The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Montana Mint released a list of the top 16 athletes in Montana history and is asking fans to vote for their top 4. On February 12, the website will crown the “Mount Rushmore” of Montana sports.

The Montana Mint is also making the content surrounding the contest available for use to Montana media outlets without charge.

After polling its fans through various social media platforms, the Montana Mint compiled a list of the top 16 athletes: Brock Osweiler, Colt Anderson, Dan Carpenter, Dane Fletcher, Dave Dickenson, Dave McNally, Dwan Edwards, Evel Knievel, Josh Huestis, Kroy Biermann, Larry Krystkowiak, Laser, Ryan Leaf, Todd Foster, the Zadick Brothers, and the 1904 Fort Shaw Women’s Basketball Team.

In order to reach as many Montana sport fans as possible, the Montana Mint invites media outlets throughout the state to use the story for their print publication or their online platforms without charge. Attached you will find (1) a copy of the full article as it ran on http://www.montana-mint.com, (2) a copy of the article without commentary, and (3) the embed code for the Google poll being used as the voting mechanism to determine the winner.

Feel free to use any of the attached materials or portions of the attached material. If using for a print publication, please give credit to “Montana Mint” in the byline, and reference http://www.montana-mint.com. If using for an online platform, please provide a link to the original article here: http://www.montana-mint.com/2016/01/31/who-is-the-best-athlete-in-montana-history/

You can also just direct your readers directly to the poll which can be found here.

With regards to the competition, the owners of the Montana Mint said, “Montanans have spent thousands, maybe millions, of hours debating who is the best athlete in Montana history. We set out to find the answer. From Dave Dickenson to Dave McNally, Big Sky Country has produced some tremendous athletes.” The Montana Mint also noted, “If fans notice their favorite athlete is missing, they can write them in. Already we are seeing a write-in campaign for Pat Donovan gain some traction.”

With regards to making the content available for all Montana media outlets to use, the owners of the Montana Mint said, “The Montana Mint wants as many Montanans to participate as possible in naming the best athlete in Montana history. We are happy to make this content available to all Montana media outlets and include as many Montanans as possible in the process.”

The Montana Mint has a simple mission: Bring the best of Montana to the internet. We do this by sharing lots of original content, gorgeous photos, and stories we think Montanans will enjoy. Last year, the Montana Mint Pizza Championship Bracket crowned Eugene’s Pizza in Glasgow the best pizza in the state after three rounds of voting, and tens of thousands of votes cast.

Who is the best athlete in Montana History?

By the Montana Mint

Who is the best athlete ever to come out of Montana? Finding an answer to this question has resulted in thousands, perhaps MILLIONS of hour of debate…and the Montana Mint wants to find an answer.

After polling the Mint community, we developed a list of the top 16. We are turning to the Montana Mint community to name the best. Instead of asking you to name just your number one choice, we’re asking for a “Top 4.” The Mount Rushmore of Montana Sports, if you will.

Criteria

In making the top 16, we looked at an athlete’s post-high school career (apologies to Mike Chavez and Mike Warhank). The best high school athlete in Montana history will be an article for another day. We also only included people that are identified as Montanans. It is true that John Elway played Little Grizzly football in Missoula, but we determined that Montana does not really claim him. Same goes for Phil Jackson.

The Athletes

Here is our list of top 16 athletes in Montana history: Brock Osweiler, Colt Anderson, Dan Carpenter, Dane Fletcher, Dave Dickenson, Dave McNally, Dwan Edwards, Evel Knievel, Josh Huestis, Kroy Biermann, Larry Krystkowiak, Laser, Ryan Leaf, Todd Foster, the Zadick Brothers, and the 1904 Fort Shaw Women’s Basketball Team.

Below you will find their bio, the case for/against including them on Montana’s Sports Mount Rushmore, and some expert analysis from the Montana Mint Superfans. Some athletes are paired up because their careers were so intertwined. So you can vote for the Zadick brothers or the 1904 Fort Shaw women’s basketball team and it will count for one vote. It just did not feel right separating them. You leave the logistics of carving all those faces into a mountain up to us.

Voting

At the end of the article, you can vote for your “Top 4.” Or you can go directly to the Google poll and vote now.

The Final Sixteen

Baseball

Dave McNally

Dave McNally was born in Billings, MT on October 31, 1942. He made his MLB debut for the Baltimore Orioles in 1962, where he spent most of his career. He helped lead the Orioles to the World Series twice - once in 1966 and again in 1970. He is the only pitcher in MLB history to hit a grand slam in a World Series game. The bat and ball he used are on display in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The case for: 3-time all-star, 1970 Cy Young runner up, 184 Wins (155th all time), 33 career shut outs (87th all time), received some votes for the baseball Hall of Fame.

The case against: Montana is not a baseball state

Basketball

1904 Fort Shaw Women’s Team

In 1904, basketball was a relatively new sport - the clock did not stop and field goals only netted a single point. It took off at the Fort Shaw Indian boarding school outside of Great Falls with the young female students. In their first official game, they beat the Great Falls high school boys’ team and went on to beat the University of Montana and Montana State teams by 25-1 and 22-0, respectively.

Continued Next Week