Montana
Who saw the Babe in the Magic City? • Daily Montanan
A key step in Billings’ development as a baseball hub occurred two years after Archie Cochrane came to town, and it involved the biggest name in the sport’s history, Babe Ruth.
On July 13, 1947, the Billings Gazette reported that the Bambino, one of Ruth’s nicknames, might attend the American Legion junior baseball sectional tournament in Billings,
Legion baseball officials had invited Ruth to appear at the August 20–22, 1947, event, in his capacity as a consultant of the Legion youth program,
Harry Perrigo, Montana Legion athletic officer, told the Gazette that John F. Cooney, of Fargo, N. D., had informed him that Billings was on Ruth’s itinerary.
“However, due to the Babe’s health, none of the appearances are positive until you see him at the park,” Cooney told Perrigo. Ruth was scheduled to visit Billings during the tournament, and Cooney promised to provide details about his appearance.
“You may be sure we will do all possible to get the Babe out there. Bear in mind, however, all this is dependent on a very sick man’s health,” Cooney said.
Ruth was recovering from what was described as a “serious” neck operation, as reported in the Billings Gazette on January 9, 1947, and he was seldom seen unaccompanied by his nurse.
Perrigo said he expected a number of Legion and sports dignitaries to attend the tourney. Among them Mickey Cochrane, newly inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Cochrane told Perrigo that he was returning to Detroit in the near future, but that he would attend the Billings tournament if business matters permitted his return.
On August 20, 1947, the Gazette headlined the former Yankee slugger’s arrival the day before (August 19) in the Magic City: “Billings Throng Greets Babe Ruth.” After flying into the city’s airport, where a short ceremony honored him, the Ruth party boarded a stagecoach that took them on a parade through the business section.
Ruth showed signs of the effects of the lengthy illness that had required him to be hospitalized for much of spring and summer. He appeared, however, to have regained much of his weight.
“I am most happy to be in Billings,” he said to the airport crowd, speaking in a deep, raspy voice, “since I feel that Legion baseball is one of the finest things in the world for youngsters. I hope to see you all again at the tournament tomorrow and later in the week.”
The Midland Roundtable presented Ruth with a black, ten-gallon Stetson hat and gave Mrs. Ruth a bouquet of flowers. Then a police guard escorted a caravan of cars from the Rimrocks to the Billings Commercial Club–now the Chamber of Commerce. Billings Saddle Club members formed a horseback guard for the parade.
Afterwards, the Ruths checked into the Northern Hotel, and Babe retired to his room to rest for the Legion tournament banquet in his honor that night.
A Gazette reporter who interviewed Ruth before the banquet asked him at what age a youngster should start playing baseball.
“As soon as he can walk. The younger the kid starts, the quicker his muscles get into the rhythm of the game. Then he is bound to come out on top.
“That’s why I am all for junior Legion ball, because it gets the kids out in the field with proper equipment at an early age. No longer do boys in smaller cities have to worry about being spotted if they (don’t) have the goods. Junior Legion ball takes them throughout the nation–as this sectional tournament shows–and gives them the ability to display their abilities.”
Billings was the tenth city where the so-called “King of Swat” had appeared as the Ford Motor Company’s junior Legion baseball consultant. A Ford press representative accompanying the contingent said more than 3,000 cities had requested an appearance by Ruth, but organizers had to whittle the list to 13 because of his health. Billings was the smallest city Ruth visited on the tour.
Ruth stayed in Billings through Thursday, Aug. 21, 1947, and then he, his wife and his nurse flew to Seattle. After an overnight stop there, the party flew to San Francisco and then to Los Angeles to take part in opening ceremonies for the American Legion Little World Series.
Bambino’s legacy in Billings
Babe Ruth came to Billings 77 years ago (four years before I was born 220 miles down the Yellowstone River valley in Glendive, Montana), and the Yankee slugger left behind a lasting mark on the city.
Actually, what he left behind from his visit were autographed baseballs. At least two of them survived into the 21st century and became items prized by collectors. The Billings Gazette captured a sense of the Sultan of Swat’s time in Billings through articles published in 2008 and 2010.
The stories involve a retired dentist from the Dallas suburb of Garland, and two brothers who grew up in Livingston. One of the siblings was living between Dallas and Fort Worth in 2010 when Ed Kemmick wrote about them, and his brother was living in Phoenix then. Gazette reporter Clair Johnson wrote about the dentist who ended up owning another baseball, which was later sold in an online auction for $81,075.
