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KC tournament schedule
The Knights of Columbus Athletic Club season-ending basketball tournament will begin Monday at the Felix Madrazo Gym.
Following are the first-round games for every team in the double-loss tournament. The rest of the schedule will be posted at the gym.
Monday
6 p.m. — ButteSports vs. Hertz
7 p.m. — Parish vs. Jellyfam
8 p.m. — Washington Generals vs. Someday Starters
9 p.m. — Crib Crew vs. HoopballasTuesday
6 p.m. — BC
7 p.m. — Rosary Rattlers
8 p.m. — Cook
9 p.m. — Poi Time
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Rigby, Vicevich perfect in Week 4
Riley Rigby and Dave Vicevich both broke all 50 targets to top individual standings during Week 4 of the Butte Trap Club’s Spring League.
The marks were the first perfect scores of the season.
Kohlten Fultz and Alex Schneider each shot a 49, while Anthony Moritz, Rayelynn Brandl, Seth Duclos, Stephen Frazee and Rich Long each shot a 48. Walt McIntosh, Will Davies, Matt Lockmer and Gillian Clark shot a 47.
Brandl and Clark led women’s standings, and Mike Douthitt topped wobble shooting with a 45.
Team standings and Week 4 individual leaders follow:
Butte Trap Club – 2025 Spring League – Week 4 Standings
Team Handicap Standings
AA
Baker Auto – 730
Peterson Electric – 716
Anaconda Trap Club – 703
Lost Art Builders – 699
Arc Electric – 683
Wolverine Systems – 186A
Cooney’s Locksmith – 676
Timberline Security – 675
S&S Plumbing/Northwest Pipe – 671
Edward Jones/Walt McIntosh – 656
WET – 501B
Northwest Clay Busters – 655
Lockmer Plumbing – 649
St James – 648
Lisac’s/Jim Lynch State Farm – 641
Superior Title – 474C
Archibald Co. – 626
Pro Repair – 624
Nick’s Casino – 619
Air Tight Solutions – 611
Q-Stains – 597
Clay Howery Construction – 595D
Maloney’s/Harrington’s Pepsi – 549
Daddy’s Girls – 514
Eastridge Enterprise – 510
B Squared Pest Control – 483
12 G Girls – 357High Individual Scores
Riley Rigby – 50×50
Dave Vicevich – 50×50
Kohlten Fultz – 49×50
Alex Schneider – 49×50
Anthony Moritz – 48×50
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50
Seth Duclos – 48×50
Stephen Frazee – 48×50
Rich Long – 48×50
Walt McIntosh – 47×50
Will Davies – 47×50
Matt Lockmer – 47×50
Gillian Clark – 47×50High Lady Scores
Rayelynn Brandl – 48×50
Gillian Clark – 47×50
Mindy McClernan – 38×50
Amber Henson – 35×50
Colleen Fink – 35×50High Wobble Trap Scores
Mike Douthitt – 45×50
John Wombold – 44×50
John Lerum – 42×50
Mark Hislop – 42×50 -
Podcast No. 265: Leo McCarthy Part 2
In October of 2022, Leo McCarthy appeared on Episode No. 16 of the ButteCast.
In that episode, Leo talked about losing his 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, to an underage drunk driver in October of 2007. He talked about forming Mariah’s Challenge in its aftermath.
Mariah’s Challenge came from a promise made by Leo as he delivered a touching eulogy for his daughter at St. Ann’s Church. If they didn’t drink while underage and promised never to get into a car with a driver who had been drinking, he said, he would have money for them to go to college.
He thought he was talking to a few friends of Mariah and her older sister Jenna. As it turns out, the entire brokenhearted community was listening.
So, on Feb. 8, 2008, Leo launched Mariah’s Challenge as Butte High and Anaconda played a basketball doubleheader at the Butte Civic Center.
