BUTTE — Everyone knows the Grizzlies are on their way to Bozeman from Missoula to take on the Bobcats, but you may not know the Brawl of the Wild was once fought right here in Butte, and several games were played at Butte High’s Naranche Stadium.
“They had the parades, and teams would show up with their fans and mascots. All the players would be on floats, you know—it was a big deal, it was a holiday.
From 1926 to 1951, the football teams of the University of Montana and Montana State University would meet in the middle in Butte to play. First at Clark Park and then at the new Butte High stadium in 1939.
The idea to bring the game to Butte was a marketing ploy by Butte officials at the time to boost the local economy.
“It was right on the threshold of sports marketing like we know it nowadays, like a bowl game,” said Sayler.
Not many people are around who remember those days but recall a story of the late Danny Hanley who was just 12 years old during one game.
“He was walking down the street with some buddies of his and somebody kicked an extra point and it sailed right through these goal posts, cleared the fence, and bounced in Main Street. And they grabbed the ball and stole it,” he said.
A Cat-Griz souvenir.
