NMRFC are sad to announce the death of Doug Scott, one of our founder members and Everest summit mountaineer
Remembered by Neil Highfield (former player,coach and President at Nottingham Moderns RFC)
Founder member and past captain, Doug Scott has passed away at the age of 79. Doug failed his 11 plus and went to Cottesmore Secondary Modern on Lenton Boulevard before going to Mundella Grammer School and Loughborough Colleges where he studied P.E. and Geography. He then went back to Cottesmore as a member of staff where, along with Sam Lewis, he got involved with trips away using an old army lorry as transport.
On the rugby field, he was a very strong, very fit back row forward who, on occasions, would run twice as far as anybody on the field and never touch the ball. When he did get the ball in his hands, he liked to show his exagerated dummy off. Barrington Pitt was telling me of the time in the third team when Doug arrived at a maul, burrowed in, got his hands on the ball, ripped it out and raced away upfield. Unfortunately, due to his poor eyesight, he was running the wrong way.
Often, if the firsts had kicked off early to watch an international, Doug would race to one of the other sides to play a second match.
Tigers coach Chalkie White reckoned that Doug's press ups were a 100% better than any he had seen. He would do fifty like a metronome with a clap in between. He could climb a rope with his legs parallel to the floor and do many pull ups on his finger tips underneath a door frame.
I went to see him in hospital after he had broken his legs on The Ogre and asked him why he was out of breath? He replied that he had eaten a packet of chocolate digestives and, as he didn't want to get fat, had just done a hundred pull ups. He was offered the Bravest Sportsman of the Year award after crawling down The Ogre for six days and nights with his leg injuries and frost bite, but turned it down because it had to go to him alone and not be shared with others who had made a path down the mountain. He would have followed Eddie Mercx and Nickie Lauder as recipients. If there had been a world bottle walking championship for rugby players, then my money would have been on Doug.
Undoubtably one of Britains greatest climbers, he was immensely proud of "The Mods" and the progress they had made since those 15 year old boys from Cottesmore and Player Schools got together in 1956. A very modest man, he liked nothing more than a good sing song as he sipped his guiness and one of my proudest moments was when I was his guest at his investiture when he was made a freeman of the City of Nottingham.
Doug, it was an honour to have known you, thanks for all your efforts on behalf of the club and for the great memories you have left behind. Sincere condolences to your family and I look forward to travelling on your tram on my way to Moderns.