Boys AA State - Butte, America

[kennethnoisewater]

I would love to see a 2nd tourney. Take the top 2 or 3 teams from each classification and determine the champion for the entire state.

I think this year's team would be Fergus County HS.

I doubt the AA's would want this. They do not want to be embarrassed by a class c team.

Didn't they have a tournament up to the 70s just like that? Before my time in MT.

Kinda. It was called the Big 32 and was basically all the A and AA teams. Wolf Point and Laurel won it. I think in only lasted 4-5 years.

Thanks TomCat88. Thought it was called that. Have a good old friend from Park High that played in it a couple times. Really enjoyed it.

The amount of times I've had to listen to my uncle, a lifelong Laurel guy, tell me about the good old days of the Big 32...

Don't know when Coach Peterson retired. For any teams that had to play against his guys I am sure they were happy to see him go to the golf course or whatever. His system, at least while I lived there and from what I remember, was quite successful.

I think he retired sometime in the 70's, then moved up to Bigfork. He came out of retirement to coach at Bigfork for a couple years. One of his former players at Laurel, Jerry Bygren, talked him into coaching and Jerry was the freshman coach. He was well past his prime and his first year (my senior year there) was good but not great. By his second year, he was not doing any real coaching and his assistants handled everything. That was Bigfork's last two years in Class B before about a 12-year stint in A. Incidentally, this is Bigfork's last year in Class B again and the boys took 3rd at state while the girls won their first state championship ever.

[Cat Grad]

I would love to see a 2nd tourney. Take the top 2 or 3 teams from each classification and determine the champion for the entire state.

I think this year's team would be Fergus County HS.

I doubt the AA's would want this. They do not want to be embarrassed by a class c team.

Didn't they have a tournament up to the 70s just like that? Before my time in MT.

Kinda. It was called the Big 32 and was basically all the A and AA teams. Wolf Point and Laurel won it. I think in only lasted 4-5 years.

Thanks TomCat88. Thought it was called that. Have a good old friend from Park High that played in it a couple times. Really enjoyed it.

The amount of times I've had to listen to my uncle, a lifelong Laurel guy, tell me about the good old days of the Big 32...

@kmax Here’s one for your uncle. In the 1964-65 season, when I was a sophomore, I remember watching the Bozeman Hawks, led by our all-world 6’9” center Glen Smiley (played 4 at Duke) fly past the Locomotives to a 52-9 lead. At halftime.

(I *hated* batting against him in Little League.)

Still have trouble believing that group of athletes did not take state in a team sport (basketball or football).

Glen Smiley- Duke
Jim Smiley-WAZZU
Rick Ogle-Colorado (NFL for Cardinals?)
Rob Stiff-Can't recall where he played college sports
Aasheim-Cats?
Watling?-Cats for track?
Manning-Dartmouth
Winchester?-Dartmouth
Sweeney-Cats
Reid-????
Bittner-????

Edit* Still think Rosary would have kicked their ass worse than one of the Butte schools did at divisionals...