There are no major league sports franchises in the American state of Montana due to the state's relatively small and dispersed population, but a number of minor-league teams play in the state.
Baseball is the minor-league sport with the longest heritage in the state, and Montana is home to four Minor League baseball teams, all members of the Pioneer Baseball League. Many athletes move out of Montana to pursue their professional career in other states.
Football and basketball are the two most popular sports at the high school level. Montana is one of the few states where the smallest high schools participate in six-man football leagues. Numerous other sports are played at the club and amateur level, including softball, rugby, and soccer.
A number of Montanans have become notable for their involvement in a wide range of sport. Dave McNally is a baseball player who was a starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles for 13 years. [1] Phil Jackson is a basketball player and head coach who has been voted one of the Top 10 Coaches in National Basketball Association History. [2] [3] Flint Rasmussen is a rodeo clown who won the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association "Clown of the Year" award for eight consecutive years. [4] [5] Football players and coaches from Montana include Dave Dickenson, Pat Donovan, Jerry Kramer, and Jan Stenerud. Dickenson played quarterback in both the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL) before becoming a head coach in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders and BC Lions. [6] Pat Donovan was ranked the top football player and number five overall athlete from Montana in the 20th century. [7] Donovan played left tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, was a four-time Pro Bowler, and played in three Super Bowls, winning one. [8] Jerry Kramer played offensive guard for the Green Bay Packers, was a three-time Pro Bowler, and a five-time All-Pro. He is ranked the number one player not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame by many Hall of Fame voters. [9] Jan Stenerud is a Norwegian who went to college in Montana on a ski jumping scholarship. He was a placekicker in the American Football League (AFL) and NFL for 19 years, mostly for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was the first soccer-style kicker in the NFL and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1991. [10]
In 1904, a group of young Native-American women from Montana, after playing undefeated during their last season, went to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, and defeated all challenging teams and were declared to be world champions. For this they received a large silver trophy with the inscription "World's Fair – St. Louis, 1904 – Basket Ball – Won by Fort Shaw Team". [11]
Name | Lifetime | Montana connection | Comments | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cass Bauer-Bilodeau | 1972–present | Born and raised in Hysham; attended college in Bozeman | Women's National Basketball Association small forward (1999–2002) | [43] |
Jim Creighton | 1950–present | Born in Billings | National Basketball Association small forward (1976) | [44] |
Denise Curry | 1959–present | Born in Fort Benton | Olympic gold medalist (1984); professional basketball player in France with Ligue Féminine de Basketball, winning two national championships (1986, 1987) | [45] |
Brad Holland | 1956–present | Born in Billings | National Basketball Association shooting guard (1980–1982) | [46] |
Phil Jackson | 1945–present | Born and lived for several years in Deer Lodge | National Basketball Association (NBA) power forward (1968–1980) and head coach (1990–2011); voted one of the Top 10 coaches in NBA history | [2] [3] [47] |
Ed Kalafat | 1932–2019 | Attended high school in Anaconda | National Basketball Association center (1955–1957) | [48] [49] |
Larry Krystkowiak | 1964–present | Born in Missoula; raised in Shelby; finished high school in Missoula | National Basketball Association power forward (1986–1996) and head coach (2007–2008) | [50] [51] |
Mike Lewis | 1946–present | Born in Missoula | American Basketball Association center (1969–1974) | [52] |
Adam Morrison | 1984–present | Born in Glendive | National Basketball Association small forward (2006–2010) | [53] |
Robin Selvig | 1953–present | Born in Outlook | Coach of University of Montana women's team (1978–2016); ranked 8th in winning percentage among coaches of college women's basketball teams | [54] |
Keith Tower | 1970–present | Born in Libby | National Basketball Association center (1994–1997) | [55] |
Name | Lifetime | Montana connection | Comments | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marvin Camel | 1951–present | Born in Ronan; lived in Missoula | World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation cruiserweight champion (1980–1981) | [56] |
Joe Hipp | 1962–present | Born in Browning | First Native American heavyweight champion (1999) | [57] |
Todd Foster | 1967–present | Born in Great Falls | Golden Gloves light welterweight national champion (1987); Olympics competitor (1988); professional boxer | [58] |
