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Podcast No. 169: Russ Hansen
They call him “Big Daddy,” and pretty much everybody around Montana knows who they are talking about.
For a half a century, Russ Hansen has been running up and a down high school and college basketball courts, officiating the games. He has also been in the ring officiating boxing, mixed martial arts, bare-knuckle fights and any other kind of sanctioned fighting.
Before that, the Vietnam veteran grew up in the Mining City. He was a self-described “hood” who learned how to fight on the mean streets of Butte.
Hansen was the son of a miner who moved to Deer Lodge during the strike of 1959, and Russ excelled as an athlete at Powell County High School.
After two years in the Army, Hansen worked at the Job Corps, where he trained fighters and got his first experience refereeing basketball. Eventually, he went to barber school and moved to Missoula, where he still cuts hair today, even though he is in his late 70s.
Hansen is retiring as a high school basketball referee. His first high school game was on Dec. 12, 1974 — a date he has good reason to remember — and his last one will be this Saturday. Hansen is refereeing his final tournament this weekend in Deer Lodge.
Then, he will head to the fights Saturday night in Anaconda to referee in the ring. He has no plans of stopping that anytime soon.
Yesterday, I braved the horrible roads to meet with Hansen at the 6B District tournament, where he is officiating the girls’ action. We sat down in a table outside the gym for a fun conversation.
Listen in to this podcast as Hansen talks about growing up in Butte and moving to Deer Lodge. Listen as he talks about some of the games and athletes he has officiated in the ring and on the court.
Listen in as he talks about meeting his wife and how going to Vietnam ended up being a good thing for him. Listen to hear how he got the great nickname, ‘Big Daddy.”
Today’s podcast is brought to you by Casagranda’s Steakhouse. Eat where the locals eat.
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Nobody does it better than Bruce
A handful of members of the Butte Sports Hall of Fame 2024 induction class took to the podium to talk about their recent election into the Mining City shrine.
Family members of some of those who will be inducted posthumously also spoke during the press conference at the Butte Civic Center.
Steve Schulte gave the longest speech, while Betty Merrifield gave the shortest. Betty just said she was honored, and she said thank you.
Matt Buckley was the funniest speaker, and Bruce Sayler was the quietest. We knew going in that both of those would be true.
In his quiet comments, Bruce said that he was going into the Hall of Fame simply for watching sports. He said he was just a lucky guy who never had to work for a living.
We know both of those are not really true. But I believe wholeheartedly that Bruce truly feels that way. You just cannot fake the kind of humility Bruce demonstrates every single day.
For more than half a century, Bruce was the first draft of history when it came to local sports and local sports heroes. Since 1978, he has written about athletes from Butte.
Bruce was never just “watching sports,” like he says. He wasn’t just documenting it, either.
Through the years, Bruce has always had a special way to eloquently capture the action at the games and describe it in a fashion that burned it into our minds.
He somehow made the biggest games feel even bigger. He turned superstars like Meg Haran, Don Douglas, Brian Morris, Josh Paffhausen and so many more into legends.
Here is how Bruce opened his story about Morris leading Butte Central to a win in Deer Lodge in the Sept. 19, 1981 edition of the Standard:
“Churn, churn. Smack. Grind, Grind. Smack. Crash. Thump.
“That’s Morris Code.
“And, it signaled a 16-14 Western A high school football victory for the Butte Central Maroons over the Deer Lodge Wardens Friday night at Ted Rule Field.”
The poetic brilliance of that opening is only topped by the image of Bruce writing it, clanking away on an old typewriter in the smoky newsroom of the Standard, with a cigarette dangling from his lips.
Years later, coaches told young players about how Morris, who went on to play at Stanford University, always kept his “legs churning.” Bruce’s description of Morris cement that legacy of the great runner.
Like the running, the writing was pure art.
Bruce did not create Morris, but he certainly elevated his lore in a town full of sports heroes.
Here’s one more sentence about Morris in that same story:
“Brian Morris, a 6-5, 201-pound senior tailback, carried the Maroons to Friday night’s win and also packed quite a few Deer Lodge defenders while gaining 189 yards in 30 carries.”
I dream of writing a sentence like that. Bruce has been doing it over and over his entire professional life, which is in its 51st school year covering high school and college sports.
Bruce, who will turn 72 before the Butte Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024 is inducted in July, could have retired years ago. He still writes for ButteSports.com because he loves what he does.
Maybe that is why he says he never worked a day in his life.
I grew up reading Bruce — along with Hudson Willse and Jim Edgar — in the newspaper. I call that the “golden age of sports writing” in the Mining City, and it was. For years, we had three of the best sportswriters around covering our teams.
Bruce could have easily moved up and taken his game to a major newspaper. The only reason he didn’t was that he met a girl and fell in love. He also fell in love with his adopted hometown.
Sports fans in Southwest Montana are lucky on both accounts.
