Mick Dennehy is one of the greatest athletes and coaches Butte has ever produced.

He was a two-year starter in football and basketball at Butte High School. He helped lead the Bulldog football team to the 1967 State championship, and he won the javelin at State as a senior in 1968. Then, he was a standout at safety for the Grizzlies before getting into coaching.

Here’s how his Butte High football coach, Bill Kambich described Dennehy to Pat Kearney in his book “Butte’s Big Game” about the Butte High-Butte Central football rivalary: “Mick Dennehy was a real gutty football player. He was our monster guy on defense and was a joy to coach because he took everything in stride doing exactly what you told him. He was one of the greatest kids in the world.”

He earned High School Coach of the Year awards in Wyoming and Washington before moving to the college ranks. 

Coach Dennehy led the way as Montana Western brought back football. Then he moved onto the University of Montana, where he was the offensive coordinator for the 1995 NCAA Division 1-AA Grizzlies. He took over as head coach the next year, leading the Grizzlies to a 4-0 record against the Bobcats, three Big Sky Conference titles, and another appearance in the national championship game.

Coach Dennehy then concluded his coaching career with a five-year run at Utah State.

He was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.