The goal of the movement was to change the dangerous culture that accepted drinking and driving as something we all just sometimes do. He said it would be a success if he got to just one person.
As it turns out, he did a whole lot more than that.
This Wednesday, the 17th Mariah’s Challenge Scholarship Ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. at the Montana Tech Library Auditorium. That is something I encourage all of you to check out, even if you do not know any of the 17 scholarship winners.
Winners of the 2025 scholarship are Tirzah Bergren, Jim Bradshaw, Kyle Kinsey, Audrey Kish, Chelsi Lyons, Justus McGee, Kolbe Michaud, Michael Peck, Ryan Popovich, Sam Sampson, Kieran Scarff, Macy Seaholm, Murphy Sullivan, Peyton Trabert, Brea Wagner, Jordyn Yelenich and Carter Barsness.
This year, Mariah’s Challenge is reaching a milestone. The total money in scholarships given out will reach $500,000.
More importantly, Mariah’s Challenge has reached 500 high school graduates. Leo calls them Mariah’s Messengers.
Of course, it is not only high school students who have been impacted by Mariah’s Challenge. The number of lives saved is impossible to count, but we know it has been many.
I consider myself one of the ones saved. In the aftermath of the tragedy that stole Mariah from us, I took a good, long hard look in the mirror. I decided that if my children ever grow up to drink and drive, it will not be because they learned it from me.
So, the day Mariah died was also the last day I touched a drop of alcohol. I was a father of two heading quickly for a divorce when I accepted Mariah’s Challenge. Now I am a still-married father of three with so much to be thankful for.
That is why I owe so much to Mariah, Leo, the McCarthy family and the many Mariah’s Messengers out there.
Yesterday, I met with Leo at his State Farm office to once again talk about Mariah’s Challenge.
This time, we got to reflect on so much of the good that has happened since the tragedy, and we got to do a little bragging about a $500,000 milestone.
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Hancock steps down as Butte Central volleyball coach
Move comes after highly-successful 11-year run with Maroons
Butte Central Catholic High School announced today that Becky Hancock, the school’s head volleyball coach for the past 11 seasons, will be stepping down from her position.
Hancock’s tenure has been marked by significant achievements and a deep commitment to the Maroon volleyball program.
Hancock’s coaching journey at Butte Central began in 2006, when she joined the volleyball program as an assistant coach. In 2014, she was hired as head coach, taking over from Kaila Minehan.
Over her 11 years leading the Maroons, Hancock amassed a record of 102-77.
The 2015 season stands out as a particularly successful year under Hancock’s leadership. The Maroons captured the conference regular-season title, finished as the runner-up at the divisional
tournament, and made history by earning the school’s first-ever state volleyball tournament trophy with a third-place finish. Notably, their two losses at the state tournament were incredibly close, both decided in five sets by a mere two points — a semi-final loss to eventual champion Columbia Falls High School and a third-place match loss to Corvallis High School.
The program reached the state tournament again in 2019 under Hancock’s guidance.
Beyond volleyball, Hancock also dedicated a significant amount of time to the Butte Central tennis program, serving as head coach for a total of 10 years, first in 2007 and then again from 2015 through the 2024 season. During her time with the tennis team, she mentored over a dozen state qualifiers, highlighted by a doubles team that achieved a 3rd place finish at the 2018 state tournament.
“Becky has been an outstanding coach and mentor for Butte Central over the last 19 years,” Butte Central activities director Chad Petersen said. “She has been a true asset to Butte Central, and her passion for coaching will be greatly missed. We are grateful for her years of service and the positive influence she has had on countless student athletes.
“On behalf of Butte Central High School, we thank her for all her hard work and dedication to our athletic department, student-athletes, and school. While we will miss her presence on the court this fall, we know she will go on to do great things and wish her nothing but the best.”
The search for a new head volleyball coach will begin immediately. Interested candidates can click here to find more information and application details.
