The Butte Pastime Athletic Club football team traces it's roots to Sept 15, 1893 when the first football game was played in Deer Lodge, Montana between the team of Montana College and the "old Butte" team.   Following that successful game, DeGay Stivers, then secretary of the Butte Pastime Club officially organized a squad under the Athletic Club banner for the 1894 season.   The two clubs would swap players back and forth creating some "grudge" matches of sorts.  These practice games continued through the month of May.
 
The "Old Butte" team and the Pastime club would play three games before injuries took a toll and it was decided to consolidate with the Athletic Club team for the remainder of the year. 
 
With football being so young and teams so far apart, expenses were an issue.  Long train rides cost money, so visiting teams often required a guarantee to make the trip.  Joe Klaffki and John Cannon, mining magnates making names for themselves in the Montana territory put up the guarantees for the Helena team expenses to come to Butte.  A return game to Helena saw a rule implemented that no player over 150lbs could play.  This helped Helena muster a 0-0 tie.
 
With restrictions placed on the management of the 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.
 
In June of 1931, Pete Snelson wrote an in depth historical retrospective of the beginnings of the Butte "Big Teams" starting in 1893 with interviews of former players, coaches, businessmen and included rosters, game summaries, and stories.  The first expose was published in the Great Falls Tribune on June 7, 1931 and was followed up with June 14 and June 21 articles.  Photographs and much more were included and used to help put this historical archive together.

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