Historical Fort Missoula

25. Norman Maclean

Norman Maclean was born in 1902 and moved to Missoula in 1909 when his father became minister of the First Presbyterian Church. Maclean worked on the High School's papers, played football and was vice president of the M Club his senior year. Norman, whose high school nickname was "preacher," was a star on the 1920 football team that beat Butte High in Butte, 6-0. The Bitter Root wrote of his playing, "Maclean is the hard boy who made the touchdown in Butte. He was a fast man and good at forward passing. Many of our gains came from Preacher's accurate forward pass. Missoula High School will lose a good man when Mac graduates."

Norman Maclean would remember his days in western Montana and would go on to write A River Runs Through It and Young Men and Fire.

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