What have you done for me lately Reno Sales?

[Mr Lisle]

Reno H. Sales was born in Storm Lake, Iowa and raised in Bozeman. He graduated from MSC(U) in 1898 and was a member of the first football team in 1897 (know who his coach was?). Two years later he received a second degree from Columbia University and returned to Montana to begin his professional career in Butte. In 1906 he became the chief geologist for the Anaconda Mining Company, a position he held for forty years. He was widely known as "Mr. Bobcat" and also dubbed the "Father of Mining Geology". He produced numerous publications. You want versatility? In 1967 he was elected to the National Rodeo Hall-of-Fame. When Montana State desperately needed to replace Gatton Field and a giant fund raiser collapsed at the last minute, Mr. Bobcat..Reno H. Sales stepped up with the money to build a new stadium. I remember this wiry, ancient old guy being honored on the 50 yard line as he handed over a ceremonial check to the MSU AD so construction could begin. Bobcat Nation was GRATEFUL! The stadium was built for $500,000 (that's $3,600,000 in todays money) and they named it all after Reno H. Sales…as it should have been. Mr. Sales died in Bozeman on May 9, 1969 at the age of 92 and never got to see the stadium named for his lifetime of Bobcat loyalty.
Time is a funny thing…it can change the essence of the past…turning villains into heroes as well erase the good deeds of fine people. So now where Reno H. Sales Stadium, the site of so much good and glory once played out, we now have Bobcat Stadium with a separate sub-naming of the field. And Reno's gone. Time does move on, but after further review I believe it's time to do the right thing. Reno Sales deserves at least an acknowledgement….throw him a firkin' bone.
Name a goalpost or build a statue or something, Reno needs some prominence on the ground he invented.

[TomCat88]

His coach was Mr. Lisle. And what a great story you just told.

[luckyirishguy25]

Reno H. Sales was born in Storm Lake, Iowa and raised in Bozeman. He graduated from MSC(U) in 1898 and was a member of the first football team in 1897 (know who his coach was?). Two years later he received a second degree from Columbia University and returned to Montana to begin his professional career in Butte. In 1906 he became the chief geologist for the Anaconda Mining Company, a position he held for forty years. He was widely known as "Mr. Bobcat" and also dubbed the "Father of Mining Geology". He produced numerous publications. You want versatility? In 1967 he was elected to the National Rodeo Hall-of-Fame. When Montana State desperately needed to replace Gatton Field and a giant fund raiser collapsed at the last minute, Mr. Bobcat..Reno H. Sales stepped up with the money to build a new stadium. I remember this wiry, ancient old guy being honored on the 50 yard line as he handed over a ceremonial check to the MSU AD so construction could begin. Bobcat Nation was GRATEFUL! The stadium was built for $500,000 (that's $3,600,000 in todays money) and they named it all after Reno H. Sales…as it should have been. Mr. Sales died in Bozeman on May 9, 1969 at the age of 92 and never got to see the stadium named for his lifetime of Bobcat loyalty.
Time is a funny thing…it can change the essence of the past…turning villains into heroes as well erase the good deeds of fine people. So now where Reno H. Sales Stadium, the site of so much good and glory once played out, we now have Bobcat Stadium with a separate sub-naming of the field. And Reno's gone. Time does move on, but after further review I believe it's time to do the right thing. Reno Sales deserves at least an acknowledgement….throw him a firkin' bone.
Name a goalpost or build a statue or something, Reno needs some prominence on the ground he invented.

Agreed, give him a skybox.

[catgrad05]

I never have understood how you could take away something that was named for an individual. If you dedicate a building or structure to someone just because a new leader or larger supporter comes in does not mean the original person has lost significance.

[[cat_bracket]]

I never have understood how you could take away something that was named for an individual. If you dedicate a building or structure to someone just because a new leader or larger supporter comes in does not mean the original person has lost significance.

Naming rights. I doubt they existed back when Sales made his donation, but even if they did he wouldn't have gotten 25 years for $3.5 million. I doubt he asked for the stadium to be named for him.

[Mr Lisle]

I never have understood how you could take away something that was named for an individual. If you dedicate a building or structure to someone just because a new leader or larger supporter comes in does not mean the original person has lost significance.

Naming rights. I doubt they existed back when Sales made his donation, but even if they did he wouldn't have gotten 25 years for $3.5 million. I doubt he asked for the stadium to be named for him.

Renaming stadiums happens all the time. Joe Robbie build the new stadium in Miami and named it for himself. Now it's something else. Some are meant to stay who they are. Fenway Park? and who the heck is Fenway anyway? I doubt if Sales cared either, but about 5,000 fans still sit in the remaining portion of the stadium he paid to have built. The other sideline is now named something else in Helena.
The stadium named Sales really energized the Bobcat program/fan base. Just a few years after it opened the CATS won their second NC and 1984 might have been the greatest year ever to be a Bobcat. Just a ton of magic moments happened in Reno H. Sales Stadium that year. In a sense Reno Sales, the stadium, took on an identity of its own. Maybe it could be as simple of putting up another flag pole in the entry area and flying a flag with the name and dates the stadium existed.

[allcat]

I'll tell you right now, when I die you are free to name everything that has been named after me, something else.

[falconcat]

Enjoyed the history lesson. I always wondered who Mr. Sales was, so now I know. Any heirs in the area? It would be nice if someone did do a plaque or some type of permanent story somewhere in the stadium (stadium club), just so the story doesn't completely get lost. Maybe someone could do the same thing for all the buildings/structures on campus. Who was 'Roskie' ?

[RDB]

Enjoyed the history lesson. I always wondered who Mr. Sales was, so now I know. Any heirs in the area? It would be nice if someone did do a plaque or some type of permanent story somewhere in the stadium (stadium club), just so the story doesn't completely get lost. Maybe someone could do the same thing for all the buildings/structures on campus. Who was 'Roskie' ?

Reno was my Grandpas uncle, my Grandpa still lives in Bozeman and was also a bobcat booster. My brother and I along with our uncle are also in the area and all have been bobcat club members and season ticket holders for a couple years.