Navy veteran Fran Baker founded the Illinois Valley Rugby Club in 2019

Fran Baker of La Salle enlisted in the Navy on St. Patrick’s Day 1993 intending to find a new direction.

“School wasn’t for me at the time and I needed to grow up to be honest,” he said. “I needed more discipline … I just didn’t know it.”

Aside from direction, Baker said his mother raised five boys on her own and she taught them to always stick up for those who are unable to stand up for themselves.

“And I think that’s something the military gives you,” he said.

On a Navy ship in October 1993, Baker would discover a lifelong love of rugby. It was a joy he brought back to his hometown more than 25 years later when he formed the Illinois Valley Rugby Club.

“The beauty of Fran is he talks about character and doing the right thing, especially when no one is looking,” said Troy Terzick, a lifelong friend and assistant coach to Baker. “In my opinion, there’s not enough people like that in the world anymore.”

Baker said he began playing after an officer noticed him playing football on the pier.

“I didn’t know anything about rugby,” he said. “But, [the officer] was like come on I want you to play … so I learned and I loved it. The family, the atmosphere, the culture of rugby is like no other, it’s so important.”

Baker said he was stationed in Gaeta, Italy, for two and a half years. He said he was on the Sixth Fleet Flagship, which had an admiral on board, and made many diplomatic visits.

“I went to 43 countries,” he said. “We were the first ship to go to Russia in 50 years … the Sixth Fleet Ship is the commander of the Mediterranean, so we basically just police the Mediterranean – whether it was the Middle East, we may have done a little bit by Lebanon.”

Baker was a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom during his entire service.

Baker said his time in the service influenced his life in more ways than one; there is the obvious discipline and structure and bonds of brotherhood that most servicemen and women feel when departing, but Baker was also given culture and sport that he would pass on to multiple generations.

After being discharged on March 16, 1997, he attended Illinois State University, where he continued to play rugby. He left early to play for the Chicago Blaze Rugby Club.

Mark Zdenovec, who has known Baker for years as they played rugby together at ISU and again for Chicago Blaze, said you don’t find many people as good as Baker.

“He instills confidence, grit, respect and hard work,” he said. “He’s a family man, a very friendly person, and a good friend.”

Baker lights up and he begins to speak faster as he recalls matches against Spain, France and the United Arab Emirates.

“I spent 16 years of my life playing rugby,” he said. “That group of players I played with … that tight bond carries with you until the day you die … they would be down here today if I needed them.”

While that’s true in most sports, Baker said, it really hit him while playing rugby.

So, when his wife volunteered him to coach youth football – without asking – he agreed because he loves coaching any sport. He didn’t know the opportunity to bring rugby to his hometown would arise.

“I love trying to plant trees that I may never see grow,” he said. “And I’m really strong on respect, attitude and character, so I started teaching the youth football team about our rugby culture and a couple of kids said we should start a rugby club.”

Baker founded the Illinois Valley Rugby Club in 2019, and they won the middle school championship that year.

Sean Bracken, president of Rugby Illinois, said Baker ensures the principles of rugby are always at his core of instruction.

“It’s not an easy sport to coach,” he said. “And Fran has a very good understanding of the basic fundamentals of how to coach rugby, which the lessons really go beyond rugby into how a kid is maturing in life.”

In 2022, some members of that youth program began high school, so Baker approached La Salle-Peru about starting a club there. The Cavalier Rugby Club completed its first scrimmage on April 10, 2022.

Baker said they try to be a powerhouse, but he instills in his kids that it’s not about winning. The message is trophies get dusty and the medals will get lost but the memories that they make will last forever and will never be gone.

“I want them to know life is full of moments,” he said. “So, take each moment and make the best of it. I want them to take away respect, attitude and character and become great people. It’s not about being the best player, it’s about being a better person.”

“The memories of the family group that we have is stronger than any medal, any trophy, and record,” Baker said.