The ButteCast with Bill Foley

On June 6, my grandpa, Bill Foley, would have turned 100 years old. A World War II veteran, Grandpa Bill passed away at the age of 89 on Feb. 12, 2015. As I searched for a photo to mark his birthday, I came across the eulogy I wrote for him in the days after his death. So, in honor of 100th, I thought I would share this with you so you might be able to see why I still think and talk about Grandpa...

Podcast No. 269: Tom Lazzari  They call him “Papa Big Guns.” That does not only go for his grandchildren, either. American Legion Baseball players — and some of their parents — refer to Tom Lazzari by the nickname that he swears he did not give to himself. He just relishes in that moniker. Tom jokes that the key to having such big arms, or guns as he calls them, is to lose the use of his legs. Tha...

Occasionally, Facebook turns out to be a very good thing. That is the certainly case with today’s guest. Facebook is how I found Mike Beckworth. Recently, I saw a post by “M.C. Beckworth” on the Butte 411 page. It was a composite photo. It showed the Badger Mine headframe looking from the south to north, and Mike replaced the blue sky with a beautiful sunset with birds flying by. When I saw some p...

We need to make the bigots feel uncomfortable again. We can do that by standing up to bullies and flying that pride flag. Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Park Street Liquors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ .  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

If Sam Henderson was to walk away from track & field today, we would still be talking about him decades from now.  On Saturday, Henderson won the Class AA State title in the triple jump. His winning mark, which came on his final jump, was 47 feet, 1 ½ inches. That was his fourth best jump of the season. His three best — including his personal record of 48-7 ½ at the Western AA Divisional meet...

Dr. Daniel J. Farren passed away last week. Not every guy will be as sad as I am about the passing of his longtime optometrist, but Dr. Farren was special. Dr. Farren was so much more than an eye doctor. The good doctor came into my life in 1983, when I was 9. I remember the day we met like it was yesterday. It was also one of the most important days of my life. Today's bonus podcast is brough...

During his two years covering sports for KXLF-TV in Butte and KBZK-TV in Bozeman, we could tell that Dom Tibbetts was going to be off to bigger and better things. I used to joke with him that he was headed to SportsCenter because of his world-class hairdo. He does have nice hair, too. He made all of us jealous. The truth is, though, we knew Dom was going places because was doing a really good job....

Mariah’s Challenge rose from the ashes of an unspeakable tragedy in October of 2007. Today, that movement to curb underage drinking and drinking and driving is still going strong. When 17 seniors in high school receive the 2025 Mariah Daye McCarthy Scholarship Wednesday at the Montana Tech Auditorium, it will run the total of “Mariah’s Messengers” to 500. It will raise the money given away to $500...

In October of 2022, Leo McCarthy appeared on Episode No. 16 of the ButteCast. In that episode, Leo talked about losing his 14-year-old daughter, Mariah, to an underage drunk driver in October of 2007. He talked about forming Mariah’s Challenge in its aftermath. Mariah’s Challenge came from a promise made by Leo as he delivered a touching eulogy for his daughter at St. Ann’s Church. If they didn’t...

Podcast No. 264: Carter Barsness For the better part of a decade, I have called him “The Professor.” Unfortunately, nobody else refers to Carter Barsness by that moniker. It is only me. That is too bad because Carter earned that nickname. I coached him in Little League Baseball, and talking to him back there was like talking to a professor. And he was only 8 years old. He was always offering a the...

Hudson Willse, who worked 27 years as the sports editor of The Montana Standard, was a trendsetter in the newspaper business. He set the standard for sports coverage that papers around the state tried to copy. Whether you were a star on the Butte High football team or the No. 5 player on the Butte Central golf team, Hud made sure your sport was covered. He made us all feel like a big deal. That is...

On Nov. 9, 1973, Butte Central beat Cut Bank 27-6 on a frozen field on Montana’s Hi-Line. The win gave the Maroons their third straight Class A State football championship. It was BC’s fourth title in five years. The game was filled with sports legends from both sides. That includes on the field and on the sidelines. While we don’t have a flux capacitor, Jerry Worley will take us back in time to t...

