Frank Jacob "Deke" Gard (March 27, 1892 – September 27, 1918) was an American

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who played flanker for the United States men's national team in its first two capped matches in 1912 and 1913.

Early life and university years

Gard was born on March 27, 1892, in Tremont City, Ohio, the eldest child of Emerson Earl Gard and Laura E. Gard (born Shanley). Gard moved with his family from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Glendora, California Glendora is a city in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County, California, east of Los Angeles. As of the 2020 census, the population of Glendora was 52,558. Known as the "Pride of the Foothills", Glendora is nestled in the foothills o ...

, in 1905 and attended Citrus Union High School, from which he graduated in 1910. Gard attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

from 1910 until 1914 and graduated in May 1914 with a degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. While at Stanford, Gard played for the rugby team, serving as the team's captain during the 1914 season. During his senior season, Gard was described as "one of hebest forwards on the estcoast." He also was a three-time varsity letter-winner for the school's

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team, running in the

440-yard dash The 440-yard dash, or quarter-mile race, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. In many countries, athletes compete in the 440 yard dash (402.336 m) – which corresponds to a quarter mile. Many athletic tracks are 440 yards ...

and in relays.

International rugby career

Beginning in 1911, Gard played for the United States national rugby union team. On November 16, 1912, Gard played for the United States at flanker in its first capped match—a 12–8 loss to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. On November 15, 1913, Gard also played for the United States at flanker in its first test match against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Gard served as captain in this match—a 51–3 defeat.

Military service and death

On June 13, 1917, Gard enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. Gard was commissioned as a

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

, served in the Army's 362nd Infantry Regiment, 91st Division, and was deployed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On September 27, 1918, Gard was killed in action during an advance through Gesnes, France. Gard was buried at the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery near

Romagne-sous-Montfaucon Romagne-sous-Montfaucon (, literally ''Romagne under Montfaucon'') is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The Commune is home to the Romagne '14-'18 museum of WWI artifacts Nearby is the American Battle Monum ...

in France.

References

External links

* 1892 births 1918 deaths American rugby union players United States international rugby union players Rugby union flankers United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I American military personnel killed in World War I {{US-rugbyunion-bio-stub