Name | Lifetime | Montana connection | Comments | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bill Linderman | 1920–1965 | Born in Bridger; raised in Red Lodge | Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion All-Around Cowboy (1950 & 1953); elected to ProRodeo Hall of Fame (1979) | [119] [120] [121] [122] |
Montie Montana | 1910–1998 | Born in Wolf Point | Trick roper and rider; actor; stuntman; participant in Tournament of Roses Parade for 60 years; elected to ProRodeo Hall of Fame (1994); | [123] [124] |
Dan Mortensen | 1968–present | Born in Billings; attended college in Bozeman; lives in Manhattan | Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion All-Around Cowboy (1997); World Saddle Bronc Champion (1993–1995, 1997, 1998 and 2003); elected to ProRodeo Hall of Fame (2009) | [125] [126] [127] |
Alice Greenough Orr | 1902–1995 | Born, raised, and lived in Red Lodge | Member of National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame and National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum | [128] [129] |
Flint Rasmussen | 1968–present | Born in Montana; lives on a ranch near Choteau | Rodeo clown; Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association "Clown of the Year" eight consecutive years; former high school science and math teacher | [4] [5] |
Benny Reynolds | 1936–2014 | Born and raised in Twin Bridges; lived in Melrose | Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion All-Around Cowboy (1961); elected to the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 1993. | [125] [130] [131] [132] |
Name | Lifetime | Montana connection | Comments | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Gene Davis | 1945–present | Born and raised in Missoula, Montana | Four-time undefeated (66-0) Montana high school champion, 1960–63; 1965 NCAA champion for Oklahoma State; 1976 Montreal Olympics bronze medalist Freestyle wrestling | [ permanent dead link ] |
Bill Zadick | 1973–present | Born and raised in Great Falls | World Freestyle Championships gold medalist at 66 kilograms (146 lb) (2006) | [133] |
Mike Zadick | 1978–present | Born and raised in Great Falls | World Freestyle Championships silver medalist at 60 kilograms (130 lb) (2006) | [134] |
Name | Lifetime | Montana connection | Comments | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Conrad Anker | 1963–present | Lives in Bozeman | Mountain climber; member of The North Face climbing team | [135] [136] |
Eric Bergoust | 1969–present | Born and raised in Missoula | Olympic freestyle skier (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006); gold medalist (1998) | [137] [138] |
Scott Davis | 1972–present | Born in Great Falls | Figure skater; two-time U.S. Champion (1993–1994) | [139] [140] |
Sierra Fellers | 1986–present | Born in Whitefish | Professional skateboarder | [141] |
Keith Jardine | 1975–present | Born in Butte | Mixed martial arts fighter | [142] [143] [144] |
Dave Johnson | 1963–present | Raised in Missoula | Decathlete; participant in 1988 Summer Olympics; bronze medalist in 1992 Summer Olympics | [145] [146] |
Nikki Kimball | 1971–present | Lives in Bozeman | Ultra-distance runner; 50 miles (80 km) Trail National Champion (2003, 2004, 2005) | [147] [148] |
Levi Leipheimer | 1973–present | Born in Butte | Cyclist; bronze medal at 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics in the individual road time trial | [149] [150] |
John Misha Petkevich | 1949–present | Raised in Great Falls | Olympic figure skater (1968 Winter Olympics, 1972 Winter Olympics); United States Figure Skating Champion and North American Figure Skating Champion in men's singles (1971); earned a Ph.D. in cell biology at University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar | [151] [152] |
Mike Ramos | 1962–present | Lives in Missoula | National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decathlon champion (1986); won three Pac-10 decathlon titles (1983, 1984, 1986); set NCAA decathlon record (8,322 points) in 1986 Pac-10 championship meet; inducted to the Husky Hall of Fame (2000) | [153] |
Alice Ritzman | 1952–present | Born and raised in Flathead Valley; attended college in Billings | Professional golfer on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour (1978–1998) | [154] [155] [156] |
Scot Schmidt | 1961–present | Born in Helena | First professional extreme skier | [157] [158] |
Leslie Spalding | 1969–present | Born in Billings; previously lived in Billings and Bozeman | Professional golfer on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour (1995–2005); head coach of women's golf at Montana State University (2007–2011) | [159] [160] |
Doug Swingley | 1953–present | Born and raised in Great Falls; lives in Lincoln | Dog sled racer; four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (1995, 1999, 2000, 2001) | [161] [162] [163] |
Lones Wigger | 1937–2017 | Born in Great Falls | Rifle shooter; three-time Olympic medalist—gold and silver in the 1964 Summer Olympics and gold in the 1972 Summer Olympics; once held 80 national championships and 29 world records | [164] [165] |
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