BOBCATS 125: Tom LeProwse
5/25/2022 2:02:00 PM | Football
Tom LeProwse brought his trademark toughness to Montana State and Bozeman
Leading to the 2022 season, the 125th anniversary of Montana State's first football team, we will look at 125 of the greatest Bobcats. You can find details here and a directory here.
The Bobcat family lost a treasured member on May 12 when Tom LeProwse passed away. He was 94. LeProwse played football at Montana State in the immediate post-war years, a period punctuated by great achievements but also long struggles. He was a fixture at Bobcat events ever since, and was known and loved in Bozeman and also in his beloved hometown of Butte. Bill Foley of ButteSports.com writes beautifully about Tom LeProwse's pride in his hometown and Butte High's Diamond B Club and about LeProwse's status as an icon at two high schools that historically have not cared much for each other.
Tom LeProwse, C, 1947-50
The Bobcat family lost a treasured member on May 12 when Tom LeProwse passed away. He was 94. LeProwse played football at Montana State in the immediate post-war years, a period punctuated by great achievements but also long struggles. He was a fixture at Bobcat events ever since, and was known and loved in Bozeman and also in his beloved hometown of Butte. Bill Foley provides excellent looks at Tom LeProwse here and here.
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: All-Rocky Mountain teams not available, possibly not selected, from 1946-50
A CLOSER LOOK: Tom LeProwse, a Bobcat legend who became a sporting icon in both Butte and Bozeman, had a few trademarks. His ever-present cowboy hat, his quick smile, an irepressibly friendly demeanor. But what people that have known him the best, and the longest, talk about is his toughness. And his toughness came straight from his hometown of Butte.
LeProwse starred in football at Butte High, helping the Bulldogs advance to the state title game in 1945. His toughness showed through his iron man status, as he missed just one quarter and three plays during his prep career. His brilliance at Butte High led to selection for the first ever Montana East-West Shrine Game, where he kicked off to open the game then made the first tackle. His pride in that contest remained throughout his life. LeProwse's brilliant play continued at Montana State, where he starred from 1947-50. He remained active in Bobcat Athletics through the remainder of his life, helping to manage the revival of the M Club in the 1990s to provide Bobcat student-athletes letter jackets.
It's probably easier to track what LeProwse didn't coach in a three decades-long career at Bozeman High, but he was head coach of the Hawks football team for 20 years and also helped develop BHS programs in track, gymnastics wrestling and swimming, leading the latter two to state titles. Bozeman's annual wrestling invitational is named in his honor. LeProwse was a founding member of the Montana Coaches Association and supported many sports-related organizations in the state.
For all his accomplishments, his most treasures may have been membership in Butte's Diamond B Club, an organization that honors forer Butte Bulldogs on the 75th anniversary of their varsity letter. He made every banquet, and his status as the organization's 13th member gave him great pride.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT PHIL SCHNEIDER: "Tom was tough. He was from Butte, and he carried that toughness with him. Everyone who played with him, everyone who played for him, they all said the same thing - Tom was a tough man."
The Bobcat family lost a treasured member on May 12 when Tom LeProwse passed away. He was 94. LeProwse played football at Montana State in the immediate post-war years, a period punctuated by great achievements but also long struggles. He was a fixture at Bobcat events ever since, and was known and loved in Bozeman and also in his beloved hometown of Butte. Bill Foley of ButteSports.com writes beautifully about Tom LeProwse's pride in his hometown and Butte High's Diamond B Club and about LeProwse's status as an icon at two high schools that historically have not cared much for each other.
Tom LeProwse, C, 1947-50
The Bobcat family lost a treasured member on May 12 when Tom LeProwse passed away. He was 94. LeProwse played football at Montana State in the immediate post-war years, a period punctuated by great achievements but also long struggles. He was a fixture at Bobcat events ever since, and was known and loved in Bozeman and also in his beloved hometown of Butte. Bill Foley provides excellent looks at Tom LeProwse here and here.
ALL-TIME TEAM: None previously
HONORS: All-Rocky Mountain teams not available, possibly not selected, from 1946-50
A CLOSER LOOK: Tom LeProwse, a Bobcat legend who became a sporting icon in both Butte and Bozeman, had a few trademarks. His ever-present cowboy hat, his quick smile, an irepressibly friendly demeanor. But what people that have known him the best, and the longest, talk about is his toughness. And his toughness came straight from his hometown of Butte.
LeProwse starred in football at Butte High, helping the Bulldogs advance to the state title game in 1945. His toughness showed through his iron man status, as he missed just one quarter and three plays during his prep career. His brilliance at Butte High led to selection for the first ever Montana East-West Shrine Game, where he kicked off to open the game then made the first tackle. His pride in that contest remained throughout his life. LeProwse's brilliant play continued at Montana State, where he starred from 1947-50. He remained active in Bobcat Athletics through the remainder of his life, helping to manage the revival of the M Club in the 1990s to provide Bobcat student-athletes letter jackets.
It's probably easier to track what LeProwse didn't coach in a three decades-long career at Bozeman High, but he was head coach of the Hawks football team for 20 years and also helped develop BHS programs in track, gymnastics wrestling and swimming, leading the latter two to state titles. Bozeman's annual wrestling invitational is named in his honor. LeProwse was a founding member of the Montana Coaches Association and supported many sports-related organizations in the state.
For all his accomplishments, his most treasures may have been membership in Butte's Diamond B Club, an organization that honors forer Butte Bulldogs on the 75th anniversary of their varsity letter. He made every banquet, and his status as the organization's 13th member gave him great pride.
FROM FORMER BOBCAT PHIL SCHNEIDER: "Tom was tough. He was from Butte, and he carried that toughness with him. Everyone who played with him, everyone who played for him, they all said the same thing - Tom was a tough man."
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