Montana State Hall of Famer Passes Away
3/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Finberg, along with former MSU standout and head coach Mick Durham, teamed to be one of the best backcourt duos in the history of Bobcat basketball. Finberg is still ranked among MSU’s all-time top ten in scoring and assists.
As a prep standout, Finberg led Columbia Falls to a State A title. He would later go on to coach in Dillon for 19-years, guiding the Beavers to the 1990 State A crown. Recently, Finberg served as an assistant at Western Montana College.
A Celebration of Craig's life will be held in Columbia Falls on Thursday March 26th at the High School at 6:00 pm. Everyone is asked to wear either the "Finny" shirts, Wildcat attire or blue.
Services in Dillon will be on Saturday March 28th at the High School at 2:00 pm followed immediately by a reception at the UM-Western Keltz Arena.
Craig “Finny” Finberg, 51
Craig “Finny” Finberg passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends at his home in Dillon, MT on March 20th, 2009 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
Craig was born on May 6th 1957 to Math and Norma Finberg and grew up in Columbia Falls. He graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1975, attended Montana State University and finished his degree at UM-Western in Dillon. He recently accomplished one of his life long dreams and earned his Masters of Sports Science Degree from the United States Sports Academy in 2007.
While attending CFHS he became a basketball legend. Craig earned all-state honors and set a single game scoring record of 40 points during the Divisional Championship game and led his team to a 2nd place finish at the State Tournament. He was elected to the CFHS Hall of Fame upon graduating in 1975. After completing High School he accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the Montana State University Bobcats. Upon completion of his career he ranked 4th in school history in scoring with 1,473 points putting him in 8th place on the all time Big Sky Conference list. He also owned the single season assist record with 148 and the single game mark with 16. His free throw shooting percentage of 84.9 was a school record as was his career record of 84.1. He also earned All- Big Sky Conference honors for three consecutive years and was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2003. After a brief career in the CBA and a tryout with the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, he began his coaching career under Casey Keltz at UM-Western.
Craig began his head-coaching career at Dillon's Beaverhead County High School. In his 18-year career at BCHS, he is the most successful coach in school history with 281-160 overall record and state championships in 1990 and 1999. The 1990 title was the first state title of any kind for the school since 1946.
After his retirement from coaching at Dillon's Beaverhead County High School, he returned to the Bulldog bench to assist Mark Durham for one season and was an assistant on Steve Keller’s staff for the last two seasons. He continued to teach at Beaverhead County High School.
During his life Craig was an avid sports enthusiast and passionately supported his Minnesota Vikings and Twins, but nothing compared to the love of the game of basketball and being able to coach and teach. He always had a saying to live by “take a negative and turn it into a positive” which is how we will remember him. He also looked forward to traveling with his wife Tammy and often spoke about how much he enjoyed the times when he could just mow his lawn on a sunny day and play with his kitty cats.
Craig married the love of his life, Tammy, on June 26, 2004, in Las Vegas. He is survived by Tammy, stepson Shane Sutton (Shane's wife Annie and son Joshua); stepson Dustin Sutton; mother Norma Finberg and Dick Collier; sister Cheryl Rice (Cheryl's husband Dave and their sons Shane and Brandon); Brandon's wife Jessica and their son Trey; brother Chris (Chris' wife Cathy and their children Camie and Christopher); Camie's husband Randy Northrop and their children Samantha, Kayla and Kyler; Christopher's fiancé Colleen; sister Cathy; brother Cary (Cary's wife Angie and their daughters Ciera and Cydney); and mother and father-in-law Tink and Julie Krause. Numerous cousins, aunts and uncles also survive him. His father Math preceded Craig in death as well as both sets of grandparents. .
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the Columbia Falls Wildcat Endowment Fund or to a Memorial Scholarship fund at the Beaverhead County High School.
The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude for the outpouring support from everyone whose lives were touched by Finny. May his memory live on forever, we will miss you Craig.
As a prep standout, Finberg led Columbia Falls to a State A title. He would later go on to coach in Dillon for 19-years, guiding the Beavers to the 1990 State A crown. Recently, Finberg served as an assistant at Western Montana College.
A Celebration of Craig's life will be held in Columbia Falls on Thursday March 26th at the High School at 6:00 pm. Everyone is asked to wear either the "Finny" shirts, Wildcat attire or blue.
Services in Dillon will be on Saturday March 28th at the High School at 2:00 pm followed immediately by a reception at the UM-Western Keltz Arena.
Craig “Finny” Finberg, 51
Craig “Finny” Finberg passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends at his home in Dillon, MT on March 20th, 2009 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.
Craig was born on May 6th 1957 to Math and Norma Finberg and grew up in Columbia Falls. He graduated from Columbia Falls High School in 1975, attended Montana State University and finished his degree at UM-Western in Dillon. He recently accomplished one of his life long dreams and earned his Masters of Sports Science Degree from the United States Sports Academy in 2007.
While attending CFHS he became a basketball legend. Craig earned all-state honors and set a single game scoring record of 40 points during the Divisional Championship game and led his team to a 2nd place finish at the State Tournament. He was elected to the CFHS Hall of Fame upon graduating in 1975. After completing High School he accepted a scholarship to play basketball for the Montana State University Bobcats. Upon completion of his career he ranked 4th in school history in scoring with 1,473 points putting him in 8th place on the all time Big Sky Conference list. He also owned the single season assist record with 148 and the single game mark with 16. His free throw shooting percentage of 84.9 was a school record as was his career record of 84.1. He also earned All- Big Sky Conference honors for three consecutive years and was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2003. After a brief career in the CBA and a tryout with the NBA’s Portland Trailblazers, he began his coaching career under Casey Keltz at UM-Western.
Craig began his head-coaching career at Dillon's Beaverhead County High School. In his 18-year career at BCHS, he is the most successful coach in school history with 281-160 overall record and state championships in 1990 and 1999. The 1990 title was the first state title of any kind for the school since 1946.
After his retirement from coaching at Dillon's Beaverhead County High School, he returned to the Bulldog bench to assist Mark Durham for one season and was an assistant on Steve Keller’s staff for the last two seasons. He continued to teach at Beaverhead County High School.
During his life Craig was an avid sports enthusiast and passionately supported his Minnesota Vikings and Twins, but nothing compared to the love of the game of basketball and being able to coach and teach. He always had a saying to live by “take a negative and turn it into a positive” which is how we will remember him. He also looked forward to traveling with his wife Tammy and often spoke about how much he enjoyed the times when he could just mow his lawn on a sunny day and play with his kitty cats.
Craig married the love of his life, Tammy, on June 26, 2004, in Las Vegas. He is survived by Tammy, stepson Shane Sutton (Shane's wife Annie and son Joshua); stepson Dustin Sutton; mother Norma Finberg and Dick Collier; sister Cheryl Rice (Cheryl's husband Dave and their sons Shane and Brandon); Brandon's wife Jessica and their son Trey; brother Chris (Chris' wife Cathy and their children Camie and Christopher); Camie's husband Randy Northrop and their children Samantha, Kayla and Kyler; Christopher's fiancé Colleen; sister Cathy; brother Cary (Cary's wife Angie and their daughters Ciera and Cydney); and mother and father-in-law Tink and Julie Krause. Numerous cousins, aunts and uncles also survive him. His father Math preceded Craig in death as well as both sets of grandparents. .
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either the Columbia Falls Wildcat Endowment Fund or to a Memorial Scholarship fund at the Beaverhead County High School.
The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude for the outpouring support from everyone whose lives were touched by Finny. May his memory live on forever, we will miss you Craig.
Wednesday, June 10
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