As far as not working goes, well, that is certainly not the case with Bruce.
I was with him at the Standard for 14 years, and I knew exactly what Bruce did to make sure that we got every game in the paper every night. That included all of the boys and all of the girls.
Bruce was a true pioneer when it came to making sure girls got equal coverage.
Getting the scores and boxscores in the paper each night was no easy task. We had to take calls over the phone, and we had to read horrible copies off the fax machine, too.
Bruce made sure we were persistent and correct. He demanded excellence in his sports section, and he got it. It seemed like organized chaos on many nights, but Bruce was there to make sure it all came together in the end.
For a large portion of his career, Bruce’s days off were Tuesday and Wednesday. Those are far from ideal days off for a family man.
But he knew that when you are a sportswriter, you miss weddings, birthday, anniversaries and so many other great occasions with family and friends. Bruce never complained about what he was missing out on, though.
Unless it was the shortsighted corporation that owned the paper making cutbacks that directly affected the sports page, Bruce rarely complained about anything.
Rather, he sees the best in every situation and every person.
For whatever reason, Bruce always saw the best in me, too. I cannot count the number of times he was in the publisher’s office defending Matt Vincent and me when people were offended by what we wrote in our “Rat Chat” column.
Bruce inspired me to become a sportswriter when I was in high school. Then he worked harder than anyone to make sure I kept that job.
No other sports editor in the world would have signed off on “Rat Chat.” But Bruce let us be ourselves, and I think the readers had fun because of that.
Vinny and I jokingly referred to Bruce as the “Big Boss.” It is something that we stole from the old television show “News Radio.”
Of course, we were being a bit ironic. While Bruce was clearly in charge, he never felt like a boss. He was always so much more of a mentor and a friend.
To work with Bruce was to love Bruce. Everybody who ever worked with him will tell you that.
In December of 2002, Bruce suffered a heart attack — which was likely brought on by the stress from his job. He went into work late on a Monday night, which was supposed to be his night off, to do some scheduling work.
On his way home, the heart attack hit, and Bruce crashed his truck into a pole on the corner of Park and Wyoming streets, smashing his legs and breaking many other bones, including multiple ribs.
Bruce could have easily gone on disability and never worked gain. But he was loyal to the company, coworkers and readers. Plus, he loved that job.
So, Bruce battled his way back to his seat in the newsroom — this time without the cigarette.
A dozen years after he left the paper, Bruce is showing no signs that he is ready to stop. If he isn’t writing about a local game, you can usually find him there watching.
In July, Bruce will be inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame. He will officially join the sports immortals he helped immortalize.
Bruce will tell you that he doesn’t know why he was picked for his plaque to join the prestigious wall at the Butte Civic Center.
But we all know why.
We know that nobody does it better than that quiet man we call the Big Boss.
— Bill Foley, who owes his entire career to the quiet Bruce Sayler, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Podcast No. 168: Pat Foley
On St. Patrick’s Day in 1984, Butte High’s boys’ basketball team beat Great Falls High 53-50 to capture the Class AA State championship.
It was Butte High’s first title since 1958.
The head coach of the Bulldogs that night, and for the next decade, was Pat Foley.
The win in the championship game came three months after Foley’s Bulldogs edged Butte Central in an overtime thriller at the Butte Civic Center. The Maroons won the Class A crown a week earlier in Butte.
Five years later, Foley’s Bulldogs entered the championship game with a 21-0 record. This time, Butte High fell to Kalispell in the title tilt in Billings. The score was the same as in 1984, 53-50.
Coach Foley will get to be a part of two reunions this year. The 1984 team will be in town to celebrate the 40thanniversary of their victory. They will appear in the St. Paddy’s Day Parade.
Then, the 1988-89 Bulldogs will be inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame this July 19-20.
Coach Foley led the Bulldog boys for 12 years, compiling a 161-109 record. Only the great Swede Dahlberg has won more games at Butte High School. Before that, Coach Foley led the Butte High girls’ team. His Bulldogs placed third at State in 1981.
Listen in as Coach Foley talks about coaching the Bulldogs and Maroons. Listen in as he talks about his playing days at Butte Central and how Tom O’Neill saved his life.
Listen to how he got into coaching and how happy he is to see longtime assistant coach and friend Dan Lean join the Hall of Fame with his 1989 Bulldogs this summer.
Listen to how he tries to kill the chances of me ever landing a sponsorship from McDonalds. Listen to hear how a guy who says he doesn’t like to talk can talk with the best of them.
Today’s podcast is presented by Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warrantee.
Watch the 1984 Class AA State championship game below. It starts with the final minutes of the third-place game.
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Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week: Maverick McEwen and Mattie Stepan
Butte High wrestlers Maverick McEwen and Mattie Stepan are this week’s Leskovar Honda Athletes of the Week.
The honors come after the Bulldogs competed in State wrestling meets over the weekend in Billings.
