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With restrictions placed on the management of the 1894 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.
The opening game of the 1895 spring session against Spokane was the hardest
hitting game played with several new players on the team. Ellis,
Weiss and Richards proved invaluable.
The young men from Salt Lake were shown the advantage of training and
conditioning as they were run ragged by the Butte squad. The
trophy banners and gold medal put up as a trophy by Joe Klaffki was
safely remaining in Butte. Umpire of the game was Mr. Lyon, former
VP of the Seattle Athletic Club.
The Buttes and 4000 followers, got their return game with Omaha and
revenge for the disastrous beating they took the previous year.
With that win, the Butte squad sent out letters to all challengers that
they held the "championship" of the West and dared anyone from Tacoma,
Portland, Denver, Seattle or San Francisco to come take it.
The "second-season" of the fall and winter they did just that with games
against some of the best in the country. Reliance, Olympic,
Seattle and college teams from Iowa, Portland and Nebraska. Butte
made a name for itself going 12-3 with Reliance of California being
their biggest nemesis.
15 players traveled to San Francisco for the Christmas battle with the
Olympics. Following the games with the Olympics, a feud simmered
as to charges of "professionalism" because of two players on the
Butte squad (Hall and Laswell). The Pacific Northwest Amatuer
Association, siding with the Olympic Club was withholding gate proceeds
from the New Years Day game. Butte threatened to sue.
Olympic later pulled out of the Amateur Association almost killing its
ability to play football since the big universities would not play a
"professional" team. Butte would get it's amatuer status
reinstated by the PAA, but not until the Vancouver game was canceled
and the team returned to Butte.
Following the 1896 season it was discussed to no longer play football all
year 'round and instead focus on a fall/winter campaign.
Millionaire Charles Clark pulled his funding after bankrolling the 1894
and 1895 seasons as well as providing well paying jobs in the mines for
such stars as George McMillian (Reliant), Big Jim Hooper and George
Dygert of Michigan. This led to difficulty securing the guarantee
funds needed to bring quality teams to Butte and some schedule changes
due to "political issues of the day". Those issues came mainly in
the form of "militia men" and "scabs" associated with recent mining
strikes. Union men were also barred as beliefs that "retributions"
could mar the games. Teams rostering those men were not welcome in
Butte and was a prime reason for not playing Leadville, Colorado.
The Leadville incident involved the killing of a firefighter trying to
extinguish a mine fire started by union strikers.
Also at odds for the Butte squad, was a stripping of their amateur
status which was finally reinstated in October of 1897. The
"stripping" Butte claimed, was the Pacific Amateur Association flexing
as it refused to pay Butte it's portion ($455) from the January games
with Olympic Club of San Francisco, where the PAA is based.
This also led to a scaled back 3 game season in 1897, but fueled the
1898 Anaconda feud and subsequent battles.
The legendary Glenn "Pop" Warner played against the Buttes and lost his
shirt along with the $80 wager he placed on his Iowa team coming away
victorious in 1895. He met his match in Big Jim Hooper.
1899 saw enough numbers for two teams to be formed in Butte, so Jim
Hooper and Percy Benson each formed a team. These were some of the
heaviest teams ever put together and injuries took a huge toll.
The final game was to pit the Hoopers and Bensons against one another
with fill-ins from Anaconda, however weather and the financial failings
of the season made for a decision to disband. High School and
Collegiate football were starting to take off and the crowds and
interest of old were waning.
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