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Podcast No. 93: Jack Hogart
In the fall of 1987, Jack Hogart was a newlywed and a rookie football official.
He was also my football coach at Butte Central Junior High School.
One thing all the players had in common during our seventh- and eighth-grade years was that we loved our coaches. Hogie was the head coach. He was assisted by Shawn “Tank” Maloughney. We also loved Mike Hogart, who coached the other grade those years.
Football wasn’t easy, but we always had fun playing for those coaches.
Jack Hogart had as laughing all the time. He even had us laughing when he was mad at us. He especially had us laughing when he was mad at us.
I’ll never forget the game when Josh Paffhausen hurdled me in a game we lost to East Middle School. At halftime, Jack told us we were making Paffhausen look like a “damn superstar out there.”
To make a long story short, Paffer was a superstar. It wasn’t my fault.
Jack Hogart was one of five children of the legendary Bill and Mary Carol Hogart. They make up what has to be at least one of the funniest families this town has ever seen.
Today, Jack Hogart is a grandpa. He no longer coaches or officiates. Instead, he devotes his time to his grandchildren, his insurance business and the Knights of Columbus Hall.
He is still funny as ever. He is still Hogie. Listen in to see what I mean.
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Rigby, Vicevich close league with perfect trap scores
Riley Rigby and Dave Vicevich posted perfect scores on the final week of the Butte Trap Club’s Spring League.
Both broke all 50 targets to top individual standings on the sixth week. Rigby clinched the “High Gun Male” award for the season by breaking 293 out of 300 total targets. He topped runner-up Vicevich by two.
Gus Bolton, Tim Cassidy, Mark Hislop, Scott White, Chad Fellows, Chris Andersen and Jim Holodnick each broke 49 targets on the final night. Wyatt Kingston, John McClernan, Nathan Farley and Rayelynn Brandl broke 48.
Brandl topped women’s standings, beating Kim McClafferty by two. Brandl also took home the “High Gun Female” award with 280 out of 300. Gillian Clark was runner up with 262.
T.J. Anderson won the “High Junior” award with a mark of 237 out of 300.
Cooney’s Vicevich Law topped the final team scratch standings at 1,151. Team members are Vicevich, Hislop, White, Robert Edwards and John Wombold.
Baker Auto took second at 1,124, and Cooney’s Locksmith place third at 1,112.
Butte Trap Club – 2023 Spring League – Week 6 Standings
eam Scratch Standings
Cooney’s Vicevich Law – 1151
Baker Auto – 1124
Cooneys Locksmith – 1112
Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh – 1107
Vu Villa/Lockmer Plumbing – 1094
FJBCHO – 1080
Clay Howery Construction – 1080
CF Plumbing & Heating – 1079
Milo’s – 1035
Lisac’s/Jim Lynch State Farm – 1029
S&S Plumbing – 1019
Superior Title – 1015
Pro Inspection – 1014
IDK – 1013
Pro Repair – 1008
Archibald Co. – 1004
D-M Ranch – 998
PTS #2 – 992
St James Hospital – 986
PTS #1 – 980
…..w/Guns – 972
WET – 935
Trax Outdoors – 932
Timberline Security – 929
KR Contracting – 921
Rafish Raiders – 913
PSFR – 868
Builders First Source – 806
Elk Horn Electric – 784High Individual Scores
Riley Rigby – 50×50
Dave Vicevich – 50×50}
Gus Bolton – 49×50
Tim Cassidy – 49×50
Mark Hislop – 49×50
Scott White – 49×50
Chad Fellows – 49×50
Chris Andersen – 49×50
Jim Holodnick – 49×50
Wyatt Kingston – 48×50
John McClernan – 48×50
Nathan Farley – 48×50
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50High Lady Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50
Kim McClafferty – 46×50
Jen Hislop – 41×50
Gillian Clark – 45×50High Wobble Trap Scores
Chad Fellows – 48×50
Riley Rigby – 48×50
Nathan Hollins – 46×50High Gun Male
Champion Riley Rigby – 293×300
R-U Dave Vicevich – 291×300High Gun Female
Champ Rayelynn Brandl – 280×300
Runner-Up Gillian Clark – 262×300High Junior – TJ Anderson – 237×300
Team Division Winners
Class AA – Cooney’s/Vicevich Law – Dave Vicevich, Scott White, Robert Edwards, John Wombold, Mark Hislop
Class A – Vu Villa/Lockmer Plumbing – Shawn Powers, Mark Powers, Mark Moline, Scott Irwin, John McMillan
