Spencer Schedler Award
The Spencer Schedler award has be awarded in the loving memory of Spence. The letter below was read aloud by the recipient each year. Greenwich Rugby deeply thanks teh Schedler family for supporting young men over the 20 years this award was presented.
"Dear Recipient,
Congratulations upon your selection by Coach Everett(Head) and the other Greenwich High School Rugby Team coaches to be awarded the 2025 Spencer J. Schedler Memorial Rugby Award!  Enclosed is a check to you for $1,000 to help with your college expenses this fall at Cornell University.  You are the 21st GHS rugger to be selected for this annual award. I thought I would tell you a little about Spence. While you may find it of only moderate interest now, you might stick this letter into a keep-file and look back at it some years after you have graduated from college and find it interesting to know more about someone who wanted to help ruggers succeed in college. Spence and I were married for almost 35 years when he died in March 2004 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Over the five years prior to that, he successfully overcame a heart attack and prostate cancer. True to his character, he refused to submit without a fight. He was a wonderful man whom most people would call memorable. One of his greatest passions was rugby at GHS. Our oldest son, Ryan, played on the team throughout his years at GHS, joining the team in 1987, which was its’ second year. Back then it was called the GHS Rugby Football Club and its’ colors were blue and white. Over the years, Spence supported the team in many ways, as parent chaperone on a trip to England and Wales, as photographer, as encourager, and by helping it become an official team at GHS with a paid coach. Our youngest son, Peter, also was a member of the GHS Rugby Team in 1991 & 1992, until an injured back prevented him from continuing. But even after our three sons had gone on to college, Spence continued his deep involvement with GHS Rugby. He found it to be a sport that attracted players who had a lot of character and integrity... the type of people that he loved to be around. One of his favorite characteristics of GHS Rugby was the diversity of people who participate. Spence enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life, with diverse backgrounds and interests. His other passion was flying. When he was just out of college, he joined the US Air Force and became a jet fighter pilot, flying an F-86D, which was the last single-man piloted plane before computers were introduced to help pilot planes. Spence graduated from Tulsa University, majoring in petroleum engineering. After a few years as an engineer working in the oil fields, he attended Harvard Business School, receiving an MBA. Upon graduation, he worked for several more oil companies. He was a staunch member of the Republican Party, working on many campaigns and serving as an official at both the national and local level. In the 1968 presidential campaign, he served as advance man for candidate Richard M. Nixon and his running mate, Spiro T. Agnew. The following spring, he was nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Financial Management, with his office in the Pentagon. His flag had four stars which meant, as a civilian, he out-ranked a four-star general! After four years in the Pentagon, he left to work for a medical supplies company in Houston and then joined Continental Can Company, which later became Continental Group, in New York City, which is when we moved to Greenwich. Upon leaving Continental Group, Spence started a mergers and acquisitions business, and then became a personal financial advisor. When the opportunity arose, he left the financial field behind and went back to his first love, becoming a certified flight instructor, working at Westchester County Airport and several airports on Long Island. While living in Greenwich, he actively participated in many community organizations, including the RTM, the RTM Budget Overview Committee, Cub Scouts, Red Cross, the Bruce Museum and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Riverside. He also enjoyed amateur radio, sailing, tennis, hiking, and other outdoor activities. We asked that the criteria for the award selection be someone who loves rugby, encourages his teammates, always displays good sportsmanship, is a strong scholar, may play in one of the more supportive positions as opposed to one of the more visible “star” positions and intends to be a full-time student at a four-year college or university starting this fall. I am pleased that the coaches felt that you most fit these criteria. I’m sure Spence would have loved to get to know you and you probably would have enjoyed him. All the Schedlers are very pleased that we have this opportunity to share with you Spence’s love of rugby and of learning. We wish you all the best as you start off to college in the next season of your life. Most sincerely,
Judy H. Schedler"


2005
​2006  Philippe Chaunu
2007  James Dailey
2008  Patrick O'Connor
2009  Jefffrey Silva
2010  Peter Cavini
2011  Mark Kelley & Connor Stapleton  (shared)
2012  Joey Marzulla
2013  Erik Tack
2014  Yoh Nakayama
2015  Chris Hann
2016  Windsor Doyle
2017  Zhaire House
2018  Eddie Schmidt
2019  Andrew Nanae
2020  Comac Doyle
2021  Carl Freyer
2022  Michael Lindberg
2023  Noah Herman
2024  Thomas Andruss
2025  Martin Rocca