Patrick O'Connell is calling it "a moment of a lifetime." The Super Bowl is nothing short of that.
A Kalispell native and former star linebacker at the University of Montana, O'Connell is headed to Super Bowl LX with the Seattle Seahawks, who will face the New England Patriots for the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
O'Connell is a special teams player and backup linebacker for the Seahawks. He will be the ninth Montana native to play in the big game. He is the first Montanan to do so since Glendive's Mike Person started for the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV and the first Montana Grizzly to make it since Brock Coyle went with the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX.
With that in mind, let's take a look back in time and examine Montana's history in the Super Bowl and the Treasure State natives who have played in football's ultimate contest.
The list is presented in chronological order.
Jerry Kramer, Jordan
Super Bowl I
Date: Jan. 15, 1967
Location: Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, Calif.
Score: Packers 35, Chiefs 10
Super Bowl II
Date: Jan. 14, 1968
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla.
Score: Packers 33, Raiders 14
Born in Jordan in 1936, Kramer went on to a hall-of-fame career in the NFL, playing offensive guard as part of the Green Bay Packers' dynasty of the 1960s. He played in the the first two Super Bowls — known at the time as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game — protecting quarterback Bart Starr and blocking for backs like Jim Taylor, Elijah Pitts and Donny Anderson.
Kramer helped the Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Super Bowl I and the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Super Bowl II to win consecutive pro football titles. After relocating from Montana in his youth, Kramer played football at the University of Idaho where his No. 64 jersey is retired. With the Packers, Kramer won five NFL championships and was selected to the league's all-decade team for the 1960s. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Wayne Hawkins, Fort Peck
Super Bowl II
Date: Jan. 14, 1968
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla.
Score: Packers 33, Raiders 14
Kramer's pro football exploits are well-documented, but Hawkins' career in the rival American Football League isn't as widely known. Hawkins played offensive guard for the Raiders in all 10 seasons of the AFL's existence, including in 1967 when Oakland won the AFL title and advanced to Super Bowl II to face Kramer's Packers. During that game, Hawkins fielded a short squib kickoff just before halftime after a Don Chandler field goal gave Green Bay a 16-7 lead.
Hawkins was born in Fort Peck and later lived in Jordan where — it is reported — his mother was friends with Kramer's mother. Hawkins attended high school in Redding, Calif., and played college football at Pacific. He was a five-time All-AFL selection. Sports Illustrated referred to Hawkins as one of the most underrated Raiders of all-time. He passed away at age 84 in 2022.
Pat Donovan, Helena
Super Bowl X
Date: Jan. 18, 1976
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla.
Score: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17
Super Bowl XII
Date: Jan. 15, 1978
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, La.
Score: Cowboys 27, Broncos 10
Super Bowl XIII
Date: Jan. 21, 1979
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Fla.
Score: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
A graduate of Helena High as a multi-sport standout, Donovan, a tackle, went on to appear in three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s after a college career at Stanford. Sandwiched between losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowls X and XIII was a 27-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII in New Orleans.
The Cowboys' "Doomsday" defense forced eight Denver turnovers in that game, and as an offensive tackle Donovan helped Tony Dorsett and Robert Newhouse rush for a combined 121 yards. Roger Staubach threw for 183 yards and a score. The Helena native appeared in 20 playoff games in his career and retired following the 1983 season.
Rick Dennison, Kalispell
Super Bowl XXI
Date: Jan. 25, 1987
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, Calif.
Score: Giants 39, Broncos 20
Super Bowl XXII
Date: Jan. 31, 1988
Location: Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
Score: Redskins 42, Broncos 10
Super Bowl XXIV
Date: Jan. 28, 1990
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, La.
Score: 49ers 55, Broncos 10
Aside from O'Connell, Dennison will appear in Super Bowl LX on Sunday as the Seahawks' run game coordinator and senior offensive advisor. It will be Dennison's seventh Super Bowl appearance as either a player or a coach.
A Kalispell native, Dennison is the son of former University of Montana president George Dennison. He played college football at Colorado State before a nine-year NFL career as a linebacker. He was part of the Denver Broncos' run of AFC success in the 1980s, and played in Super Bowls XXI, XXII and XXIV — all losses. He later won three rings as a Broncos coaching assistant in Super Bowls XXXII, XXIII and 50.