Class B – Pro Inspection – Ted Phillips, Will Davey, Ian Smith, Wade Malyevac, John McClernan
Class C – Archibald Company – Kevin Zimpel, Mike Watson, Leo McCarthy, Jason Dinius, Bart Bacon
Class D – Timberline Security – Travis Birkenbuhl, Darrell Storey, Pete Steilman, Scott Driscoll, Les Anderson
Annie Oakley Winners
1st – John Helfrich 2nd – Kim McClafferty 3rd – Jason Cartin 4th – Gillian Clark
1st – Gillian Clark 2nd – Jim Holodnick 3rd – Nathan Farley
1st – Tim Schrapps 2nd – Nathan Farley
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Podcast No. 92: Keith Miller
In the spring of 1984, I set a world record in a Little League game at the ballpark that is now named Jim Scown Field.
I struck out on two pitches — and one of them was a ball. No, Buggs Bunny was not the pitcher. Rather, Keith Miller was the umpire.
That, I promise, is a true story. Even Keith is beginning to come to terms with that fact.
Even then, though, I knew Keith was a great umpire. He was a sophomore in high school, and you would have thought he was working a game in the Big Leagues. He gave us the Big League field when we played.
In all my years playing, watching and coaching Little League since, I have never seen a better umpire than Keith.
He was also a great coach. The next basketball season, I joined the Kennedy fifth grade B team as a fourth grader, and Keith was my coach. The next year, he coached our football and basketball team.
He was great as he somehow walked the fine line of being our coach and our friend.
Keith has devoted his entire life to children. He has been a volunteer in Little League for 41 years. After years as a teacher and vice principal, Keith took over for the retiring Larry Driscoll several years ago. It is a tough job, but he tackles with understanding and compassion. The children of Butte are lucky to have him.
Keith recently had a health scare that forced him to spend some time in the hospital. He is doing good now, and looking forward to getting back to work this week.
Listen in to this podcast as we talk about that two-strike strikeout, his coaching days and his years as an educator. Listen as he describes his philosophies to education, Little League and life.
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‘Gutsy’ Stajcar will put spring in coaches’ step for years to come
Matt Stepan had a spring in his step, and I am pretty sure he winked at me as he walked out to make a pitching change.
We were competing in a Little League baseball game in the 9-10 age division at Father Sheehan Park. My team was down one run, but we were about to take the lead in the top of the last inning.
We had the bases loaded, nobody out and some good hitters coming up.
Stepan, though, had a bounce in his step because he knew he had an ace in the hole. He had Cayde Stajcar.
Before I get into the story, I need to back up for a little background. At this point in my career coaching my son’s Little League teams, I was about 0-12 against teams coached by Stepan, Montana Tech’s director of athletics, and none of those games were even close.
One time, when we were coaching the 7-8 division, we played in a blizzard on the South Field of the Missoula Avenue complex.
The snow was coming in sideways, and the windchill factor had to be in the single digits. It was so cold that two parents pulled their kids out of the game and took them home in the middle of an inning.
Stepan’s players, though, just kept walking around the bases. At one point, I pleaded with the young umpire to call strikes because I was on my last pitcher who could even come close to the plate, and he was running into the pitch-count limit.
If the umpire didn’t start calling strikes, I said, we would never get through the top of the inning and go home and thaw out.
A year or two later, I lost to one of Stepan’s teams when the temperature was nearly 100 degrees warmer.
As an assistant on the Northwest Little League 9-10 All-Star team, I watched in the baking Great Falls dugout as the Mile High All-Stars batted around and around and around.
It is not an exaggeration to say that we lost by 30 runs in both games. I swear Gunnar Reopelle batted against us five times in one inning.
