Colby Edmund "Babe" Slater (April 30, 1896 – January 30, 1965) was an American
rugby union player who captained the
United States national rugby union team that won the gold medal at the
1924 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the American rugby union team, which won the gold medal in 1920 and 1924.[1]
Biography
Colby Slater was born on April 30, 1896, in
Berkeley, California,[2] the son and youngest of four children of John Slater and Louise Slater (born Chenery[3]).[4] With his older brother, Norman, Slater attended
Berkeley High School and played for the school's rugby team in 1912 and 1913, winning a state championship in 1912.[3][4] In 1914, Slater enrolled at the University Farm School in
Davis, California.[4] (The University Farm School was then a branch of the College of Agriculture at the
University of California, Berkeley and is considered a precursor to the
University of California, Davis, which claims him as an alumnus.[4]) Slater graduated from the University Farm School in May 1917, and enlisted in the
United States Army shortly thereafter.[4] He served with the
Medical Corps in
France during
World War I.[4] In 1919, Slater returned to
California and began his career as a
farmer.[4] In 2011, Slater was inducted twice into the
U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, as a member of both the 1920 and 1924 national teams. In 2012, Slater was again inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame, but this time as an individual player.