— Story provided by Butte Central
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Bulldog Senior Night game canceled
Butte High’s non-conference baseball game with Missoula Sentinel tonight has been canceled because of Wednesday’s heavy rain, the school announced this morning.
Butte High was set to honor seniors Tocher Lee, Will Stepan, Matthew Donaldson, Karsen McEwen and Lucas Harris-Huerta and their parents before the varsity game.
The Bulldogs will travel to Livingston Friday for a conference game against the Rangers. The varsity game is at 4 p.m., and it will be followed by the JV game.
If the Bulldogs beat the Rangers, they will head to Billings to take on Billings West in a 5 p.m. play-in game Saturday at Pirtz Field. The winner of that game goes to next week’s state tournament in Hamilton.
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BC’s ‘Never Give Up’ hoops camp set for June 23-25 at the MAC
The Butte Central girls’ basketball coaching staff will host the annual “Never Give Up” Basketball camp June 23-25 at the Maroon Activities Center.
Open to athletes entering kindergarten through 12th grade for the 2025 school year, the camp will emphasize basketball fundamentals, including shooting, dribbling, passing, and competitive play.
Two camps will be held. A camp for players entering kindergarten through third grade will run from 8:30 to 10 a.m. each day. Cost of that camp is $40. The camp for players entering fourth through 12th grade will go from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. each day. It will cost $70.
Click here or scan the QR code on the image below to access online registration.
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Podcast No. 264: Carter Barsness
For the better part of a decade, I have called him “The Professor.”
Unfortunately, nobody else refers to Carter Barsness by that moniker. It is only me.
That is too bad because Carter earned that nickname. I coached him in Little League Baseball, and talking to him back there was like talking to a professor. And he was only 8 years old.
He was always offering a theory as to why something was happening with the game or just in life in general. I could see that he was analytical, and he was a very deep thinker.
Carter was also always super nice. Even at that young age, he was always thinking of others.
When he wasn’t offering some kind of theory, he was talking about playing football. He talked about football a lot, and I knew he would be good at it.
His father, Kyle, played football for Coach Bob Green at Montana Tech. Since his mother, the former Brianna Burgman, was a standout-out athlete at Butte High, I figured Carter had the genetic makeup to be a good one.
I was right. He was good.
Proudly, I watched as he became a standout on the offensive line for the Butte High Bulldogs. Even though I never coached Carter in football, I still beamed every time I watched him play. There is nothing better than seeing someone you used to coach go on to success in any sport — or any aspect in life.
So, you can imagine how proud I was to see Carter’s name on the list of Mariah’s Challenge Scholarship winners for 2025.
To receive the Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship, a student must live up to the ideals of Mariah’s Challenge. That means no underage drinking and no riding in a car with anyone who had been drinking.
That is way easier said than done.
To me, that is the best scholarship around. It might not be a full-ride scholarship, but it might be the most important because Mariah’s Messengers, as Maria’s Challenge founder Leo McCarthy calls them, are helping change the dangerous drunk driving culture in Butte.
This is the 17th class, and this year’s scholarship will mark $500,000 in scholarship money handed out to 500 Messengers.
Mariah’s Challenge has moved the needle, too. The McCarthy family, along with all the Messengers have saved lives. It is impossible to know exactly how many lives because that is impossible to measure.
Carter, now in his final days of his senior year at Butte High, unfortunately knows what it is like to have his family hit by a tragedy. His uncle, Kyle Burgman, was killed in a crash with his pal Casey Boyle on Aug. 10, 2015. So, Carter knew from a young age that he was not going to put his family through anything that again.
He also knows what it is like to be a part of a family that relives the tragedy year after year in an effort to help make a difference.
Listen in to this podcast as Carter talks about how my nickname for him never caught on. Listen as he talks about playing football and competing in track for Butte High. Listen to how he describes how holding really can be called on every single play in a football game. Listen as he talks about Mariah’s Challenge.