McEwen, a senior, capped his remarkable prep career with a Class AA State championship at 160 pounds. After pinning his first two opponents, McEwen beat Timmy Rodriguez of Billings Senior 5-0 in the semifinals. He then topped Dylan Block of Great Falls High in a 5-4 title match thriller.
McEwen, who finished the season with a 39-2 record, also won a Washington State title a year ago. He registered 31 pins on the season.
Stepan, a sophomore, takes home the girls’ honor after a strong run at 152 pounds. Stepan picked up a pair of pins to advance the semifinals, where she fell to eventual champion Hailey Sutton of Florence.
Stepan ended up placing sixth and earning All-State honors in the weight class. She finished the season with a 23-13 record. That includes 19 pins.
For the second year, Leskovar Honda, home of the 20-year, 200,000-mile warranty, is teaming up with the ButteCast to honor the finest 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.
Photos courtesy Alycia Holland Photography.
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KC basketball schedule
Following is the list of first-round games for the Knights of Columbus Athletic Club’s winter season-ending tournament. The tournament bracket will be posted at the gym.
Monday
7 p.m. — Parish vs. Gremlins
8 p.m. — Pulaski Electric vs. Alley OopsiesTuesday
7 p.m. — Hoopin’ Heathens vs. City Bois
8 p.m. — Washington Generals vs. JellyfamWednesday
7 p.m. — Poi Time vs. winner Tuesday 7
8 p.m. — Baer vs. winner Monday 8Thursday
7 p.m. — ButteSports vs. winner Monday 7
8 p.m. — Cook vs. winner Tuesday 8
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Podcast No. 167: Betty Merrifield
When it comes to being humble, nobody takes a back seat to Betty Merrifield.
When the selection committee called to tell her she was elected into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame last week, Betty didn’t know why.
Betty was elected to the Hall of Fame as a contributor, and no word can better describe Betty. She contributes so the athletes can compete. Whether it has been at speedskating meets, cross country races, road races or track meets, Betty is there to lend a hand.
She says she is just one of many volunteers, but we know better. She is the one who is always there. She has been for decades. It’s just what she does.
In July, Betty will become the third Merrifield inducted into the Butte shrine. She will join her daughter, Liza Dennehy, and her late husband, Charlie. She will also join her brother, the late Jack Whelan, as a Hall of Famer.
All this comes even though girls had no organized sports when Betty was growing up near Clark Park in Butte.
That, though, did not stop Betty’s love for sports. She is at almost every Butte sporting event, including watching her four children and seven grandchildren compete.
Betty also likely announced your name or the name of your children and grandchildren, nieces or nephews while they competed in track meets. Like her husband, Betty is a Butte institution. It is hard to imagine this place without her.
Today’s podcast is presented by Thriftway Super Stops. Sign up for the TLC app and start saving today. Everybody deserves some TLC.
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Behind the Bench: Butte Irish Head Coach, Marc Brodeur
By Merrick Parnell
Marc Brodeur is the “Bench Boss” for the Butte Irish (formally the Butte Cobras) in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). He has been the head coach of the Frontier Division team since the second half of the 2022-2023 season. His journey behind the Butte bench has been filled with a lifetime of experiences around the game.
His Journey Through Hockey Started as a Young Boy in Quebec
Growing up in Quebec, Canada, Brodeur started skating young. He describes hockey as being like a religion in the province. However, there were some challenges.
“I was born to an American Mom and was raised English, so there was a lot of politics involved, and I was held back because I wasn’t a ‘true Frenchman,” he said.
At about two years old, he recalls first learning to skate in his sister’s figure skates. About a year later, at three and a half years old, Brodeur was on his first team.
The Beginning of His Hockey Career
He played minor youth hockey in Chateauguay, Quebec, until he was 18 and then played for his High School, Howard S Billings. After Billings, he played for two seasons in the Quebec Cegep AAA league for Champlain College in Lennoxville, QC. His career kept progressing, and the following season, he got a shot to play for the Vernon Lakers of the BCJHL (Now BCHL). About halfway through the season, Brodeur changed to the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL), where he played With Massena Americans in New York.
After his Junior Hockey career, he returned to finish his education at Champlain College, where he played hockey. Brodeur’s play helped earn him the attention of the Chatham Wheels of the now defunct, minor-professional Colonial Hockey League (CoHL) before moving on to play for the Lakeland Ice Warriors in Flordia—members of the minor-pro Sunshine Hockey League.
After a bad experience playing in Lakeland, Brodeur left hockey and moved back to Quebec. However, he would only stay off the ice briefly as he re-discovered his passion for playing with the St. Lin Gladiators. St. Lin played in the Semi-Professionelle du Quebec League during the early phases of becoming the infamous minor-pro Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey or LNAH. The LNAH is regarded as the world’s toughest hockey league. The LNAH has seen years with as many as 3.2 fights a game compared to the 0.6 fights in the National Hockey League. Vice Sports has done a documentary on the league, which can be viewed here.
