Page 20 - Flathead Beacon // 2.4.15

20 | FEBRUARY 4. 2015
COVER
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
Doug Betters. COURTESY MIAMI DOLPHINS
COURTESY DOUG BETTERS
stay actively involved with For the Chil- dren, the nonprofit organization tied to the Classic that provides financial assis- tance to families with children in need of medical treatment outside the valley.
The Classic could evolve in the com- ing years and board members are in the process of reviewing possible changes that could be announced in the coming months, signaling a new chapter for a re- vered local staple.
“We’ve had a good run. It’s like foot- ball, though; you don’t want to hang it up too late and you don’t want to get it all stale,” he said recently. “We need some new blood, from the players up to the board. Change is good. I’m ready to let somebody else run with it.”
Betters’ decision marks the end of an era for Whitefish’s All-Pro volunteer, al- though his legacy carries on in those he inspired and helped.
“It’s such a great event and the mon- ey raised goes to such a great cause. It’s something my wife and I look forward to every year,” said Colt Anderson, a Butte native and free safety for the Indianapo- lis Colts, who has attended the Winter Classic since 2008.
“Being in its 30th year, that speaks volumes for the amazing work that him and his wife have done. Not all events can carry on such a great tradition. Doug’s a big man but his heart is even bigger. There’s a reason why this event has gone 30 years. It’s all because of Doug.”
Growing up in the Midwest, Bet- ters was a Boy Scout who always found himself involved in com- munity service projects. Being his size, he also developed a noticeable knack for football.
As a highly touted high school re- cruit from Illinois, Betters made a sur- prising move and visited the University of Montana in Missoula.
When Betters was younger, his fa- ther had shared memorable stories of his great-aunt’s ranch in Hardin, and the 18-year-old felt drawn to Big Sky Coun- try, even though larger schools closer to home were offering him scholarships to play football.
“(Montana) had a draw to me for some reason,” he has previously said.
“I made my choice because I was in love with the idea of Montana, and when I got there it reinforced what I felt.”
In his three seasons in Missoula, Betters earned All-Big Sky Conference twice, in 1975 and 1976. He transferred to the University of Nevada the follow- ing year, earning All-American honors and the attention of the NFL.
In 1978, the Miami Dolphins select- ed the 6-foot-7 defensive lineman in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
After that, the Killer B’s were un- leashed. Betters joined a defense that coincidentally had six players whose names began with the letter “B.” Over the next 10 years, Betters would torment
quarterbacks like Joe Montana, who he sacked in Super Bowl XIX, as one of the best defensive linemen of his generation.
In 1983, he put together a career year and recorded 16 sacks in 16 games, win- ning the NFL’s top award for defensive players. All told, he recorded 64.5 sacks and more than 450 tackles in 146 games, carving out a place among the all-time greats in Miami’s franchise history.
In 2008, Betters was inducted into the Dolphins’ Honor Roll, a rare achievement that fewer than 20 play- ers had earned at the time. Betters’ name now hangs from the team’s sta- dium rafters alongside such greats as Dan Marino, Don Shula and the 1972 undefeated team.
“Doug was a guy who went to work every day and didn’t do much complain- ing,” Hall of Fame center Dwight Ste- phenson said in a Dolphins’ press release announcing Betters’ honor. “I felt that he was one of the most underrated play- ers. He did not get a whole lot of credit in the National Football League itself, but he was one of the best defensive linemen that ever played during that time.”
Despite leaving during college and spending his playing days in the Sun- shine State, Betters never lost that con- nection to Montana. Specifically, White- fish.
In 1974, when he was 19, he and some teammates from UM visited Whitefish during the annual Winter Carnival fes-
30TH ANNUAL WHITEFISH WINTER CLASSIC
MARCH 5-8
Organizers are seeking stories from past attendees or families who have benefitted from the charity event. Stories will remain confidential and can be sent to info@ whitefishwinterclassic.org.
For more information about the Classic and the nonprofit organization For The Children, visit http://whitefishwinterclassic.org/
tivities. They reveled in the lively events that erupted across town that weekend.
“That’s how I fell in love with the place. Then I started coming up more visiting, going to Glacier Park and check- ing it all out,” he said.
There was something especially unique about Whitefish that really lured Betters.
“A foot and a half of pow. Bluebird days. There was nothing like it,” he said. “We started coming up here during the college days. We’d get up early and drive up to go skiing and then get a burger and a beer at the Great Northern and head back to Missoula. That was pretty great, especially for a college kid.”
Betters became a devoted – and skilled – skier, and by the time he was playing professionally, he had a place rented in Whitefish that became his ref- uge as soon as the NFL season ended. In 1981, he decided to lay down roots and bought a house near the shores of Whitefish Lake. It’s the home he still lives in today.
Throughout it all, he never lost that compassion for community service, and after visiting a celebrity fundraiser in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Betters came up with a similar idea that would feature NFL players appearing at an event he could host in Whitefish.
He found a partner in Big Moun- tain Ski Area, which jumped aboard as a main sponsor and helped Betters travel