Listen as he talks excitingly about his plans to become an electrician after high school.
Today’s podcast is presented by the Kvichak Fish Co. Think of it as salmon and halibut gone Girl Scout cookie.
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Butte High boys’ hoops camp set for July 14-16
The Mining City Camp of Champions boys’ basketball camp will be held July 14-16 at Butte High School.
Butte High head coach Matt Luedtke and his staff will conduct three camps, which will focus on fundamentals, such as ball handling, shooting technique, footwork, passing and agility.
A camp for boys entering first through fifth grades will run from 9 to 11 a.m. each day. The camp for boys entering sixth through eighth grade will go from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Camp for boys in high school will run from 5 to 8 each night.
Cost is $70 for the younger boys and $80 for the two older camps if registered by July 9. That cost goes up $10 for registration at the door.
Click the link below for more information and a registration form.
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Bulldog softball team heads to Sentinel with season on the line
Best-of-three series set for Thursday afternoon
It all comes down to one day for the 2025 Butte High softball team.
The Bulldogs will head to Missoula to take on Sentinel in a best-of-three playoff series against Sentinel. The winner advances to the Class AA State tournament, which is May 22-24 in Great Falls. The winner gets an early jump on summer.
The first game begins at 1 p.m. The second game will be played at 3, and the third will start at 5, if necessary.
The Bulldogs and Spartans split the regular-season series, with each team winning a hotly-contested game at home. Butte High beat Sentinel 7-4 April 7 in Butte. The Spartans returned the favor with a 6-4 victory over the Bulldogs May 1 in Missoula.
Both teams finished at 7-7 in Western AA, but the Spartans got the tiebreaker for the home playoff series. Butte High went 7-13 overall, while Sentinel finished at 10-10.
The Bulldog offense seems to be humming as Butte High heads to the postseason. The Bulldogs scored 22 total runs as they split games with Helena Capital and Missoula Big Sky.
Butte beat Capital 10-1 Thursday at Stodden Park before falling in 14-12 shootout Saturday at Big Sky.
Outfielders Mattie Stepan and Gracie Jonart each drove in three runs to lead Butte High’s 10-hit attack in the win over Capital. Stepan, who has been on fire late in the season, belted a home run, a double and a single in the win.
Leadoff hitter Reese Johnson added a triple. Stepan scored three runs, while Johnson and Ashlinn Mullaney each scored twice. Catcher Gracie Ferriter joined Jonart with a two-hit game, while Mullaney and Madisyn Swanson each hit a single.
Johnson drove in two runs, while Ferriter and Kendallyn Schad each drove in a run. Avery Barsness and Ally Godbout joined Ferriter with one run scored.
Mullaney fired six solid innings for the win. She struck out four, walked two and allowed just one hit. The run she gave up was unearned.
Hard-throwing eighth grader Brea Henderson struck out two in a perfect inning of work.
Sadie McQuinn, a second baseman with deep roots in the Mining City, homered, and Sara Bjornson drove in five runs to lead Big Sky in Saturday’s battle. Bjornson also pitched two and two thirds innings of relief to get the win.
Mullaney hit two doubles and a single while driving in a pair and scoring three times for the Bulldogs. Johnson went 3 for 4 with four RBIs. Swanson smacked two singles, while Ferriter, Stepan, Jonart and Schad each hit one. Jonart registered three RBIs.
Ferriter, Schad and Swanson scored two tines. Jonson, Jonart and Allie Becker also scored.
Ally Godbout worked a walk in each game.
Central girls close season at Combo
Butte Central did not qualify for a play-in game in Softball. The Maroons, though, did show some promise for the future as they went 2-2 at the LaVerne Combo Invitational Friday and Saturday at Stodden Park.
Central fell 14-7 to Frenchtown and knocked off Hardin 10-2 on Friday. On Saturday, the Maroons dropped an 8-6 thriller to Libby and pasted Browning 17-2.
