KC honors Butte legend Jim Street

For maybe the first time, Jim Street was speechless.

The legendary Butte High wrestling coach was lured to the Knights of Columbus Hall Sunday evening, thinking he was there for a celebration of a friend. Instead, he walked into a celebration of one of the greatest high school coaches of all time.

It was a night to honor Street as more than 100 people showed up for the coach. It was a virtual who’s who of the Butte wrestling community of the past and present.

A banner featuring 22 photos honoring the legacy of Street and his 15 Class AA State championship wrestling teams was unveiled on the wall of the northwest corner of the Felix Madrazo Gym.

Former Bulldog wrestler Brandon Queer spoke before the banner was uncovered. He said the wall is about a lot more than those 15 titles — 13 of which came in consecutive years from 1980 through 1992. It was about a program of greatness.

“What made this program great was consistency and a dedication to things that work,” Queer said. “It was a well-oiled machine. It wasn’t flashy, but it worked.”

Street’s son, Jason, and daughter, Jackie, removed the covering. As audience applauded, Coach Street could hardly speak.

“I had no idea,” he softly said, eventually. “I’m sorry I’m emotional. If I could control it, I wouldn’t be.”

Street then slowly started to talk about his years as the coach of the Bulldogs. He talked about how he told the school board that he expected to win the State title when he interviewed for the job.

“I said, ‘If. You give me the job and I don’t win a title in four years, I’ll resign,’” Street said. “’You won’t have to fire me.’”

Street’s team delivered on that promise time and time again.

At first, the coach said he thought the success came because his program outworked other programs. He said that as he the invitations to speak at coaching conventions piled up as the titles started to stack.

“I worked harder than the other coaches,” Street said. “The kids worked harder than the other wrestlers — in all aspects.”

Eventually, Street came to realize that the success was built on a foundation of honesty. Then he directed his comments to the many of his former wrestlers in the audience.

“When you walked off the mat, whether you won or lost, I told you the truth,” he said. “What I was doing that the other coaches weren’t doing was that I was telling them the truth. They trusted me, and I think I it was because I didn’t bullshit them.”

Street told the story about how Jim Blow beat Mike Mathews of Great Falls to win the 130-pound title. Mathews, was a dominant wrestler, but Street told him to go out and “pin his ass.”

“He didn’t pin him,” Street said, “but he sure as heck beat him. I believed in him, and he believed in me.”

Now, Street’s teams and his legacy will be on display for future generations to see when they work out or play basketball at the KC. It is the latest piece of what Bernie Boyle has turned into a great museum about sports in the Mining City.

“It’s about a culture that demanded excellence and built people beyond the mat,” Queer said of Street’s Bulldog program. “This wall will be there as symbol that people will look at and talk about what the Coach Street years were all about.”

Then, the crowd went upstairs to the KC Hall for food, drinks and stories about the legendary coach.