“I had a great time playing in that league. The club paid me $125 cash per game. It was a pretty tough league. “I didn’t fight too many times because each team had their enforcers that did most of that,” he said. “Because I was a goal scorer and wore the old Jofa helmet that Wayne Gretzky used for his career, the team made me wear number 99. It was fun but embarrassing. I got Gretzky chants everywhere we traveled,” he recalls fondly.
After two seasons for St. Lin, he got a shot to move to Georgia and play for the Life University Skating Eagles in the American Collegiate Hockey Association second division, where he would win a National Championship in 1999.
The Start of a Coaching Career
He transitioned from player to coach in early 2000/ as the Head Hockey Manager for a travel roller hockey club out of Beaverton, Oregon, for a three-year stint. He then took a hiatus and returned three years ago to coaching in Sherwood, Oregon.
A Shot at Coaching Jr Hockey
Then, last year, he got a shot at coaching in the NA3HL with Butte.
“I love living and coaching in Butte. It has been a dream job. We have been working hard to get the team on a positive track to success. Our facilities are tough, but it can only get better.” He said.
Regarding future coaching plans, he wants to help the Butte club reach its full potential. “I am living the dream and love coaching in the NA3HL. Eventually, I would like to climb the coaching ladder, but only once the work in Butte is done! I am very loyal, and Bill Lavelle [Butte’s Owner] took a chance on me, and I appreciate that to no end!”
For more info on the Butte’s NA3HL team, visit their website: butteirish.com.
This article was written by Merrick Parnell for the Norpac Sports Network. For more local hockey content, check out their website: norpacsn.com
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Hall of Fame calls 13 individuals, seven teams for Class of 2024
The Butte Sports Hall of Fame will grow by 13 individuals and seven teams during the induction ceremony this summer.
Individuals set for induction are Steve “Coachie” Schulte, Ron Richards, Matt Buckley, Martha (Apostel) Lonner, Wanda Jean (Matteson) Olson, Linda Lyons-Paull, Dan Lean, Erin Popovich, Kyle Smith, Don Tamietti, Bruce Sayler, Betty Merrifield and John Rickman.
Teams going in will be the 1983, 1984 and 1985 Montana Tech men’s basketball teams, the 1989 Butte High boys’ basketball team, the 1991-92 Butte High wrestling team, the 1996 Butte High softball team and the 1999 Butte Central softball team.
The Green Jacket Ceremony will be held July 19, and the induction banquet will be July 20. Both events will be held at the Butte Civic Center.
Rickman, Merrifield and Sayler were voted in by the members of the Hall of Fame. The rest were selected by the 12-person selection committee. Committee members are Dave Dunmire, Jim Street, Anna Keltner, Mike Hogart, Jason Alexander, Phil Madrazo, Michele Shea, Gina Evans, Cathy Tutty, Ray Jay Johnson, Matt Vincent Krystin (Mengon) Lee
Following is information on each individual and team from the Butte Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
Steve Schulte
Steve “Coachie” Schulte was an outstanding running back and basketball player at Butte Central. His 2,683 career rushing yards from 1976-78 still stands as the best in BC history. He ran for 368 yards against Livingston in 1976, and that record stood for 21 years.
Schulte averaged 6.7 yards per carry in his BC career. He scored 31 touchdowns and racked up 2,762 total yards. He was named All-State in 1976 (when he ran for 1,008 yards) and 1978 (1,018 yards). He played in the 1979 Montana East-West Shrine Game.
Schulte played basketball for the Maroons, too. He was a member of BC’s 1978 state championship team.
Schulte has also left his mark as a coach. After turning around a nearly defunct program in Browning, where he earned his nickname, Schulte returned to Butte to assist on the 1996 Montana Tech football team. The Orediggers played in the national championship game that year. Schulte then served as head coach of the Butte High football team from 1997 through 2001. Schulte was also an assistant coach on Butte High’s 2011 State championship softball team and the 2012 State championship football team.
Ron Richards
Ron Richards was a standout as a player and a coach. He was the anchor of the offensive and defensive lines for two State championship teams at Butte High — in 1967 and 1968. He was voted first-team All-State following each season. He was a unanimous All-State pick on both sides of the ball in 1968. Richards was a captain for the Bulldogs and played in the 1969 Montana East-West Shrine Game. In 1999, Pat Kearney named Richards to Butte High’s All-Century Football Team.
Richards went on to become an All-Big Sky Conference player at the University of Montana, playing guard and tackle for the Grizzlies. In 1972, Richards was awarded team MVP honors as well as UM’s Paul Westcamp Award as the outstanding lineman.
Coach Richards began coaching as an assistant with the Grizzlies in 1973. The next year he started coaching at Butte High, where he stayed until moving to Montana Tech in 1985. Coach Richards served as offensive coordinator at Butte High and Tech. He was part of state championships at Butte High in 1977 and 1981. At Montana Tech, his offenses routinely led the Frontier Conference in rushing. He served a stint as head coach at South Dakota Tech and as offensive coordinator at the University of Montana.
