Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/697572
JULY / AUGUST 2016 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | 27 Watch Online U.S. vs. Spain at 1972 Olympics Team USA is in the white. Jim is wearing No. 5. wac.net/rogers-handball At the Games In Munich, East European dominance returned with Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Romania going 1-2-3 on the handball podium. The U.S. finished 14th of 16 teams, beating only Spain in consolation play. "We were right there," Jim recalls. "We had some great athletes on our team." Members of the squad still get together every year in Las Vegas for a reunion. "Our kids are like brothers and sisters," Jim says. "That's part of the camaraderie of an Olympian. It's forever." Jim returned to the Olympics with the 1976 team in Montreal, where the Americans placed 10th. "I was fortunate enough to get there again," he says. After those Games, Jim came back to Seattle and the game of his youth, playing in the WAC basketball league for three decades. He met his wife, Trish, at the Club in 1978. They have three adult children, two daughters and one son, as well as six grandkids. "The WAC has meant a lot to me," Jim says. Looking back on his Olympic experience, he recalls the importance of the 1972 Games and their place in history. "That was the beginning of change in our world," he says. "Many of us who were there still think that was the greatest Olympics because of what the athletes overcame." basketball team, was selected as part of the handball effort. "When we started, we lost something like 33 international matches in a row," he recalls. "Then we jelled." Around that time, Jim also received his marching orders. "My general said I could try out for the U.S. team but that if we didn't qualify for the Olympics then I was shipping out," he recalls. Entering qualifying competition, the U.S. needed to beat Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico to make Munich. It did, and Jim made the final cut. Team Handball 1972 & 1976 >> " That was the beginning of change in our world. Many of us who were there still think that was the greatest Olympics because of what the athletes overcame." Jim Rogers, far right, celebrates with teammates following a handball tournament in Argentina, part of the lead-up to the 1976 Olympic Games.