Dane Fletcher, Bozeman
Super Bowl XLVI
Date: Feb. 5, 2012
Location: Lucas Oil Stadium, Houston, Texas
Score: Giants 21, Patriots 17
After a standout career on defense at Montana State, Bozeman's Fletcher was signed by Patriots coach Bill Belichick ahead of the 2010 season. He went on to appear in 54 games over the course of five years in the NFL, and that included a run to Super Bowl XLVI with New England as a backup linebacker and special teams contributor.
In a thriller against the New York Giants, Fletcher made one solo tackle on a kickoff return just prior to halftime. The Giants won 21-17 on a late touchdown drive led by QB Eli Manning that included a precision pass along the sideline to Mario Manningham and a touchdown run by Ahmad Bradshaw with 57 seconds left. Fletcher played one more year in New England before finishing his career with Tampa Bay in the 2014 season.
Brock Coyle, Bozeman
Super Bowl XLIX
Date: Feb. 1, 2015
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.
Score: Patriots 28, Seahawks 24
Coyle, also from Bozeman, played linebacker at the University of Montana and spent five seasons in the NFL after signing as an undrafted free agent with the Seahawks in 2014. He played in 15 regular-season games and three playoff contests with Seattle as a rookie, including Super Bowl XLIX against the Patriots in which he made a special teams tackle to limit Julian Edelman to a 1-yard punt return in the second quarter.
Coyle seemed on the verge of winning a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks, who were just 1 yard away from a go-ahead touchdown with 26 seconds left. But QB Russell Wilson was intercepted by Malcolm Butler at the goal line, which preserved a stunning 28-24 Patriots victory. Coyle finished his career with San Francisco, appearing in one game with the 49ers in 2018.
Dwan Edwards, Billings
Super Bowl 50
Date: Feb. 7, 2016
Location: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
Score: Broncos 24, Panthers 10
Edwards was born in Billings and was a dominant high school athlete in Columbus, where he parlayed his talent into a football career at Oregon State. A 300-pound defensive tackle, Edwards was drafted in the second round by the Ravens in 2004 and played in 136 NFL games with 64 starts.
In 2015 he helped the Carolina Panthers go 15-1, led by league MVP Cam Newton at quarterback. Edwards played 17 defensive snaps in Super Bowl 50, a game the Panthers lost 24-10 to the Denver Broncos. That ended up being Edwards' final NFL appearance. He retired the following offseason.
Mike Person, Glendive
Super Bowl LIV
Date: Feb. 2, 2020
Location: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Fla.
Score: Chiefs 31, 49ers 20
Glendive's Person had a winding journey to his Super Bowl appearance at the end of the 2019 season. An All-American at Montana State, he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft by the 49ers and had stints with the Seahawks, Chiefs, Rams, Falcons and Colts. He returned to San Francisco in 2018 and started 30 games on the offensive line in two seasons.
He started at right guard for the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV against the Chiefs and was on the doorstep of a world championship before QB Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to prevail. Person was released that spring and announced his retirement in June of 2020.
Other Super Bowl notables
Pat Ogrin, Butte: The Butte-born Ogrin appeared in eight regular-season games with Washington between 1980-82 after a college career at the University of Wyoming. The 1982 strike-shortened season was his highlight, as he helped Washington reach Super Bowl XVII after being re-signed. Ogrin appeared on defense for those Redskins in two postseason games. He was reportedly on the sideline in uniform at the Super Bowl but he did not play in a 27-17 Washington victory over the Miami Dolphins.
Blaine McElmurry, Helena: McElmurry starred in high school at Troy and went on to play safety at Montana, helping the Grizzlies win their first national championship in 1995. McElmurry was a rookie with Green Bay in 1997 and was on the sideline but inactive for Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego when John Elway beat the Packers to win his first title with the Denver Broncos. McElmurry came close to another Super Bowl appearance with Jacksonville, but the Jaguars lost to the Tennessee Titans in the 1999 AFC championship game.
Tim Hauck, Butte: After a standout playing career at Montana, Hauck spent 13 seasons in the NFL as a defensive back, appearing in 183 regular-season games and 10 playoff contests. But his only Super Bowl appearance came when he was the safeties coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. The Eagles, with backup quarterback Nick Foles winning MVP honors, beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 41-33 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Information from Pro-Football Reference and other sources was used in this report.