BC closed the season at 5-13 overall and 2-8 in Southwestern A play. The Maroon do not have a senior on the roster. The team is comprised of three juniors, Izabel Lopez, Arika Stajcar and Sophia Gelling; four sophomores, Chloe Wright, Brynlee Armstrong, Sawyer Svejkovsky and Marly Mansanti; eight freshmen, Evyn Smith, Kenzie McQueary, Kodee Badovinac, Cambri Campbell, Natalie Osterman, Olivia Scott, Braelynn Schelin and Zayonna Otherbull; and one eighth grader, Carolyn Lopez.
McQueary, Otherbull and Smith each poked a pair of hits in the win over Hardin. Stajcar joined McQueary and Otherbull with a double.
McQueary belted a home run against Frenchtown, while Schelin, BC’s workhorse in the pitchers’ circle, added two hits.
McQueary and Scott added two hits against Libby. Schelin and McQueary hit doubles.
McQueary and Stajcar each had a two-hit game in the rout of Browning. That included a double. Armstrong added a double in the win.
Bulldogs roll Bighorns, get help
A week ago, Butte High’s postseason hopes in baseball were on life support. This week, the Bulldogs control their own destiny.
That comes after the Bulldogs (9-8) beat up on Lone Peak for a 10-1 victory Monday at a rainy-and-cold 3 Legends Stadium. As the Bulldog offense rolled in the cold, Livingston rallied for a 9-8 win over East Helena.
That means Butte High will qualify for a play-in game if they beat Missoula Sentinel at home on Thursday and then win at Livingston on Friday. (Note: The Livingston game was moved to Friday on Wednesday morning.)
If Butte High wins both games, the Bulldogs will play a play-in game Saturday at Billings West.
Tocher Lee and Matthew Donaldson paced the offence, each with a four-hit performance, to back up a solid pitching outing by Lucas Harris-Huerta in the win.
Harris-Huerta used 100 pitches to fan eight batters and scatter seven hits in the win.
Lee went 4 for 5 with two triples, four RBIs and three runs batted in. Donaldson went 4 for 4, and Karsen McEwen hit a double and a single.
The Bulldogs also got singles from Will Stepan, Tegan Duffy, Gunner Bushman and Kodye Kjersten.
Kjersten knocked in two runs, while Stepan, Duffy and McEwen each knocked in one.
Butte High got solid infield defense around the horn from Donaldson, Lee, Evan McEwen and Karsen McEwen, while Kjersten, Stepen and Logan Carden handled the outfield in the wind.
Behind the dish, Bushman held own the Lone Peak running game.
Ebe Grabow tripled and scored on an Oliver McQuire single for the Bighorns.
Thursday’s game was moved back to 7 p.m.
The Bulldogs will honor their five seniors — Lee, Stepan, Donaldson, Karsen McEwen and Harris-Huerta — and their parents before the game.
Maroons pick up a pair of wins
Butte Central does not have postseason hopes. The Maroons, though, closed their season with a pair of victories.
Central rolled to a 16-1 win over Townsend Thursday at 3 Legends Stadium. A day later, they went to Belgrade to beat Lone Peak 5-3. The Maroons close the season at 6-10 and winners of three of their last five games.
The Maroons used 11 hits to roll past Townsend in the rout. That included four extra-base hits — triples by Kelton Berger and Kelton Keene, and doubles by Connor Kachmarik and Marcus Ballan.
Jean went 3 for 3, while Trapper Stajcar, Beau McGree, Hugh O’Brien, Jack Nagle and Coy Campbell to give starter Gunnar “Goo” O’Brien more than enough support. Goo pitched the distance in the game. That was called by the run rule after four innings. He fanned four and scattered four hits.
At the dish, O’Brien worked four walks and scored three runs.
The Maroons rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth inning to overtake the Bighorns in Belgrade.