How I wish I could board a time machine and travel back to 1947 when the Babe stopped in Billings and signed those baseballs!
Carvel Lincoln owned the ball that got the first dose of local publicity through Johnson’s article. He got the ball in August 1947 when he came to Billings to play in the regional American Legion baseball team for his Boise, Idaho, team.
MISSOULA — Four out of five members of Montana’s Public Service Commission were in a federal courtroom in Missoula Thursday morning, as the PSC’s former president challenges the disciplinary action taken against him earlier this year. Now, newly released documents are shedding more light on to what led up to this point.
(Watch the video for a closer look at the case.)
New documents shed light Montana PSC dispute
Commissioner Brad Molnar has sued President Jeff Welborn, Vice President Jennifer Fielder and Commissioner Annie Bukacek – the three PSC members who voted in May to require him to work remotely, after an investigation into complaints about his workplace conduct. Molnar has claimed he is being unfairly punished for constitutionally protected speech, and he asked Senior U.S District Judge Donald Molloy to allow him to return to the PSC offices.
Matthew Monforton, Molnar’s attorney, told the judge that barring Molnar from the building was limiting his ability to do his job.
“He has not been officially kicked out of office, but his voice has clearly been diminished,” said Monforton.
But Natasha Jones, an attorney representing the other three commissioners, said the findings were about behavior, not just speech, and that the PSC’s action was a reasonable response.
“These are serious concerns about a pattern of conduct that has made employees quit,” she said.
Jonathon Ambarian
On Tuesday, Molloy ordered the release of redacted versions of two full investigative reports into Molnar’s conduct – more than 100 pages of documents. Monforton had moved for the full reports to be made public, and Molloy ruled attorneys for the other PSC members hadn’t shown a compelling reason to keep the documents under seal as long as the names of people involved in the investigation were obscured.
While the names remained redacted in the investigation reports, the attorneys for Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek also filed additional documents – including a public declaration from Bukacek and from former PSC executive director Alana Lake, providing information about their allegations against Molnar.
The two reports, from an outside investigator, cover Molnar’s alleged actions over two periods: the first from February to August 2025, and the second from August to October 2025. The investigation began after the first formal complaint, filed by Bukacek in May 2025 – though the reports say employees had been bringing up concerns about Molnar’s behavior informally for several months prior.
Bukacek’s complaint claimed Molnar had repeatedly made what she called “sexualized and demeaning comments.” The examples she cited included saying the PSC should replace “Taco Tuesdays” with “Topless Tuesdays,” reminiscing about watching girls in bikinis as a teenager, and commenting about the beauty of women in areas of China who didn’t get “old and wrinkly.”
In her declaration, Bukacek also claimed Molnar had “maliciously disseminated false information” about her and “engaged in behavior that was dismissive, derisive and otherwise abusive.”
“My primary concern now is not for my safety nor my feelings, but for the rest of the staff who may not have the temperament to speak up or may feel too intimidated to speak up given concerns over job security,” Bukacek said in her declaration.
MTN News
The investigators determined Molnar had violated the PSC’s code of conduct by making comments of a sexual nature, and that it appeared his behavior had continued for some time after he was warned about it. They also found he had behaved unprofessionally and in a belittling manner toward Bukacek, though they said Bukacek herself had at times used “language that could be considered inappropriate” in emails to staff or other commissioners. Bukacek told MTN she “readily self corrected” any behaviors that were brought to her attention.
The investigation also found a violation in connection with a complaint from a PSC staff member, who said he “felt bullied” by Molnar when the commissioner sent an email complaining about his team not being “people with competence.”
However, much of the first report and the entire second report was focused on conduct after the initial complaints, when Molnar was accused of retaliating against people who participated in the investigation. Lake said in her declaration that she saw “an immediate and significant change in his behavior toward staff involved in the process.” She claimed he said he would use an attorney and private investigator to go after people who filed complaints, and she accused him of publicly criticizing her in interviews and removing her job responsibilities because of her handling of the investigation.
Lake said Molnar’s actions led to “declining morale within the agency,” undermined staff members’ ability to do their jobs and damaged her reputation. She said that led her to resign as executive director.
