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He was born on
26th July 1900 in
San Francisco
,
California
, the son of Francis William Hyland and Ellen Loretta (nee Swett). He was
educated at
Stanford
University
.
Above
Dick Hyland at
Stanford
University
in 1924
The
immodest Hyland once said when an American sportswriter compared him to the
great athlete Jim Thorpe, his response was, “Hell, Thorpe never had my
swerve!”
Above:
Hyland carrying the ball in a rugby match between Reds and Blues which
determined the
USA
squad for the 1924 Olympics.
Above
postcard from the 1924 Olympics
He
played rugby twice for the
USA
in the 1924 Olympics against
Romania
(won 37-0) and in the final against
France
.
Above
the
USA
squad training in
England
before Olympic Games in
Paris
. Photo taken at Plymouth Rugby Club. Back Row (L-R): Sam Goodman (Manager),
Valentine, Cashel, Williams, B, Slater (Cpt), Farish, Clark, Patrick, N. Slater,
DeGroot, Charles Austin (Coach) Middle Row: Graff, Turkington, Deveraux,
Mannelli, Doe, Cunningham,
Dixon
. Front Row: Rogers, Hyland, Hunter, O'Neill, Cleveland, Muldoon, Scholz.
Above
Hyland (with ball) playing American Football for Stanford in 1925
Above
Hyland (with ball) playing American Football for Stanford in 1925
He
married American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter
Adela Rogers St. Johns a week after her divorce from her first husband. She
cited in the divorce charges her husband’s cruelty. She declared at the
hearing that her husband’s constant nagging interfered with her writing.
Above
Adela Rogers St.
Johns
They
had a son Richard Frank Hyland. He used the name.
Richard Rogers St.
Johns. He planned to follow the
career of his famous grandfather, Earl Rogers into the law.
Richard was a
Stanford
University
law student on June 13, 1952 when he married Joan Long of Cheviot Hills at the
Westwood’s
Community
Methodist
Church
; later he became a film producer’
His
marriage to Adela ended in 1935. Dick alleged the Adela was an improper mother
because she used improper language around their son and tried to “destroy his
love for his father.”
He
became a sports writer on the Los Angeles Times.
Dick
Hyland had an extraordinary resemblance to George Raft. On a visit to
New York
a fan of George Raft, asked Dick, “Will you autograph this picture, Mr.
Raft?” Dick explained he wasn’t Raft but that George Raft was standing over
in another corner of the room. The
fan looked over at Raft and than turned back to Dick, saying, “You can’t
fool me! If you won’t sign this
you’re just an impossible old meanie and I’ll never go to one of your
pictures again.”
Dick
scribbled on her picture, “With the best wishes of George Raft – per Richard
Hyland.”
Dick
died on 16th July 1981 in
Wawona
,
California
,
United States
when he had a heart attack in his sleep after a pro-am golf tournament..
Adela
died on 10th August 1988 at a nursing home
in Arroyo Grande,
California
.
His
son, Richard St. Johns, died on 28th October 2006. He was an exec, producer and
one of the founders of SBS Broadcasting. He was 77.
St. Johns
was born in
Los Angeles
in 1929. After graduating from
Stanford
Law
School
, he joined the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers and became a partner in 1963. He
left in 1968 to join Film ways, where he was president and chief operating
officer until 1972. In 1975, he founded the Film Financing Group, and
subsequently founded PSO.
http://sites.google.com/site/caseybooks
http://www.cliftonrfchistory.co.uk
References
The
life of Adela
Rogers
St. John
http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/adelarogersstjohn.htm
Dick
Hyland and the 1924 Olympics http://looking-for-mabel.webs.com/adelaand1924olympics.htm
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The
Rugby History Society