BC did its damage on just four hits, two of which came off the bat of O’Brien. Kean and Aiden Ossello also singled for the Maroons. McGree, O’Brien and Kean drove in runs.
Berger pitched the distance, giving up two earned runs in the win. He struck out two, scattered eight hits and worked around three walks.
BC coach Richie O’Brien credited the play of McGree at catcher for keeping the many Lone Peak base runners from scoring.
Tennis teams head to divisionals
Butte High and Butte Central’s tennis teams will head to postseason play this week.
The Bulldogs head to Missoula for their divisional, which will run Thursday and Friday. The Maroons will be in East Helena for the Central A Divisional.
Central played at the Fergus Invitational Friday in Lewistown. Results from that tournament have not been provided.
Butte High, meanwhile, took on Helena High and Helena Capital Saturday at Stodden Park.
On the boys’ side, the Bulldogs fell 7-1 to Helena High and 8-0 to Capital. Tashi Hanley won in straight sets against Helena for the lone Butte High boys’ win against the Bengals.
Helena’s girls beat Butte High 7-1. The Bulldogs fell 5-3 to Capital.
Against the Bruins, Murphy Sullivan won in straight sets at No. 3 singles for the Bulldogs. Teammate Allissa Pennock won by forfeit.
Ayva Gerry and Reena Hubber teamed for a straight sets win at No. 3 doubles.
Chloe Jewell and Sienna Bradley picked up a huge No. 1 doubles win against Helena High. That victory came in straight sets.
Butte High coach Shawndee Gratton said that Jewell and Bradley will be the No. 4 seed in doubles at the divisional tournament. He said Sullivan will be No. 4 in singles.
On the boys’ side, Gratton said Matthew Weldon and Josh Shrader will play with the non-seeded players.
“It should be a good showing at divisionals,” Gratton said.
Sam wins three at Last Chance
Butte High senior Sam Henderson won three events Friday as the Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season at Belgrade’s Last Chance Qualifier meet. (Results)
The meet was the last before the Bulldogs host the Western AA Divisional meet Friday and Saturday at the Charlie Merrifield Track inside the Gene Fogarty Complex.
His victories in the 110-meter hurdles, high jump and long jump led the Bulldog boys to first place in the four-team meet with 61 points. Gallatin finished second with 49 points, while Bozeman followed with 43.5 and Belgrade scored 27.5.
Gallatin won the girls’ title with 50 points. Bozeman was second at 47, followed by Belgrade at and Butte High with 36.
In all, six Bulldogs claimed individual titles. Camden Houchin, Cohen Andrews, Sophia Houchin, Brityn Stewart and Peyton Trabert also brought home first-place finishes.
Henderson surpassed qualifying standards in all three events. Of course, the future Montana Grizzly already blew past those weeks ago.
He ran the 110 hurdles in 15.0 seconds, cleared 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump and leapt 47-0 in the triple jump.
Camden Houchin, a junior, won the 3,200-meter race with a personal record of 9:56.08. That eclipsed the qualifying standard, which he had already beat.
Andrews, a junior, qualified for state with a leap of 21-1 ¼ in the long jump. That is a personal record. Teammate Tocher Lee placed second at 20-10 ¼.
Junior Ryan Hanson jumped to second in the high jump, clearing 6-2, and third in the long jump, with a mark of 20-8.
Senior Sam Sampson took second in the 100, senior Dylan “Bobby” Bache placed second the 400 with a personal record, junior Jacob Galle took second in the 110 hurdles, and senior Braydon Pierce placed second in the javelin.
The Bulldogs got third-place showings by Preston Jensen (200), Jaeger Hansen (javelin), and Mason Leber (pole vault), a fourth-place showing from Miner Lee (200), and fifth-place performances from Bradey Doyle (400), Karson Pumnea (javelin) and Ryan Popovich (high jump).
Butte High’s boys won the 400-meter relay and placed second in the 1,600 relay.
