Early Softball: Fighting Indians, Peerless Hellcats
• Northeast Montana has had a rich history on the diamonds — both in baseball and softball.
• Originally, homesteading men played independent baseball — usually on Sundays when a week’s work was through. From 1900 to the 1950s, it was community versus community in acute competition. Some Montana teams even paid two or three pro prospects to play with them for the summer.
• Many squads played “the national game” on parched fields — sticker patches of dirt, cactus and gopher holes. Local communities such as Mineral Bench (30 miles north of Poplar), Smoke Creek (south of Flaxville) and Tule Creek (east of Wolf Point) tussled with the likes of the Wolf Point Greys, Wolf Point’s Great Northern Railroad team, the Scobey Rabbits and the Froid Spiders.
• By the 1920s, baseball was stunningly prevalent. With pro prospects and heavy gambling as part of the formula, it created bitter jealousies between adjacent hamlets. The most noted was the divide between the Scobey Giants and the Plentywood town team.
• However — and on a national scale — softball would gain ground and soon replace independent baseball as the local recreational pastime for adults. Originating in the 1930’s and 1940’s men’s fastpitch went through a boom and found its way into Montana by the 1950s and 1960s — with Miles City, Havre, Great Falls and Billings leading the way. Both men and women created leagues. By the 1970s, recreational slow pitch would replace fast pitch in popularity as the 20th century progressed.
• The city of Wolf Point had a competitive men’s fastpitch church league in the 1960’s. In fact, “competitive,” is too modest in describing the ferocious struggle between Wolf Point churches, denominations and faiths.
• Dubbed the Wolf Point Church Softball League, the 1966 late-summer standings are provided below by The Herald News (with the vernacular of the day):
• Standings: 1) Roman Catholics, 5-0; 2) Presbyterian Indians, 4-0; 3) Ekklesia, 3-1; 4) Trinity Lutheran, 3-3; 5) Baptist, 0-3; 6) Mormons, 0-4; 7) First Lutheran, 0-4
• When the mighty Presbyterian Indians (United Dakota Presbyterian Church) crossed bats with the vaunted Catholics (made up mostly of the Immaculate Conception flock), good-natured competition gave way to unsmiling thirsts for victory.
• The church teams played before large crowds on a field south of today’s King Memorial Cemetery. In the 1960s, the locality was referred to as Pumpkin Hill.
• Sheriff Leo Cody, playing for the Catholics, would often take his children to watch the games — especially if “the fighting Presbyterian Indians” were on the ledger. Remembered Cody’s son Tim, “Fred McGeschick, Sr. was a stud and one of the few that fired underhanded.” Tim was referring to McGeshick’s raw pitching speed — not to mention the ball’s movement and accuracy. Like accomplished pitchers of the day, McGeshick had a smorgasbord of mystifying pitches in his throwing arsenal.
• In the final 1966 game of the season, McGeshick pitched the Presbyterian Indians to a 13-11 victory over the favored Catholics. Pitcher Ralph Skagen took the loss for the Catholic team, while his teammate, Jim Dwyer launched a homerun off McGeshick. “Fighting Indians Defeat Catholics, Win Championship” boomed the Herald News.
• It should be noted that during the 1960s, the Catholic team was stuffed with talent — including a few players from the 1965 state American Legion champions. Youthful spitfires such as Bob Loucks, Dave Parsley and Jim Dwyer played for the Catholic nine, as well as Dave’s older brother Bob. Bob Parsley was a threetime all-Frontier conference basketball player for Northern Montana College. Other Catholic players included Richard Meidinger, Felix Jensen and Dennis Casey.
• In a 1971 women’s game between Malta and the Hinsdale Sun-Ups, the rivals compromised on the pitching style for a double header at Trafton Park in Hinsdale. The Hinsdale Tribune awkwardly explained the situation: “The women’s softball team sustained their first place position by walloping Malta ... Malta pitched the regulation slow arch delivery which accounted for better hitting by the Hinsdale’s team. Women’s softball league rules are slow arch pitching. The first encounter with Malta was the fast pitch by their team and slow pitch for Hinsdale which was confusing to both teams; however, more difficult to a team used to the slow delivery.”
• Concerning slow pitch women teams in the area, the Peerless Hellcats were the quintessentially most colorful and successful ... bar none. Originating in 1967, the Hellcats were forced to travel long distances in the early years to find opponents. Their initial journeys took them to tournaments in Roundup, Chinook, Billings, Glendive, Miles City and Havre. Eventually they developed a keen rivalry with the Chinook Farmer’s Union team.
• According to author Joe Puckett in his extensive writings, The Blues of Summer, the dawn and success of the Hellcats revolved around their coach, Ed Puckett. In the early years, George Larson, Maynard Lystad and Pat Fouhy assisted Puckett. Pat Fouhy remained as an assistant coach for many seasons and helped Puckett add significantly to the Hellcats winning legacy.
• The Peerless Hellcats shined in the 1970s. Indicative of their legacy was the 1972 Roundup tournament where they crushed two Billings teams, Roundup and then pounded their friendly archenemy, Chinook, 31-7 to win the crown.
• In The Blues of Summer, Hellcat Judy Fouhy remembered playing for her beloved team: “I think about relief from doing chores on the farm. Painting fences, weeding, cleaning out the grain bins ... All week [I looked forward to] going to practice and better yet, the games. Especially those at Westby, or Antelope and Dagmar because we got to stop working way earlier to travel longer distances and got to stop at the DQ on the way home.”
• One of the stronger men’s slow pitch teams in northeast Montana was the Wolf Point Sponsors. Later, some of the local allstars were underwritten specifically by Dad’s Bar. Both teams had significant success in competitive invitationals, as well as state tournaments. Some members included Dennis Visser, Carmen Birdsbill, Danny Bartel, Dave Stengel, Dave Block, Sonny Archdale, Bob Loucks, Wayne Bergen, Bill Dasinger, Gary Copenhaver and the three Sansaver brothers: Noel, Ross and Jeff.
• The Nathan Crazy Bull American Legion Post 54 in Poplar had annual softball tournaments. Results of the 1981 battle are as follows: first, Dad’s Bar, Wolf Point; second, Moe Chevrolet and Wally’s Grocery, Poplar; third, The Crossroads, Wolf Point and Vida; fourth, Bum Steer Bar, Poplar. The sportsmanship was given to The Blue Feather Store from Frazer.
• MVP for the tournament was Bill Dasinger from Dad’s Bar, Wolf Point. The all-tournament were: Spike Bighorn, Brockton; Ross Sansaver, Dad’s Bar, Wolf Point; Lynn Lien, Crossroads and Vida; Marty Strauser, Moe Chevrolet and Wally’s Grocery, Poplar; Fred Steele, Sr., Bum Steer Bar, Poplar; James Melbourne, Brockton; Butch Corne, Moe Chevrolet and Wally’s Grocery, Poplar; “Semi” Colin Grady, Dad’s Bar, Wolf Point; Allison Russell, Chelsea Creek; Tom Wellinger, Moe Chevrolet and Wally’s Grocery, Poplar.
• Poplar had many competitive teams during this time with Lyman Crawford, Teddy Darnell and Gary Zimmerman as some on the rosters. Frazer sported Dean Blount, Russell and Roger White, Sonny Flynn and Karl Wallette to name a few.
(Jerry Worley is a retired social studies professor. He is currently covering history for Montana outlets. He can be contacted at sevendistancedogs@ yahoo. com.)
