Growing up a Griz fan in the 80's and 90's he was a guy that most all involved with Grizzly athletics knew.
Actually all realms of Montana sports were his specialty, he knew and wrote about a lot of it. Chris ran a real cool trivia and info section in the local paper and many people would find themselves wrapped up into 15 to 20 minute discussions with him each time a sports topic came up.
Chris was my first main introduction into really following Grizzly football closely. I went to plenty of games in the 80's and early 90's as grass endzone seats were cheaper than a babysitter so my folks would get me a ticket. However in 1993 when I was 13 I was put in contact with Chris who was looking for a score runner to assist him in the press box. There was no pay but I got lunch, a seat in the pressbox, and got to deliver halftime stats to the coaches. This was pre-internet as it's known today, Chris literally had a phone in front of him, it would ring and he'd update the caller with the score and some general stats. Whoever was calling in (usually a regional or national sports hub, ESPN mostly but also some regional print media) would also give Chris a few scores in big games. Usually he'd get Big Sky scores by calling his counterparts at games across the conference too.
My job was to write down the scores on three sheets of paper, deliver one to the radio booth, one to the PA announcer, and one to Bill Moos's box. I think there were two games where there was a TV crew that I also delivered scores to. Chris was mostly blind, he used a strong magnifying scope to read or see, hence the use of a kid like me for free labor.
What a year it was too, 1993, Dave Dickinson's rise. The SDSU comeback game and the eventual thrilling playoff loss to Delaware. From that season on my Griz fandom went from somewhat casual to what it still is today.
Rest in Peace Chris, you'll be missed.
Actually all realms of Montana sports were his specialty, he knew and wrote about a lot of it. Chris ran a real cool trivia and info section in the local paper and many people would find themselves wrapped up into 15 to 20 minute discussions with him each time a sports topic came up.
Chris was my first main introduction into really following Grizzly football closely. I went to plenty of games in the 80's and early 90's as grass endzone seats were cheaper than a babysitter so my folks would get me a ticket. However in 1993 when I was 13 I was put in contact with Chris who was looking for a score runner to assist him in the press box. There was no pay but I got lunch, a seat in the pressbox, and got to deliver halftime stats to the coaches. This was pre-internet as it's known today, Chris literally had a phone in front of him, it would ring and he'd update the caller with the score and some general stats. Whoever was calling in (usually a regional or national sports hub, ESPN mostly but also some regional print media) would also give Chris a few scores in big games. Usually he'd get Big Sky scores by calling his counterparts at games across the conference too.
My job was to write down the scores on three sheets of paper, deliver one to the radio booth, one to the PA announcer, and one to Bill Moos's box. I think there were two games where there was a TV crew that I also delivered scores to. Chris was mostly blind, he used a strong magnifying scope to read or see, hence the use of a kid like me for free labor.
What a year it was too, 1993, Dave Dickinson's rise. The SDSU comeback game and the eventual thrilling playoff loss to Delaware. From that season on my Griz fandom went from somewhat casual to what it still is today.
Rest in Peace Chris, you'll be missed.
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