Thomas A. "Tommy" Weir

Centerville Highlanders, Englewood Blues, Butte Ramblers, US Army A.E.F

Fullback / Linebacker / Punter

1909 - 1927

Los Angeles Professional "Angels"

1926

When he broke into "semi pro" football as a 16-year old reserve end for the Butte Ramblers, the skinny 135-pounder was just "Johnny's brother" to most Butte fans.  Johnny being his older brother, the star halfback of Butte in 1909.  Cutting his teeth in the early years of ironman football, Tommy suffered a broken ankle in the first game of the 1910 season and watched as brother Johnny thrilled the fans with his long runs from scrimmage and booming punts.  For six seasons Tommy played second-billing to Johnny as the Ramblers contended for and claimed the 1912 Butte City League championship developing a rivalry with the Centerville Young Men's Club team.  Centerville would win the title in 1914 and not relinquish it for a decade.

The Butte Ramblers squad gave way to the East Side Athletic Club, and Tommy began to get some action in the backfield, having added some weight as he opened holes for his brother in 1915 and 1916.  The tough-as-nails baseball catcher was just coming into his own when war broke out and the United States mobilized.  Tommy was one of the first to register and was accepted into the US Army Artillery, Johnny joined the Navy and became a 2nd Class Firefighter on the USS New York battle cruiser.  By now, Tommy was a strapping 192-pounder in the prime of fitness.

Consigned to the 11th Artillery B Battery, Weir played division football and helped lead the soldiers to the Border Championship and while in France, was part of the 6th Army Division team that took part in the 1919 American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) championship tournament held in Belgium, France and Germany.  The tournament was part of the Armastice celebrations when the guns of World War I were silenced.  His 6th Division team was knocked out by the 81st Division in the February 1919 semi-final rounds in a game played in Antricourt, France, but Weir was labeled as the "best army punter in France".  Earlier in 1918, brother Johnny was aboard the USS New York and witnessed the surrender of the German fleet. 

Both brothers returned to the States, Johnny to the Puget Sound Naval base in Washington, and Tommy finished out his tour being discharged in June 1919.  The tragic news followed in August, Johnny was not coming home having contracted meningitis, the elder Weir died in the Puget Sound Naval hospital.  They would not be playing football and baseball together any longer.

Friends and war veterans convinced Weir to get back on the field and take over where brother Johnny left off.  After last appearing on a Butte field in 1916, Tommy laced up in November of 1919 and got the blood moving again with the Meaderville Men's Club team.  At 27-years old, most men of the era were well on their way to a career and family, but the former artilleryman turned explosives-expert miner, burned his extra energy on the gridiron, stepping out of the shadows of the elder Weir, and carving his own name in the football spotlights. This was the era of the two-way player and under-20 man rosters with very few substitutions.  It fit Tommy Weir perfectly as he rarely came off the field.  Except on those rare occassions when he knocked himself out dishing out one of his hard tackles on opposing runners that would leave both men wobbly.

When the Meaderville team moved to join the newly formed Englewood Blues, Weir went with them and began his ascent as one of the hardest line-smashing fullbacks and hardest hitting defenders in league history, eventually garnering the nickname "Sheet Iron".  Those efforts did not go unnoticed and after the 1920 season, Gonzaga College came calling wanting the services of the near-30-year-old fullback.  An all-around athlete, Weir set a league baseball record in the spring of 1921 with 88 bases hit for, a plus .400 batting average including 8 home runs, while being one of the best punters and drop-kickers in the region.

Weir started at fullback for Gonzaga in 1921 and upon completion of the season, returned to Butte where he rejoined the Englewood team earning All-City honors as the top fullback and linebacker, blessed with a knack for punting and kicking.  Being a problem for the Centerville Highlanders in their battles with Englewood, the Centerville team gained the services of Weir and for the next three seasons Tommy claimed the All-City-All-Star fullback position at season end of 1922, 1923 and 1924.  Tommy Weir set a number of punting records including an astounding 23 punts in one game for over 700 yards in field position change as well as scoring a record 50-yard drop kick field goal in 1922.  In a December 1922 write up in The Anaconda Standard proclaimed Weir "the most valuable man for any squad".

Then he turned pro.  Yes, at 33-years-old, Weir not only planned to get married in 1925, he was also recruited to play in a fledgling professional football league in California.  The Los Angeles "Angels" signed Weir and he played through the 1926 season. The Los Angeles team folded up after four games giving way to the undefeated Hollywood Generals that would go on to play the New York Football Yankees.  Returning to Butte, Weir decided he had one more season of football in him.

With the 1927 Centerville Highlanders, former 10-time Butte City League champions, Weir led his team as the starting fullback but gave way on the punting and kicking duties to Ralph Olsen who would etch his name in the punting record books alongside his legendary mentor.  Tommy would be voted Second Team All-City fullback, his fifth official honor AFTER the age of 29.

After playing for 17-years, interrupted briefly by war, Weir hung up his gear and became a Silver Bow deputy sheriff under his brother Larry for $150 per month, resigning in January of 1935 to work for the various Butte mining companies.  The War Veteran was one of the most recognizable and resepected athletes in Butte history at the time and had not only etched his own name as one of the most beloved in the city, but elevated the Weir family name to rival the Meglen brothers as Montana football royalty.

Weir passed away in August of 1944 after a long illness at Fort Harrison Veteran's hospital near Helena, MT.

Minor League Honors

1916 Butte All-City Second Team End (East Side Athletic Club)

1920 Butte All-City Second Team Fullback (Englewood)

1921 Butte All-City Fullback (Englewood)

1922 Butte All-City Fullback (Centerville)

1922 Butte Independent League MVP

1923 Butte All-City Fullback (Centerville)

1924 Butte All-City Fullback (Centerville)

1927 Butte All-City Second Team Fullback (Centerville)