BILLINGS — Growing up the son of a conductor who guided the ore train from the Butte copper mines to the Anaconda smelters, Sonny Holland learned the value of hard work early on. The value resonated with him for the rest of his life.
The man many call the “Greatest Bobcat of all time” used his work ethic to carve out an All-America career that included a national championship during his time as a two-way standout player at Montana State. As the head coach for MSU in the 1970s, Holland sought out tough players who wanted to go to labor on a daily basis. More often than not, he found young men who fit the mold on the farms and ranches, in the homes of miners and loggers.
Former MSU head coach Sonny Holland
Holland believes the intrinsic traits shared by many with Treasure State roots translates into the successes so many Montanans have experienced in their lives. More than most pursuits, hardened toughness and a desire to refine through hard work are put on full display on the football field.
“I read a statement in the newspaper here (Billings Gazette) that Montana has the highest per capita of players in the NFL,” Holland said before the inaugural Montana Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Billings Convention Center here. “That’s because of the work ethic. Kids are raised to give you a day’s work for a day’s pay.
“I’ve always thought that our kids from the state of Montana can compete with kids from anywhere.”
“That’s really neat that they have made this,” Holland said. “You’d think there would be one of these so it’s nice to see we have one now.”
The values learned in Montana, whether instilled while growing up or learned upon moving to the Treasure State, served as a common theme here on Friday night. About 200 patrons attended the first addition of what the Billings-based non-profit Big Huddle plans to make an annual event as the newly created Montana Football Hall of Fame inducted its first class. Thirteen players, including 10 Montana natives, were honored, each giving speeches either in person or by video, those in attendance accepting custom-made jackets.
The Lazetich Family from Anaconda
From the Lazetich family — Bill, Milan and Pete were all inducted in the first class — a working class clan with Anaconda ranching roots, to Mitch Donahue, a Magic City native who moved back to Billings to start a roofing company after his NFL career was finished; from University of Montana star Tuff Harris, who grew up the son of Native American father and a Bulgarian mother who trained horses for a living to Chris Horn, the only former Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bear to play in the NFL, the common sentiment among the collection of legends was their unwavering foundation instilled through labor.
“I look back and I know what helped me was the people I played with and the coaches that coached me because they all had a tremendous work ethic,” said Holland, who won 47 games in seven seasons at Montana State, including the 1976 national championship. “We didn’t win every game. But by God you better pack your bucket full of food and try to do it again because we are going to bounce back. We are going to get knocked down from time to time but we will always get back up. That’s the way things are done in Montana.”
Holland and Kane Ioane were inducted in the contributor category. Ioane, Montana State’s associate head coach and linebackers coach, could not be in attendance as he enters the second week of fall camp under new MSU head coach Jeff Choate in Bozeman, the Billings Skyview product’s 17th as a Bobcat. Former Montana State All-American kicker Jan Stenerud, a native of Holland, acceptance his honor with a video message sent from Kansas City. Legendary Montana quarterback Dave Dickenson, who is in the middle of his season as the head coach of the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL, and former Griz tight end Brian Salonen, who is trying to help Missoula Hellgate High resurrect their football program, also sent in video messages for their acceptance.
Former Rocky Mountain College standout Chris Horn
Like Holland, each one echoed the sentiment of what the game of football taught them, particularly when played within the border of the Treasure State.
“In some ways, we are isolated in Montana and because of that, people are humble, people stay more grounded,” said Harris, a two-time All-America who played from 2007-2010 in the NFL, making stops with the Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans. “With talent and opportunity, sometimes, people take that too far and don’t use it in a positive way. In Montana, guys realize that when you do get that opportunity, you do get that shot, you are community oriented and you’re from a small town — even our biggest town is considered a small town in the rest of the country — so for a lot of guys, that humility, that simplicity of living carries over when they do make it. It doesn’t go right to their head where they are taking advantage.”
Pat Donovan, Harvey Munford and Donahue rounded out the class. Donovan is a Helena High product who went on to star at Stanford and then with the Dallas Cowboys. Munford was first black athlete and first black student period at Eastern Montana College back in the early 1960s before signing pro contracts with both the St. Louis Rams of the NFL and the Los Angels Lakers of the NBA. Donahue prepped at Billings West before setting a University of Wyoming record with 48 sacks. In 1991, he was selected in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He played four seasons in the NFL, two with the 49ers and two more with the Denver Broncos.
Former Billings West standout Mitch Donahue
To become eligible for the new Hall of Fame, a player must have been retired for 10 years from professional football. A player can be inducted immediately if he had a 10-year career. The player must have played two years of high school football or one year of college football in Montana. The player must have been associated as a player, coached, managed or provided a speciality such as trainer, broadcaster or agent with a professional CFL or NFL team.
Holland, Ioane and Stenerud gave the Bobcats three inductees in the first class but only Stenerud played in the NFL. The Norwegian came to MSU as a ski jumper. Following a soccer game one day near the football field, MSU basketball coach Roger Craft spotted Stenerud kicking footballs. Craft talked football coach Jim Sweeney into watching Stenerud kick field goals. Shortly after, Stenerud joined the Bobcats, sparking a career that eventually ended with a bust in Canton at the NFL Hall of Fame. Stenerud remains the only place kicker in the pro football hall of fame.
Dickenson shattered the gamut of Big Sky records while leading Montana to three straight playoff appearances and the first national championship in school history in 1995. Salonen parlayed a record-setting career at Montana that include the 1982 Big Sky title, Salonen was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. In four seasons playing for Tom Landry, Salonen teamed with NFL Hall of Famers like Randy White and Tony Dorsett. Both inductees hail from Great Falls.
Harris earned All-Big Sky honors as a cornerback and All-America honors as a punt returner as a starter on four straight Big Sky title teams in Missoula between 2003 and 2006. The former Montana all-class record holder in the 100 meters used his prodigious athleticism to blaze a trail as the rare athlete who comes off a Montana Indian reservation and forges and NFL career.
Former Montana standout Tuff Harris
“We have a term in our tribe: it’s called a contrary warrior. Don’t follow in everyone else’s path,” Harris said. “To be a contrary warrior is to do the opposite. I always wanted to distinguish myself and be different than everyone else.”
Milan Lazetich was a throwback to the old days of Montana ruffians. The Serbian from Anaconda served in the Navy in World War II in 1943 before receiving his medical discharge and serving as the sheriff of Deer Lodge County. By 1944, he was a first-team All-American at Michigan. Between 1945 and 1990, he played for the Los Angeles Rams. He wore a size 17 ring and “probably had his nose broken 13 or 14 times between football and fighting” his daughter, Milana, said in her acceptance speech. Lazetich personified toughness, a stark example in the ailment that eventually killed him at 47 in 1969. Lazetich played his football career with a hole in his heart, his toughness another example of the consistent thread that weaved throughout the evening.
“You have to be tough to survive and grow up in the state of Montana Period,” Holland said. “That goes a lot way to explaining a night like tonight.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