“I believe no employee should be forced to choose between reporting misconduct and protecting their career, reputation, or personal well-being,” she said in her declaration.
Lake has since become Helena city manager.
Jonathon Ambarian
The report said there was evidence to show Molnar had retaliated, including by “making disparaging statements about investigation participants” including Lake, by sending an email warning he could file complaints of his own against people involved, and by taking other actions investigators said could dissuade employees from reporting behavior in the future.
Monforton said during Thursday’s hearing that the initial comments Bukacek complained about were jokes Molnar had admitted were inappropriate, that he regretted saying them, and that he hasn’t made any similar comments in about a year. But he argued the vast majority of the findings against Molnar were about retaliation – and that those were primarily based on speech that the other commissioners don’t have the right to interfere with.
Monforton said it’s unreasonable to punish Molnar for what he said in the July news conference where he announced he was under investigation, in interviews with the media or in commission meetings. He said Molnar’s conduct doesn’t rise to the level of actual retaliation.
“This is an elected official, engaging in speech in his forum,” Monforton said.
He said Molnar may have made harsh comments toward staff, but that he had the right to raise objections about the way the agency does business.
Jonathon Ambarian
Monforton also argued the retaliation claims no longer justify keeping Molnar out of the office, since Welborn, Fielder and Bukacek voted to remove him as president in October and he no longer has the authority he’s accused of misusing. He said there haven’t been further complaints about his behavior since that time.
“We’re not asking for the moon and stars, we’re asking for the status quo as it existed for the last seven months,” he said.
Jones said there is enough evidence to show Molnar would have been punished regardless of whether any protected speech was excluded.
“This is not about a couple of jokes,” she said.
Jones said Molnar made maliciously false statements about people like Lake, and that type of statement isn’t covered by free speech protections.
She also said Molnar’s exclusion from the PSC offices is temporary, and that the PSC will reconsider whether to let him return if he apologizes for his actions, accepts the agency’s code of conduct and undergoes training.
Molloy indicated he saw indications that there was “acrimony” on both sides of the situation, and said he was skeptical it would be resolved easily.
“It would be nice if instead of juvenile behavior, there was professional behavior,” he said.
However, the judge said there was an avenue for Molnar to pursue if he wanted to reach a resolution.
Molloy took no immediate action Thursday. He told the parties he would rule as quickly as he could.
Carrie Gilbertson has been executive director of Cancer Support Community Montana for just under two months, stepping into the role in April with more than 15 years of nonprofit experience and a lifetime of Montana roots.
The organization provides psychosocial and mental health support to anyone affected by cancer — not just those with a diagnosis, but also family members and others walking alongside them.
WATCH: Meet the new leader of Cancer Support Community Montana 🎗️
Cancer Support Community Montana names new executive director
“This mission of providing psycho-social supports and mental health supports for anyone impacted by cancer, not just that person who has the diagnosis, but also family members, anyone who is walking alongside someone as they experience that often scary diagnosis, that’s just something that’s important to me,” Gilbertson said.
Gilbertson’s role extends beyond the Bozeman office. Cancer Support Community Montana’s Missoula location is already up and running, and a Helena location is expected to be operating soon. Each presents its own set of challenges.
“Each hospital is different. They might have different resources. Their social workers might be connecting to things in a different way. So understanding what those hospitals need, what different participants need in each community, is going to be different just because the communities are different, resources are different,” Gilbertson said.
The Bozeman office has been operating for more than 20 years, providing a foundation that supports the organization’s broader statewide efforts.
“I think this is a crew that looks at what does this community need what do our participants need what are some of the changing landscapes in cancer care what things are the gaps that we see that we can maybe just jump right in and you know let’s see if we can provide that for people so that’s something I really love about this crew that I work with and just this mission that there is some flexibility in being able to adjust and adapt as we learn more,” Gilbertson said.
Those adaptations show up in unexpected ways. The organization converts its parking lot into a pickleball court every Friday morning.
“I didn’t know there was a pickleball court. I pulled in actually with my daughter pulled in and she was is that pickleball court and I was like oh, it kind of looks like it is so yeah that’s fun, every Friday morning we clear out the parking lot and put up the net and I haven’t played yet I’ve been watching just to kind of see how that game works but they take it pretty seriously,” Gilbertson said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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