When I was 10 years old, I would often play football by myself in our yard or the front room of our house.

At that age, all you need is an imagination to take you anywhere in the world. Mine took me to a football stadium in Bozeman where I played for the Montana State Bobcats with two stars named Kelly.

Kelly Bradley was the quarterback for the Bobcats, who went from worst to first and won the national championship in 1984. Bradley passed for 30 touchdowns in that magical season.

His big-time receiver was Kelly Davis, who scored 24 touchdowns for the Bobcats in his career.

Davis was my favorite Bobcat player because he was a from Butte. Before helping deliver a title for Montana State, Davis helped Butte High win the 1981 Class AA State football title. He also won the 300- and 110-meter hurdles to help the Bulldogs win back-to-back State titles in track in 1981 and 1982.

He set state records in both hurdles races as a senior.

Kelly Davis, who was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2011, grew up in a trailer park on Hobson Street in Butte, and he parlayed his football scholarship into a degree in engineering.

He now lives in the Denver area, where he and his wife raised four daughters. Even though he lives in Colorado, Kelly is still very much a Bulldog and a Bobcat.

This morning, I caught up with Kelly over Zoom for a fun conversation. Listen in to hear about Kelly growing up in Butte and how Betty Merrifield was the second-grade teacher who put him on the straight and narrow.

Listen as he talks about competing in grade school track for coach Jim Patrick before playing football for Gene Fogarty at East Junior High School and then heading to Butte High.

Listen to hear him talk about blocking for Don Douglas on the 1981 state championship team and playing with those “Cardiac Cats” of 1984.

Listen in to hear how he welcomed the newest Bobcat national champions to the club.

Today's episode is also available on YouTube.