Matt Buckley
He was a standout football player at Butte Central and Carroll College in the 1970s. Buckley was a member of three State championship football teams at Butte Central from 1971-73. Buckley played both was as a running back and linebacker on the 1973 state title team.
Following the 1973 season, Buckley was picked first-team all-conference as a linebacker. There was no Class A All-State team picked that year. Buckley played in the 1974 Shrine Game before playing at Carroll College, where he played both ways. In his senior year in 1977, he was picked first team All-American on both offense and defense. Buckley was the first Saints’ player to accomplish that feat.
Buckley, an accomplished rodeo cowboy, was also a dominant boxer career at Carroll College.
Martha (Apostel) Lonner
Martha was an outstanding skier for Butte High School in the early 1960s. It was acclaimed by one of her coaches that the Butte High ski team had a prodigy among them with Martha, as she demonstrated exceptional talent and skill on the mountain. She was the first female athlete awarded a varsity letter for skiing or any other varsity sport for girls at Butte High School four years in row, making her a pioneer for women to join the ranks of varsity athletes.
She was on three straight State championship teams in 1960, 1961 and 1962 and was often the winner in most of the ski meets before the annual state championship meet. She was the leading scorer for girls at the 1962 and 1963 annual state high school finals. During her senior year in 1963, Martha went through the season undefeated in the slalom, giant slalom and downhill. Lonner was awarded the Butte Athletic Council’s outstanding skier award twice. She was selected as a member of the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association (NRMSA) Team and successfully competed in the annual Junior National Ski Championships throughout the United States four years in a row.
Wanda Jean (Matteson) Olson
Wanda Jean (Matteson) Olson was an outstanding runner at Butte High and Flathead Valley Community College. In 1977, she won three national titles in one day at the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association. Her effort led the Mountainettes to the team championship.
Wanda won the 440-yard dash before anchoring championship runs in the 880-yard medley relay and mile relay.
Before that, Matteson was Butte High’s middle distance juggernaut of the Western AA division. Wanda won the Western AA divisional in the 440 three times during her career as a Bulldog, 1975. She finished second at the State AA meet as a senior and fourth as a junior and was awarded Butte High’s prestigious Bill Hawke Award both years as the school’s top girls track athlete.
Matteson passed away at her home surrounded by her loved ones in Roundup on October 9, 2022, after a long battle with Multiple System Atrophy and a short battle with cancer. Wanda will be remembered as one of the greatest girls’ middle-distance runners in Butte history.
Linda Lyons-Paull
Linda Lyons-Paull was a standout in girls’ basketball, gymnastics and track for Butte High in the 1970s. She played on the first two girls’ basketball teams at Butte High in 1974 and 1975. She was a three-year letter winner in gymnastics for the Bulldogs, her best sport. She also earned three letters in track for the Bulldogs.
Paull earned seven varsity letters at Butte High. She took her talents to Montana State, where she competed four years in gymnastics for the Bobcats. Following her playing career, Paull began coaching girls’ track and gymnastics at Helena High in 1980. Her 1988 Bengals gymnastics team won the state title, the only one in school history. Her 2000 girls’ track team won the state championship, the only one in school history.
Dan Lean
Dan was a long-time coach at Butte High School. He was an assistant football coach for the Bulldogs from 1974 through 1993. He was part of Butte High Class AA State championships in 1977, 1981 and 1991. Lean was on the Bulldog staff when the Bulldogs finished State runners up in 1975, 1975, 1986 and 1987.
Dan was an assistant basketball coach for the Bulldogs from 1976 through 1994, when he took as head coach for three seasons. He was on the bench as Butte High won the Class AA State basketball championship on St. Patrick’s Day in 1984. He was an assistant on the runner-up teams of 1989 and 1990.
Dan assisted with track at Butte High and helped coordinate and run the Butte track meets for many years. Dan was part of a small group involved in the development of the Butte Softball Association in 1968 and assisted that group as they fostered the success of organized softball in Butte.
Dan also served as a referee as a member of the Montana High School Association from 1967 through 1977.
Erin Popovich
Erin Popovich, a 2003 Butte Central graduate, was a world-class swimmer who is a member of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame. Popovich is a three-time Paralympian and 19-time Paralympic medalist. That includes 14 gold medals.
Popovich attended Colorado State University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree and competed competitively against able-body athletes on the Rams swim team.
The Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000 is where Popovich’s career really took off. She won three gold medals and three silver medals. She set four world records in her first trip to the games. Four years later, Popovich won seven gold medals in seven races in Athens. That included three world records and four Paralympic Games records.
Popovich is a two-time winner of the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability. She was also named the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year in 2005.