Sophia Houchin, an eighth grader, won the 800-meter race with a personal record of 229.75.
Stewart won the javelin with a mark of 126-3, and Trabert cleared 9 feet to win the pole vault.
Freshman Penelope Luebke took second in the 300 hurdles with a personal record of 55.29, and sophomore Cadence Graham finished third in the 400 and fourth in the 100 hurdles. She posted PRs in both events.
Senior Dylan Bartoletti took third in the 100 and sixth in the 200.
Butte High got fourth-place performances from Saege Grey (100), Milee Stillwagon (1,600), Mylee Demarais (shot put) and Emma Johnson (discus).
Butte High’s 1,600-meter relay team ran to second place.
Maroons win relay in Livingston
A victory in the 400-meter relay by the Butte Central boys highlighted the regular-season finale for the Maroons Saturday at the Joe Tacke Invitational in Livingston. (Results)
Justus McGee, Keefer McGree, Patrick Stimatz and Danny McCarthy teamed to run the short relay in 45.03 seconds for the win. McGee, McGree and Stimatz are seniors, while McCarthy is a sophomore.
McGee also posted three top-four individual performances. He jumped 19-4 ½ to take second in the long jump. He also took fourth in the high jump and 100-meter dash.
McGree placed third in the 300 hurdles.
Michael Peck placed third in the shot put and seventh in the discus, posting a personal-best mark in each event, while Parker Kellicut took fourth in the 110 hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles.
On the girls’ side, Caden Tippett placed fourth in the shot and sixth in the discus to lead the Maroons. She hit PRs in both events.
The Maroons will head to Polson for the Western A Divisional meet Friday and Saturday.
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The great Hudson Willse always got us with that one last question
If you are old enough, you remember those phone call bits by legendary comedian Bob Newhart.
Newhart would sit on stage and pretend to be on the phone. The audience could only hear him talking, but it would get a sense of the entire crazy conversation as Newhart just kept taking the silliness to the next level.
It was one of the best bits a comedian has ever produced.
Well, that is the best way to describe one Friday or Saturday night in the early 2000s for the sports staff at The Montana Standard, but it was no routine. It was a genuine Hudson Willse moment.
Montana Tech played basketball at Westminster College in Salt Lake City that night. This was back when the schools used to fax the stat sheet to newspapers. We would get them off the fax machine and then type up a box score and story based on the stats.
We had the stats for the women’s game, but it was almost midnight, and we did not have the men’s game. It was getting dangerously close to deadline, and we did not want to get chewed out by our bosses the next Monday over a late press start.
So, Hud, the retired sports editor who came out of retirement to work part time on the sports desk, grabbed our booklet that gave us the phone numbers of sports information directors around the country. He found the Westminster College SID and dialed his home number.
The problem was that Hud called the wrong Westminster College. Instead of Salt Lake, he got the SID from the school in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, where it was minutes before 2 a.m.
We learned of Hud’s mistake as we listened to one side of the phone call.
“Oh, you’re from the Westminster in Pennsylvania?”
“Did I wake you up?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
We were all trying to hold back our laughter so when could hear the entire conversation. Then, Hud made us all lose it with his one last question.
“So, how’d you guys do tonight?”
I am pretty sure we missed deadline that night, and I do not remember if we got the story of the Tech game in the next morning’s paper. I do know that all our stomachs were hurting from laughing so hard.
Bruce Sayler, the sports editor, had to take off his glasses because tears were streaming down his face. Those tears flowed for about an hour.
That is the story I thought of when I heard that Hud, a true Mining City Legend, passed away on Saturday. He was 90.
Hud did not ask that last question to try to cover for his gaff of calling the wrong school. No, he genuinely wanted to know if the Westminster College team in Pennsylvania won or lost that night.
He wanted to know which team won every game. He would have covered them all by himself if it were physically possible.