That is why I was so excited to have a chance to take the lead against Stepan’s team in the last inning.
Like me, Jake Larson, one of my assistant coaches, immediately knew we were in trouble when Stajcar walked to the mound. In his best Lou Brown voice, Jake said, “Give me Vaughn,” a reference to Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn closing out the awful Yankees in the movie “Major League.”
Nine pitches and three strikeouts later, we were in the handshake line after another loss to Stepan’s team. Yes, Stajcar struck out three batters on just nine pitchers to end the game. It took him longer to warm up than it did to mow us down.
Stajcar was only 9 or 10 when he got the save that day, but I had already known he was a special player for years.
I knew that since the morning I first took my son to play in the Knights of Columbus Little Kids Hoops program.
Stajcar, with his long, flowing hair, was playing with kids his own age, probably 5 and 6. Bernie Boyle and his sons put on the temporary baskets which were only about 7 feet high, and that was way too easy for Stajcar. It was so easy for him that he did not miss a single shot in the time that I watched him.
He scored on layups and deep shots, and my son and I marveled at what we were watching.
“Dad,” Grady said. “That girl is really good.”
“That’s not a girl,” I said. “And that might be the best young athlete I have ever laid eyes on.”
The best part about watching Stajcar play that morning, though, was not his athletic ability. Rather, it was his beyond-his-years selflessness.
His passing was even more impressive than his running and shooting, and he made sure every player on his team got a chance to score.
I have never seen a kid so young have such awareness, so I made sure to go out of my way to tell Cayde and his parents how impressed I was with him that day.
Of course, it was no surprise to learn that Luke Stajcar is Cayde’s dad. Luke was a stud in every sport he played in high school at Butte Central, but he was particularly good at baseball. In all my years covering American Legion baseball, he is the best Butte player I have seen.
He was teammates with Rob Johnson, and at the time I would have bet my house that, if one player from that team would have made it to the Big Leagues, it would be Stajcar.
Johnson, now a former Mariner, Padre, Cardinal and Met, would have taken my house.
Like his dad, Cayde Stajcar is a baseball phenom, but the younger Stajcar looks like he will be even better than his dad. At 13, he led Butte to a Senior Little League State title. At 14, he helped lead the Butte Miners to the Class A State and Northwest A Regional titles.
At 15, Cayde Stajcar started at shortstop for Butte High’s first baseball team. During the year, he proved to be one of the best players in the state, on offense and defense.
He also proved that he is one of the toughest players and one of the best teammates.
During the last game of the regular season, Stajcar threw the ball to first base and felt a sharp pain in his elbow. The trainers feared for the worst.
While he wore his right arm in a sling during the week, Stajcar still played for the Miners in the State tournament.
The first time he had to throw the ball to first, though, his arm hurt again. The coaches had to move him to first base, where he played with one healthy arm.
But he still played all out.
During Butte’s 6-5 loss to Florence-Carlton in extra innings on Thursday, Isaac Bates hit a hard shot toward the right side of the infield as teammate Brodie Hinsdale raced home from third.
Stajcar laid out to knock down the ball. Then, with an arm he knew might be headed to surgery, he threw the ball to home as hard as he could, trying to save Butte’s championship hopes.
Stajcar put his team above his agony.
Hinsdale was safe, and the Bulldogs lost. But it wasn’t because of a lack of effort.
Stajcar competed through pain that had to be incredible the whole tournament, trying to help his teammates win.
It is a performance that, in my book, ranks right up with Alicia Wheeler taking a hard shot off the face, going to the hospital for a CT scan, and then pitching Butte Central to the Class A State title in Billings in 2000.
Bulldog coach Jim LeProwse called Stajcar’s effort the “most gutsy performance” by any player he has ever coached.
This week, Stajcar will learn the severity of the injury. He will know if he will be able to play Legion ball with some rest and physical therapy or if he will have to undergo Tommy John surgery.
Whatever news he gets, though, we know it will only be a temporary setback for the great Cayde Stajcar.
He will be back, and his future will be as bright as ever.
