforts to honor Steeves and Hammond are timely opportunities for Rugby alumni to reunite — with each other and the spirit of the game.
“It’s been a difficult period for the Rugby family. Twice in six months now we’ve come together over the loss of remarkable young men,” says Hanstein. “It shouldn’t take something like this to make us realize the importance of relationships that we form over rugby or any other shared passion. I hope the UMF Rugby community sees their passing as an occasion to count our blessings and reconnect. If it’s been some time since you’ve contacted a teammate or come to a rugby match, honor their lives by reflecting on everything that’s good about the game and supporting these efforts that are being led by Tony and Mike — the two best college rugby coaches in Maine.”