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Years
of Operation: 1893-1894
Overall
Record: 4-2-1
First
Game: Sep 15, 1893 vs Montana College
First
Win: Sep 15, 1893 vs Montana College
Final
Game: Nov 28, 1894 vs Omaha YMCA |
League
Affiliation:
Independent
Team
Headquarters: Butte, MT
Colors: Crimson and Cream |
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The Butte Pastime Athletic Club football team traces it's roots to Sept
15, 1893 when the first football game was played in Deer Lodge, Montana
between the team of Montana College and the "old Butte" team.
Following that successful game, DeGay Stivers, then secretary of the
Butte Pastime Club officially organized a squad under the Athletic Club
banner for the 1894 season.
The two clubs would swap players back and forth creating some
"grudge" matches of sorts. These practice games continued through
the month of May.
The "Old Butte" team and the Pastime club would play three games
before injuries took a toll and it was decided to consolidate with the
Athletic Club team for the remainder of the year.
With football being so young and teams so far apart, expenses were an
issue. Long train rides cost money, so visiting teams often
required a guarantee to make the trip. Joe Klaffki and John
Cannon, mining magnates making names for themselves in the Montana
territory put up the guarantees for the Helena team expenses to come to
Butte. A return game to Helena saw a rule implemented that no
player over 150lbs could play. This helped Helena muster a 0-0
tie.
With restrictions placed on the management of the team, it was decided
to withdraw from the Pastime Athletic Club. The group reorganized
as the Butte
Football Club and DeGay Stivers was elected Manager for
the 1895 year. Francis Brooks captain, Morris A. Davis treasurer,
and Jim Hooper coach.+
In June of 1931, Pete Snelson wrote an in depth historical retrospective
of the beginnings of the Butte "Big Teams" starting in 1893 with
interviews of former players, coaches, businessmen and included rosters,
game summaries, and stories. The first expose was published in the
Great Falls Tribune on June 7, 1931 and was followed up with June 14 and
June 21 articles. Photographs and much more were included and used
to help put this historical archive together.
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1893 Schedule/Results (1-0): |
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