His coaches will have a spring in their step and a wink in their eye for a long, long time.
— Bill Foley, whose coaches usually closed both eyes, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Leskovar Athletes of the Week: Kamber Leary, Kyle Holter
Butte High’s Kamber Leary and Butte Central’s Kyle Holter are the Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
Leary, a junior shortstop, takes home the girls’ award. She smacked eight hits in three games to lead the Bulldogs in the final week of the season. The leadoff hitter went 4 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs scored in a 15-14 loss at Gallatin.
After a 1-for-4 effort in a 6-5 loss to Flathead, Leary went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and a run as Butte High closed the season with a 14-4 win over the Bravettes. Leary finished her junior campaign with a team-leading .414 batting average.
Holter, a senior, receives the boys’ honor after a big performance at the Western A Divisional track meet in Corvallis. He placed second in the high jump, fourth in the long jump and seventh in the Javelin.
At the divisional meet, Holter cleared season-best 6 feet, 2 inches in the high jump, leapt 20 feet, 7 ¼ inches in the long jump and launched the javelin 156 feet, 11 inches. Holter will compete in those three events at the Class A State meet in Laurel. He will also run a leg for BC’s 400-meter relay team.
Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, teamed up with the ButteCast to honor the finest student-athletes from the Mining City in an effort to encourage more children to get up, get out and try all kinds of sports and activities.
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Brandl, Cassidy, Hislop perfect on Week 5 of trap league
Rayelynn Brandl, Tim Cassidy and Mark Hislop each posted perfect scores of 50 during Week 5 of the Butte Trap Club’s Spring League.
Jake Taverna, Dave Vicevich, Rod Barkley and Scott White each broke 49 targets. Mark Powers, Al Petersen, Ryan Miller, Robert Edwards and Tyler Denny broke 48.
Brandl’s perfect score topped the women’s standings. Kim McClafferty and Gillian Clark each shot a 45. Taverna’s 49 topped wobble standings.
Through five weeks, Cooney’s Vicevich Law leads team standings at 957. Baker Auto is second at 938, and Cooney’s Locksmith is third at 929.
Butte Trap Club – 2023 Spring League – Week 5 Standings
Team Scratch Standings
Cooney’s Vicevich Law – 957
Baker Auto – 938
Cooneys Locksmith – 929
Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh – 920
Vu Villa/Lockmer Plumbing – 915
FJBCHO – 901
Clay Howery Construction – 892
Milo’s – 863
Lisac’s/Jim Lynch State Farm – 852
Pro Repair – 846
Superior Title – 840
Archibald Co. – 839
D-M Ranch – 831
Pro Inspection – 828
PTS #1 – 820
St James Hospital – 815
Elk Horn Electric – 784
Rafish Raiders – 773
Trax Outdoors – 741
CF Plumbing & Heating – 724
PSFR – 705
S&S Plumbing – 689
IDK – 679
PTS #2 – 672
…..w/Guns – 647
WET – 625
Timberline Security – 605
KR Contracting – 447
Builders First Source – 442High Individual Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 50×50
Tim Cassidy – 50×50
Mark Hislop – 50×50
Jake Taverna – 49×50
Dave Vicevich – 49×50
Rod Barkley – 49×50
Scott White – 49×50
Mark Powers – 48×50
Al Petersen – 48×50
Ryan Miller – 48×50
Robert Edwards – 48×50
Tyler Denny – 48×50High Lady Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 50×50
Kim McClafferty – 45×50
Gillian Clark – 45×50
High Wobble Trap Scores
Jake Taverna – 49×50
Beau Powers – 45×50
Tim Cassidy – 45×50 -
Podcast No. 91: Dr. Pete Knudsen
The Butte Mineral and Gem Show will be held at the Butte Civic Center this Saturday and Sunday.
That means Dr. Pete Knudsen has been a very busy man. Knudsen first went to this show as a senior at Great Falls High School in 1964, and he has been instrumental in most of them since.
Knudsen, 77, was also instrumental in making Montana Tech the school that it is today.
For more than 36 years, Knudsen taught at his alma mater. He served as the head of the Mining Engineering department and Dean of the School of Mines and Engineering.