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith was a three-time state champion wrestler at Butte High and a two-time NCAA All-American. The1998 graduate’s dominating career helped the Bulldogs win two state titles in the 1990s. In four years for the Bulldogs, Smith compiled an incredible 148-8 record for a Butte High team that also placed third at state in 1996 and second in 1998.
After going 33-4 and placing second at state at 145 pounds as a freshman, Smith went 36-1 and won the state title at 152 pounds. He won the 171-pound title with a 37-1 mark as a junior. The next year, he won the 189-pound title with a 42-2 mark.
Smith went on to a stellar career at the University of Michigan. In 2002 and 2003 he qualified for the NCAA Tournament, placing seventh at 197 pounds both times. He was named All-American both of those seasons.
In football, Smith was a two-year starter for Butte High at linebacker. Following his senior season, Smith was named first-team All-State.
Don Tamietti
Tamietti was a youth sports contributing legend in the Mining City. During his lifetime, Tamietti’s passion for sports and his contributions are many. From skiing to rodeos to speedskating and finally wrestling, he gave his all. He organized many events on his own to include bringing the district High School Rodeo to Butte in 1975 and 1976.
Wrestling was his greatest joy and his passion. Having started out coaching his grandchildren, he soon expanded to many more individuals. He spent countless hours training and mentoring many young men who went on to become high school champions.
As a proud member of the Butte Wrestling Club, Tamietti worked to organize and run many tournaments and matches at the Civic Center and other venues. The Joe McCarthy tournament, the NAIA tournament, and the Mining City Duals are just a few that my Tamietti organized or helped organize. The Cyclops Memorial Tournament was named in his honor.
During his years in the Butte Wrestling Club, Tamietti did everything from going out to recruit sponsors for programs to selling 50/50 tickets to coaching the wrestlers. Tamietti would often travel out of town to events, usually taking wrestlers with him. He took teams to Fresno, California and Waterloo, Iowa for tournaments.
Bruce Sayler
Bruce Sayler was a longtime sports writer for The Montana Standard newspaper. Sayler was hired at the local paper in 1978 and stayed at the Butte establishment until 2012. He served as sports editor for the final decade and a half of his run at the Standard, and he was a leader in making sure the paper covered every sport — including the girls. He was a pioneer in this regard.In 2012, Sayler started working for ButteSports.com, where his career continues into his 70s. He is currently in the middle of his 51st school year covering high school and college sports, and he has been a voter for the Heisman Trophy for nearly a quarter of a century.
Betty Merrifield
Betty was a teacher and administrator in the Butte School District for over thirty-six years with her last twelve years spent as Principal at West Elementary, before retiring in 2002. However, Betty’s involvement with kids and athletics has continued even after retirement. She is a true contributor as her involvement in sports through the years has been and continues to be entirely voluntary.
Betty was instrumental in starting the Butte Track Club in the late 1960’s, and she continues to serve today as club president. Shew was the organizer and meet director of AAU & USATF Junior Olympic Montana State Association Championships, when hosted in Butte several times, and she has been the longtime meet director for the Butte Grade School Track meet. She has been the scorer, announcer and officials’ coordinator for Butte High track meets since the late 1960s.
Betty has also worked to put on road races in Butte and been a timer for Butte High and Butte Central cross country meets and speedskating meets. She was the chief of protocol for many world and national speedskating meets in Butte.
John Rickman
He was a standout basketball player for Butte Central in the late 1950s. Rickman was a starter for the Maroons in 1958 and 1959. He led the Class AA in scoring during the 1959 regular season. He averaged 19.0 a game during the season scoring 458 points. John had 140 field goals and 177 free throws. The free throw mark set a new school record which still stands today. Rickman scored in double figures in 23 of the 24 games he played in during the year. He tallied 20 or more points in 10 games and 15 or more points in 18 of 24 contests. During the 1959 state tournament in Butte, Rickman led the Maroons to an 80-64 opening game win over Kalispell. John pumped in 37 points in the victory. At the time that set the school record for points in a game. The next night he had 28 points in a 70-58 semifinal loss to eventual state champion Butte High. He tallied 78 points in three tournament games. Rickman was named to the All-Tournament and All-State team. He went on to play basketball at Gonzaga. In 1999, John was selected to the Butte Central All-Century basketball team.
1983, 1984 and 1985 Montana Tech men’s basketball teams
Coach Kelvin Sampson’s Orediggers were the talk of the town during their magical run in the 1980s. Tech won the Frontier Conference tournament titles in all three years. The Orediggers won the regular-season crowns in 1984 and 1985. In those three seasons, Tech compiled a record of 66-25, and the Orediggers advanced to the NAIA District 12 playoffs.
Those teams included stars like Cevin Johnson, Darryl Luoma, Terran Carter, Kent Andre, Robert Montague, Joe Puckett, Craig Russell and “Flyin’” Brian Vaughns.