In the sports department of the Standard newsroom, we used to have a dry erase board hanging on the wall. On busy nights, Bruce would write down all the games that we had to cover.
Some were games that we went to, while others were games that we would get from phone calls or faxes. When one of the writers got back from covering a game, he or she would write the score on the board.
Hud would always peek as we wrote the scores.
“Looks like you had a good game,” he would say. Then he would hit us with the questions. He wanted to know everything, and no detail was too small.
That was something that Hud did during his 27 years working as the sports editor of the Standard. Like Lt. Frank Columbo, he kept asking one last question, and that was what made his column, Hudson’s Bay, the stuff of legends.
Hud was a trendsetter in the newspaper business. He set the standard for sports coverage that papers around the state tried to copy. It was a standard that Bruce carried on and instilled in all of us who were lucky enough to work with him.
Whether you were a star on the Butte High football team or the No. 5 player on the Butte Central golf team, Hud made sure your sport was covered. He made us all feel like a big deal.
That is why, in 1997, Hud was enshrined in the Butte Sports Hall of Fame with many of the Butte legends he helped make famous.
What really made Hud stand out, though, was Hudson’s Bay. It was the first thing I would turn to when I got my hands on the sports page in the morning. While I am not sure I ever learned the difference between a “tidbit” and a “this and that,” I always read every word that Hud wrote.
In a column that would appear several days a week, Hud took us behind the scenes of the games. Each column was an informative piece jammed with interesting facts, connections and side stories.
He got those priceless nuggets by always asking that extra question.
While I was never interesting enough to make his column by name, I did make it one time.
Hud, who referred to me as a “Butte Central transfer” in a story about the first golf tournament I played for Butte High, typed my name many times. He made sure every score my teammates and I shot in high school was reported on.
But I made Hudson’s Bay in a failed attempt to prank Butte High golf coach Ed Yeo.
I was a junior in the spring of 1992, and my fellow Butte High golfers snickered in the background as I called the Standard sports desk to report a ridiculous hole in one by Yeo. Hud answered, and I told him I was the pro at the Butte Country Club.
We had it planned for weeks, and I was the one who had to call because Jack Crowley had me call in a few real holes in one from the Highland View Golf Course over the years. So, I knew the drill.
I told Hud that Yeo used a 4-wood to hit his first ace on the 114-yard No. 14 at the Club. That was my favorite part because a 4-wood was too much club for my grandma on that hole.
Hud kept asking questions. He asked me about the course. He asked what it was like to deal with some of the fickle members of the club. Every time thought I was going to get to hang up and laugh with my friends, Hud would ask another question.
Our mistake was making the call the night before Butte High hosted a tournament at the Country Club. After I finally got off the phone with Hud, he called Yeo only to learn that he did not hit that hole in one.
At least that is what I thought our mistake was.
A few weeks went by before Yeo’s fake hole in one finally made the paper. In Hud’s column.
“The imposter, passing himself off as club pro Bryan Morgan, announced the witnesses as Bill Osborne, Larry Ferguson and Bob Crippen,” Hud wrote about the fake hole in one. “Yeo said it wasn’t true, and that he already had an ace under his belt anyway.”
I read that in the paper early in the morning before our bus left to Bozeman for the state tournament that May 14, and I thought I was playing it coy when I boarded. Yeo was sitting in the front, holding the paper wide in both hands. I tried not to make eye contact with him as I walked past.
The bus was making its way up the hill to Homestake Pass before Yeo eventually spoke up.
“Hey Foley,” Yeo yelled, not looking at me or even taking his eyes off the paper. “The same guy who called you the ‘Butte Central transfer’ is now calling you an imposter.”
Yeo never told me how he knew I made that call, and I really thought that I had Hud fooled.
Looking back, I think I Hud got the final laugh in this one. He must have figured me out with that one last question.
— Bill Foley, who is easy to figure out, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74 or Bluesky at @foles74.bsky.social. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