In 2019, Chancellor Don Blackketter awarded the Chancellor’s Medallion to Knudsen. Among the many impacts to the university Blackketter cited was Knudsen leading the charge and gaining approval for stand-alone mechanical, electrical and civil engineering programs, Montana Tech’s first PHD in material science, establishing the Underground Mine Education Center and advising a large number of graduate students.
Knudsen was also the long-time director of the Montana Tech Alumni Band. He still performs with the Butte Symphony.
This weekend, you can get a close up look at Knudsen’s passion for minerals and gems. You will get a chance to see it from the members of the Butte Mineral and Gem Club. The show will feature 39 member displays.
Tom Harmon of Savage loaned his fantastic display of Montana Agate to Montana Tech, and that display will be part of the show at the Civic Center. Master Knapper Ed Guillen will put on a demonstration, and 18 retail dealers of fine jewelry, miners, fossils and gems will be on hand.
There will also be a kids’ corner and a silent auction. Admission is just $3, and children under 12 will be admitted free. The show runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Listen in as Dr. Knudsen discusses his passion with minerals and gems, his career at Montana Tech and what to expect at this weekend’s show.
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Mile High Soccer Camp set for July 10-13
The 2023 Mile High Soccer Camp will be held July 10-13 at the Jeremy Bullock Soccer Complex at Margaret Leary Elementary School.
The camp is for players entering kindergarten through sixth grade. It will run from 5 to 7:30 p.m. each day.
Players and coaches of Butte High School will conduct the camp, and YMCA parent coaches are welcome to attend and learn soccer basics.
Cost is $50 for campers in kindergarten through third grade. Cost is $60 for players in fourth through sixth. Cost is just $15 for 2023 YMCA soccer players.
Click the link below for a registration form and more information.
A second camp will be held the week of July 24. More information about that camp will be released at a later date.
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Podcast No. 90: Ed Kelly
Ed Kelly was super nervous to do this podcast. He said he could hardly sleep the night before.
That must come as a surprise to the people who know Ed. They know him as the guy who has owned every building he ever walked into.
They know him as the guy who got into an NFL game by jumping in the concession workers line and grabbing an apron. They know him as the guy who fenagled his way to a front-row seat at an NBA game. They know him as the guy who can get by the super-strict security at the Billings Metra.
Before he invented the Eddie Kelly door at the back of every sports arena, Ed was a star running back for Butte Central. He helped lead the Maroons to the 1964 Class A State title. He played briefly at Montana State and then at Eastern Montana College, which is now called MSU-Billings. Between his days at MSU and Eastern, he served two years in the army. That included eight months and a Purple Heart form Vietnam.
Ed then worked nearly three decades as an employee of Butte-Silver Bow and as a football official in high school and college. He was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.
Listen in to this podcast as Ed talks about his playing days and the Vietnam War. Listen as he talks about officiating with guys like Bill Hogart, Gitch Combo, Glenn Welch and more. Listen as he gives credit to his wife, Shauna, for raising their four children. Even Renzy.
Listen to hear how Ed has a hard time watching games that his son Brodie coaches at Butte Central. That is why he was in Missoula, but didn’t see Dougie People’s shot that lifted the Maroons to the 2022 Class A State title.
Listen as Ed talks about the time he got knocked out by Dougie’s dad.
This podcast was recorded at the Coaches Corner at Metals Sports Bar & Grill. Ed sat just below Brodie’s plaque.
Ed Kelly during his Butte Central days. -
BC girls’ hoop camp June 20-22
The Lady Maroon ‘Never Give Up’ K-12th grade skills camp will be held June 20-22 at the Maroon Activities Center.
Camp for girls in kindergarten through fourth grade will run from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each day. Cost of that camp is $35.
Camp for girls in fifth through 12th grade will go from 5 to 7 p.m. Cost is $50, and a family discount will be offered.
The camp will focus on shooting, ballhandling, fundamentals, team play, scoring and fun.. Early registration starts June 1. Players can also register the day of the camp.
Click the link below for more information and a registration form.
