BILLINGS — Montana Football Hall of Fame chairman Rick Halmes loves the organization and has cherished every class that has been inducted since the inaugural set of inductees was honored in 2016.
So, when Halmes gushes over this year’s inductees — the eighth class, as the Class of 2020 was honored in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis — one knows those being honored with enshrinement in either the Players, Legacy, or Support category are truly a remarkable group.
“This might be our most newsworthy class yet,” Halmes recently wrote in an email to The Billings Gazette and 406 MT Sports.
Rick Halmes announces during the Montana Football Hall of Fame blazer ceremony at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center on Saturday, June 26, 2021. Halmes, who now lives in Belt, is the chairman of the hall.
Halmes, 75, who moved back to his hometown of Belt last July after spending 34 years in Billings, said he couldn’t wait to make it back to Billings for the event.
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“Even with all the health issues I’ve had the past three years, it is still exciting,” he said.
The banquet begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. A meet and greet, “where you can shake hands with the players and take pictures with them” Halmes said, starts at 5 p.m.
Only a limited number of tickets remain, with 36 left as of Wednesday afternoon, said Halmes. Tickets are available for $100 by calling Janet Schuh at 406-598-3297 or at Universal Athletic stores in Montana.
Halmes said crowds have averaged between 350 and 400 on induction night and the largest attendance over the years was approximately 420 people. He’s expecting a crowd approaching 400 on Saturday and said many will have attended past ceremonies but every year the attendees include a “broad” range of first-timers.
‘All of these guys have been gentlemen’
In the Players category, those being honored with induction are: Chase Reynolds, Drummond High School, Montana, RB, NFL (St. Louis Rams/Los Angeles Rams 2013-16); Mark McGrath, Montana State, WR, NFL (Seattle Seahawks 1981, Washington Redskins 1983-85); Matt Clark, Missoula Hellgate, Montana, WR, CFL (BC Lions 1991-1996, Edmonton Eskimos 1998); Brock Osweiler, Kalispell Flathead, Arizona State, QB, NFL (Denver Broncos 2012-2015, Houston Texans 2016, Broncos 2017, Miami Dolphins 2018); and Marc Mariani, Havre, Montana, WR/kick and punt returns, NFL (Tennessee Titans 2010-2011, Chicago Bears 2014-15, Titans 2016).
“All of these guys have been gentlemen and are very courteous,” said Halmes, who also rattled off stories about those in the Players category that attendees will undoubtedly hear Saturday night, of his interactions with those receiving honors.
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