Born in Hertfordshire, Northern London, Hugh Anderson had no connection to Baltimore. He joined the British Army where he was an officer. After completing his service he coached rugby at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England. America, and especially Baltimore were a world away and off his mind.
One day in 1984, he spotted an advertisement in a newspaper looking for a rugby coach in Baltimore. He applied to the team, which was Loyola University and Baltimore Men’s Club. “I thought, that sounds like a fun idea, and I applied for it. The team flew me out for a night to train them, I shouted at them and they thought that was fun and they hired me,” said Anderson. With Anderson at the helm, the team enjoyed great success and national acclaim.
While he took the job offer on a whim, Anderson made himself at home in America and in Baltimore, starting a family, and raising two kids in Baltimore. “The greatest joy I’ve ever had my in life is being father to two wonderful children.” Anderson found himself living the American dream, coaching rugby and starting a family. Outside of coaching, he worked in sports and event marketing and public relations, working for the Rolling Stones, covering the North Pole Expedition, a London cab’s trip from London to Sydney. He founded his own company, Strong Side Marketing, in 2016 and based it here in Baltimore. He loved the entrepreneurial spirit of America, “When I first arrived this country was fantastic to me, this is a place where anybody can succeed, anybody can do anything, it was a sense of unity,” said Anderson.
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