1988-89 Butte High boys’ basketball
The Butte High boys’ basketball team might be the best Montana team to not win the state championship. Even without a title, they are in the conversation as being the best high school basketball team the Mining City has ever seen.
The 1988-89 Bulldogs won the Western AA Divisional title and took a 19-0 record into the state tournament. Kalispell, which fell to Butte High twice in the regular season and in the divisional title game, shocked Butte High 53-50 in the championship game.
Butte High entered the state tournament with three players averaging in double figures. Gary Kane averaged 22.3 points, while fellow seniors Jasson McNallie averaged 13.8 and Todd Ericson averaged 11.4 points. Senior Scott Hemmert and junior Corey Dunstan rounded out the starting lineup for Coach Pat Foley’s team.
Reserve players included (but are not necessarily limited to) seniors Fritz Daily, Marc Kelly and Dave Chamberlin and juniors Curtis Smith and Jason Booth.
The 1988-89 Bulldogs’ 21-1 record is the best record in school history.
1991-92 Butte High wrestling team
Coach Jim Street’s Bulldogs capped their run of 13 straight Class AA State titles in February of 1992 in Billings.
The Bulldogs scored 180 ½ points for the title. Billings West finished second at 164 ½, and Bozeman placed third at 156. Brodie Cooney at 98 pounds, Brent Choquette at 130, and Jason Street at 171 won individual titles to lead the Bulldogs to yet another championship. Choquette finished the season unbeaten.
In all, 10 Bulldogs placed in the top six. That includes Brian Church, who placed second at 135 pounds. Butte High got third-place finishes from John Burke at 105 pounds and Robin Moodry at 140. Dan Beckman placed fourth at 145, Brad Salvani took fifth at 119 pounds, Randy Riley placed fifth at 189, and Chuck Hazlett finished fifth at heavyweight.
1996 Butte High softball team
These Bulldogs prove that you don’t have to have a banner to be champions. Butte High captured the Western AA crown in 1996, but they were robbed of a chance to play for a state championship by heavy rain in Billings.
Butte High went 15-4 and finished the conference schedule undefeated, and the Bulldogs were ready to take the state by storm at the Class AA State tournament in Billings. The storm, however, struck first.
Jori Petersen led the 1996 Bulldogs from the pitcher’s circle, posting a 12-0 record with a 1.57 ERA. Keli Renz led the offense with a .488 batting average. Jennifer Hope (.471), Beth Toivonen (.438) and Misty Balentine (.432) all batted over .400. Mandi Ueland (.293), Shannon Croley (.324), Heidi McCarthy (.323), Amanda Evans (.314) and Kristen Uggetti (.275) were also forces at the plate for the Bulldogs. Chrissy Leathers was a standout before suffering a season-ending injury late in the campaign.
1999 Butte Central softball team
A quarter century has nearly passed since the Maroons went 26-0 on their way to the Class A State title.
After rain moved the State tournament from Butte to Anaconda, Central beat Polson 7-2 before clobbering Laurel 13-1 in the championship game to complete the perfect season.
Anjie Lacey pitched both those games to run her record to 15-0. Alicia Wheeler went 11-0 on the season. The offense was powered by Heather Ryan, Jackie Hogart, Bryn Olson, Kacie Briney, J.J. Hogart, Melissa Brophy, Wheeler, Kaci Regan, Kate VanDaveer and Kelsey Orizotti. Sarah Thatcher was a standout outfielder, and Meghan Foley, Cianna Roeber, Erica “Bubba” Mahoney” also saw action for the champs.
Ryan batted a team-leading .5-7 during the regular season. Briney (.443), Brophy (.431) and Hogart (.410) all hit over .400, while Wheeler (.397), Olson (.373) and Hogart (.369) were not far behind.
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Refereeing hurt just part of the game
The second I heard Paul McCarthy’s Achilles tendon snap in two, I decided it was time to retire from playing softball.
I was coaching third base, and Paul was playing the hot corner. One of my teammates smashed a ball that went between Paul’s legs. From the sound of it, I thought the ball hit him in the shin, but it continued on a straight light to left field.
Paul crumbled to the ground, clearly agonizing in pain.
“Did the ball hit your leg?” I asked.
“No. I snapped my Achilles,” Paul said.
Since Paul was not and never has been a doctor, I wondered how he could diagnose his own injury so quickly. The reason, it turns out, is because Paul snapped the Achilles tendon on his other leg a couple years earlier.
So, not only did Paul know the severity of his injury, he knew the long road to recovery he was facing — right at the beginning of summer, too.
I was in my mid-30s, and Paul was a few years older. We were playing a game where you stand around and do nothing forever. Then, you go all out for a short burst. It is a muscle- and tendon-killing sport.
It is really a silly thing for someone older than 30 to do.
That is what I realized as Paul’s teammates helped him to the dugout. I decided right then that my days of playing softball were over. I finished out the season, and never played again.
