Jerry Ahlin will be inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 14. Photo courtesy of Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - For nearly 50 years, Jerry Ahlin has been a fixture in the rugby community within Rancho Cordova and the Greater Sacramento area. Whether he was playing the sport, coaching area youth or doing his part to help grow the game across the country, Ahlin’s name has been synonymous with rugby. His efforts have surely been recognized, as he is being inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame this September.

Ahlin, 79, is a co-founder and president of the Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation. The organization is most-notably known for hosting their annual Kick-Off Tournament at Cordova High School, which has hosted over 120 teams from California to Canada for several years every January until 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic halted operations. For Ahlin, being inducted into the Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame for his role in rugby is special.

“It’s nice to be recognized,” he said. “It certainly is an honor because there has been a lot of fantastic athletes and coaches and teams that have been honored through the years. Rancho Cordova has had a great history with athletics, so it is definitely an honor.”

Ahlin was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, where he excelled at football. He played quarterback and linebacker at the University of Idaho, where he graduated in 1967. He then enjoyed stints as a linebacker with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League as well as the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. His athletic achievements earned Ahlin induction into the Idaho High School Hall of Fame, as well as the Idaho Hall of Fame.

Ahlin moved to the area in 1971 for a job, and soon found himself introduced to the game of rugby. He would go on to play with the Sacramento Capitals, and participated as a player for the next 25 years. Various relationships and connections led he and several area coaches to form the Sacramento Valley Rugby Foundation, and the rest was history.

Although his playing days are over, Ahlin is still trying to help grow the sport. Ahlin stated that his foundation has been trying to negotiate with the city to build a state-of-the-art rugby facility at Mather Park for the past 20 years, which has been in his words “quite the battle.”

The Rancho Cordova Sports Hall of Fame ceremony is being held at 6 p.m. Sept. 14 at Rancho Cordova City Hall. Tickets to the event can be purchased online for $30 at this link: https://form.jotform.com/cordovacouncil/rcaa-reception-tickets-2024.