Montana Greats

Every community has a sports hero, but do you know who they are? Author Jeff Welsch, the Montana sports editor for Lee Newspapers, researched the record books; interviewed athletes, coaches, and local sports fans; and travelled across the state to determine each community’s best athlete. The result is a one-of-a-kind sports book, Montana Greats: From A (Absarokee) to Z (Zurich), the Greatest Athletes from 264 Montana Communities. These athletes—men and women, historic and contemporary—are the best in more than a dozen sports: football, basketball, rodeo, track, skiing, and more. Included are well-known “greats” such as World Series pitcher Dave McNally, who Sports Illustrated said was the best athlete to come from Montana, but the book is rich with lesser-known stories of local legends and high-school heroes. In fact, the book is being praised for its celebration (and remembrance) of small-town sports heroes: “What I love about Montana Greats is how it memorializes the small towns in Montana [where] the identity of the community is strongly connected to their teams. Thank you, Jeff Welsch, for honoring their best athletes and for ensuring we never forget their legacies.” —Joe Puckett, Peerless (Montana) native and author of The Dream. The text (and Contents) of the book is organized alphabetically by community name, hence the subtitle: From A (Absarokee) to Z (Zurich). Each athlete is profiled on a single page. There is a description of the athlete's accomplishments and a brief biographical update. Each profile includes a black and white photograph, usually an action photo of the athlete participating in his/her sport. Although the Contents is a list of community names, the book features two useful indexes for quickly finding an individual athlete. One index is an alpha list of all the athletes; the other is the athletes listed by the sport they are known for (football stars under Football, etc.). Montana Greats is a record of sports heroes and where they came from. It is a winning book for sports fans, historians, and all Montanans.

Jeff Welsch is the Executive Sports Editor for 406mtsports.com and Lee Montana Newspapers. Welsch’s passion for all things Montana was born during a family station-wagon vacation in 1975, nurtured on frequent trips to the Big Sky State to cover Boise State basketball and Idaho football for The Idaho Statesman in the 1980s, solidified on regular fly-fishing adventures, and ultimately realized with a move to Bozeman in 2004 to become sports editor at the Daily Chronicle. Welsch has been in sports journalism in the western United States for nearly four decades, aside from a six-year hiatus to work for a conservation organization dedicated to protecting the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In 2014, the addictive aroma of newsprint and ink lured him back as sports editor of The Billings Gazette, and since August 2016 he has been executive sports editor for the 406mtsports.com website and Lee Montana’s four daily newspapers—The Gazette, Missoulian, Montana Standard (Butte) and Helena Independent Record. His numerous state, regional, and national reporting awards include first place in the 2006 Associated Press Sports Editors national competition for his burled-arch to burled-arch coverage of one of Montana’s Greats: Ennis musher Jessie Royer in Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Welsch has co-authored five books—among them Backroads & Byways of Montana, with his wife, Sherry, an endeavor that took them from border to border and heightened their appreciation for their adopted home state. It was the people, places and stories experienced along the way that helped provide the spark for Montana Greats.

Contents Preface11 Introduction15 Absarokee21 Alberton22 Alder23 Alzada24 Amsterdam25 Anaconda26 Antelope27 Arlee28 Ashland29 Augusta30 Avon31 Bainville32 Baker33 Ballantine34 Bearcreek35 Belfry36 Belgrade37 Belt38 Bigfork39 Big Sandy40 Big Sky41 Big Timber42 Billings43 Bonner44 Boulder45 Box Elder46 Bozeman47 Brady48 Bridger49 Broadus50 Broadview51 Brockton52 Brockway53 Browning54 Brusett55 Busby56 Butte57 Capitol58 Cardwell59 Carter60 Cascade61 Centerville62 Charlo63 Chester64 Chinook65 Choteau66 Churchill67 Circle68 Clancy69 Clyde Park70 Cohagen71 Colstrip72 Columbia Falls73 Columbus74 Conrad75 Corvallis76 Crow Agency77 Culbertson78 Custer79 Cut Bank80 Dagmar81 Darby82 Deer Lodge83 Denton84 Dillon85 Dixon86 Dodson87 Drummond88 Dutton89 East Glacier90 East Helena91 Edgar92 Ekalaka93 Ennis94 Eureka95 Fairfield96 Fairview97 Fishtail98 Flaxville99 Florence100 Forsyth101 Fort Belknap102 Fort Benton103 Fort Keogh104 Fort Shaw105 Frazer106 Frenchtown107 Froid108 Fromberg109 Gardiner110 Geraldine111 Geyser112 Gildford113 Glasgow114 Glen115 Glendive116 Grass Range117 Great Falls118 Greycliff119 Hall120 Hamilton121 Hardin122 Harlem123 Harlowton124 Harrison125 Havre126 Hays127 Heart Butte128 Helena129 Helmville130 Highwood131 Hilger132 Hingham133 Hinsdale134 Hobson135 Hogeland136 Hot Springs137 Huntley138 Hysham139 Ingomar140 Inverness141 Ismay142 Jackson143 Joliet144 Joplin145 Jordan146 Judith Gap147 Kalispell148 Kevin149 Kinsey150 Kirby151 Kremlin152 Lambert153 Lame Deer154 Laurel155 Laurin156 Lavina157 Lewistown158 Libby159 Lima160 Lincoln161 Livingston162 Lockwood163 Lodge Grass164 Lodgepole165 Lolo166 Loring167 Lustre168 Madoc169 Malta170 Manhattan171 Marysville172 Medicine Lake173 Melrose174 Melstone175 Miles City176 Missoula177 Moccasin178 Molt179 Montana City180 Moore181 Muddy Creek182 Musselshell183 Nashua184 Nevada City185 Noxon186 Oilmont187 Opheim188 Opportunity189 Oswego190 Outlook191 Ovando192 Park City193 Peerless194 Philipsburg195 Pinesdale196 Plains197 Plentywood198 Plevna199 Polson200 Pompeys Pillar201 Pony202 Poplar203 Powderville204 Power205 Pray206 Pryor207 Radersburg208 Ramsay209 Rapelje210 Red Lodge211 Reed Point212 Richey213 Roberts214 Rocky Boy215 Ronan216 Roscoe217 Rosebud218 Roundup219 Roy220 Rudyard221 Ryegate222 St. Ignatius223 St. Marie224 St. Regis225 St. Xavier226 Saco227 Sand Coulee228 Sand Springs229 Savage230 Scobey231 Seeley Lake232 Seville233 Shelby234 Shepherd235 Sheridan236 Shonkin237 Sidney238 Simms239 Square Butte240 Stanford241 Stevensville242 Stockett243 Sula244 Sun River245 Sunburst246 Superior247 Terry248 Thompson Falls249 Three Forks250 Toston251 Townsend252 Troy253 Turner254 Twin Bridges255 Two Dot256 Ulm257 Valier258 Vaughn259 Victor260 Vida261 Volborg262 Westby263 West Yellowstone264 White Pine265 White Sulphur Springs266 Whitefish267 Whitehall268 Whitewater269 Wibaux270 Willard271 Willow Creek272 Wilsall273 Winifred274 Winnett275 Winston276 Wisdom277 Wise River278 Wolf Creek279 Wolf Point280 Worden281 Wyola282 Zortman283 Zurich284 Index by Name285 Index by Sport……...289