I gave up playing pickup basketball games for the same reason. I don’t want to tear an ACL or snap a tendon trying to relive the glory days that weren’t so glorious in the first place.
It just isn’t worth it. There is no reward in it.
Refereeing basketball, however, is different. It is worth the injury risk. Or, more likely, it is worth the injury certainty.
At 48 ½, I was much too old to start running up and down the court with high school athletes. Yet, that is what I started doing last season.
After years of encouraging others to referee or take it easy on referees, Jon Kinzle called to encourage me to join the Butte pool. He knew that I was no longer covering the sports as a writer, so I had no reason to not do what I had long been telling others to do.
Living with labrum tears in both hips — as a lot of people my age deal with — was not an excuse as long as I could make it up and down the court.
Players play in pain quite a bit. Referees do it all the time.
That was one of the biggest eye openers when I joined the Montana Officials Association. Seeing what the men and women go through in the locker room to get ready for the games is a true testament to the dedication the officials give to their craft.
Some of those referee suitcases look like a medical closet. They bathe their legs with Bengay to try to ease their aching muscles. Others have to hit all those muscles with a massage gun for 20 minutes or more before they get dressed.
Getting dressed is another story. Putting on all the braces, compression pants and sleeves is very time consuming.
Physical therapy is also no stranger to a lot of referees. I know one official who went through weekly dry needling sessions just so he could get through one more season.
Grey and white hair is nothing out of the ordinary, either. I will be 50 in a couple of months, and I look around our weekly study club meetings to see that there are more officials older than me than there are younger.
I know that very few of them are feeling close to 100 percent. Most are dealing with at least one injury or soreness as we work our way into the crunch time portion of the schedule.
A few weeks ago, I suffered the dreaded calf strain that so many of my fellow officials have battled. Refereeing a freshman boys’ game in Butte High’s old gym, I took a step back as I watched the action from the “trail position” outside the 3-point line.
I had to look back to make sure there really wasn’t a guy behind me with a knife because it felt like I was stabbed. It wasn’t a snapped Achilles like Paul suffered, but it hurt.
While I was visibly limping the rest of the game, I was able to finish. Then I went to the study club and got some great advice from a handful of officials who knew exactly what I was talking about.
I iced and stretched for eight days before my next game, and I felt pretty good. So, I took two games each day on Tuesday and Thursday the next week.
That was a mistake.
By the end of the first half of the first game, I could hardly walk because the injury flared up. Butte High football coach Arie Grey lent me one of his calf sleeves, and that helped a ton when walking or laying around off of the court.
It didn’t help during those games, but I made it through. I had no idea how I was supposed to do it again two days later. But I had no choice.
Our pool leaders were practically begging people to try to fill some games. So, there was no way I could back out.
So, a tube of Bengay, my son’s massage gun and a ton of stretching got me through. The injury is feeling a lot better, and it probably won’t make me miss any games. But it takes a whole lot of extra time to get ready for each game.
For about an hour before I even leave my house, I am loading up on ibuprofen, Bengay, massaging and stretching.
When it comes to aches and pains, though, I take a back seat to so many other officials around the state. Some men and women have been doing this for decades. They know how to play hurt.
We have so few officials that they have no choice but to play through injuries. Otherwise, our young athletes would not be able to play games at all.
That is why we officiate. We don’t do it so we can pick which team will win. We do it so the boys and girls get the chance to play the games like we did.
When you tell an official that he or she is a cheater, or awful, or pathetic because you don’t like a call, you are only reducing those dwindling numbers. You might think you are helping your son or daughter, but you are doing the exact opposite.
Not only are you looking like a fool while setting a poor example for the future generations, you are pushing officials out the door. You are pushing us one step closer to the days of canceled games or even canceled seasons.
There is no doubt that officials get some calls wrong. But they have studied the rules, and they make a lot more correct calls than you probably care to notice.
Plus, those officials out there are playing through pain and the threat of a snapped Achilles tendon just so your son or daughter can play the game.
Hopefully, you will think about that the next time you yell at them.
— Bill Foley, who will never get the smell of Bengay out of his nose, can be reached at foles74@gmail.com. Follow him at twitter.com/Foles74. Listen to him on the ButteCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
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Bulldog wrestling fans set to kick off State with social in Billings
The annual Butte High wrestling fan social is set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Big Horn Resort Conference Room (1801 Majestic Lane) in Billings
The purpose of the social is to fire up fans to cheer on the Bulldogs at the State wrestling tournament at the Metra. The event will feature a drink bar attached to the room, and no outside food or beverages will be allowed.
It will also feature a guest speaker and Bulldog wrestling trivia. Appetizers will be provided, and prizes will be given out during the evening.
Butte High is the only school in the state that hosts such an event, which is put on by the fans for the fans. Bring your families and get ready to cheer on the Bulldog boys’ and girls’ wrestlers.
The ButteCast with Bill Foley 