Sid DeBarathy and Mike Foley feel like they have been in a lonely fight as they battle for the female athletes of Butte. That is the saddest thing of this really sad story that has dragged on for more than two decades. We should all fight alongside Sid and Mike. We should tell the district that what Sid and Mike are saying about the subpar softball fields at Stodden Park is true. We should demand...

If there is ever a fourth legend added to the cathedral that is 3 Legends Stadium, it will be Jeff LeProwse. It is safe to say that without Jeff, American Legion Baseball would not exist in the Mining City. At least it wouldn’t in its current form. Jeff coached the Butte Miners from 2012 through 2021, and that era will go down as the most important stretch in program history. The Miners down to 11...

Amanda Wlaysewski started working in the fish industry six days after she graduated from Butte Central in 2003. What she thought was a summer job, turned into career. Every summer since, she has gone to Bristol Bay, Alaska to work. She founded the Kvichak Fish Co., and for the last 15 years she has run her own small processing facility. She will be heading north again later this month. Amanda desc...

Dr. Patrick Gallus is one doctor who doesn’t like to play the waiting game. Maybe it was all the years he spent as an emergency doctor in Prescott, Arizona, where he served as chief of staff at Yavapai Regional Medical Center. There, Dr. Gallus developed two emergency departments, and his staff of 18 physicians saw 72,000 patients per year. Now, the 1981 Butte Central graduate is back in his home...

Raider Nation has now idea what it just got with the selection of Butte boy Tommy Mellott. They will quickly learn why they call him "Touchdown Tommy." Even better, he isn't going to Green Bay. Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Park Street Liquors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

Theresa Rader is a legend of the Class of 1993. Not just at the school she graduated from, Butte Central, either. Rader was good at every sport she tried. She was a speedskater, basketball player, volleyball player, softball player. If there was a competition, Rader was ready to win it. She started as a freshman on the varsity basketball team at BC. She also played on the school’s first-ever softb...

The coach deserved to be thrown out of the game. He also had good reason to be mad at the nervous umpire. In this case, the coach and the umpire were both victims of the ever-growing shortage of youth sports officials. So were the players. That shortage, by the way, is due almost entirely to the parents who verbally abuse sports officials at all levels. Coaches and players deserve the best officia...

Ken Carver has taught in the Butte School District for 35 years. He has also coached and officiated all of those years. Next Saturday, Mr. Carver will be inducted into the Montana Western Education Hall of Fame. It is a very well-deserved honor. Listen in to hear his story. Today's podcast is brought to you by  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Leskovar Honda⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ , home of the 20-y...

All baseball lovers must come together if we are going to make high school baseball work in Montana. Otherwise, it could be lost forever, and that is not good for anybody. Today's bonus podcast is brought to you by  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Park Street Liquors⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ .  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

There is no question that Tommy Mellott is one of the greatest athletes the Mining City has ever produced. He is in the conversation when you extend that debate out to cover the entire state. The 2024 Walter Payton Award winner led the Montana State Bobcats to the FCS national championship football game two times.  That came after he became just the second boy at Butte High School to earn 12 varsi...

More than two years have passed since Dougie Peoples hit that 27-foot, game-winning shot in the Class A State championship game in Missoula. Yet, Dougie is still very much a celebrity in Montana. You do not need to say his last name for people to know you are talking the Butte Central legend. Even his teammates at the College of Idaho are still talk about that shot, even if they do it to tease him...

Nobody outworks Butte Central junior Caden Tippett when she is competing in a sport. She might not lead the team in points on the basketball court, but she leads the state in floor burns from diving for loose balls. She might not be the fastest mountain bike rider on Butte’s Copper Sprockets youth racing team, but she is fearless enough to be known for taking headers while riding as fast as she ca...

Blake Hempstead is an unapologetic speaker of the truth, as he sees it. That does not always sit well with the residents of Anaconda, or the leaders of the community. It has also led to many public arguments in the Smelter City. The latest dispute reeks of retribution and government overreach. In doing so, the county is telling the Copperheads to get bent. Today's bonus podcast is brought to y...