John Kovacich is going to double dip this summer as the Butte Sports Hall of Fame inducts its 20th class.

John will finally go in as an individual inductee during the July 24-25 ceremonies at the Butte Civic Center. He was voted into the Hall by the selection committee earlier this year.

John will also go in as a member of the 1972 Mile High All-Star baseball team. That team is still Butte’s only 12-year-old (and under) Little League baseball team to win a state title and advance to the West Regional in San Bernardino, California.

Oh, and John was a member of the 1977 Butte High state championship football team that was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. John was a first-team All-State defensive back and a second-team All-State punter on the team that finished the season with an 11-0 record. The Bulldogs gave up just 20 total points that season, and it was named as Butte High’s best team of the 20th Century by Pat Kearney.

John, who also started two seasons on Butte High’s basketball team, took his talents to the University of Montana. He helped the Grizzlies win the 1982 Big Sky Conference football title.

Today, John is retired and living in Missoula, though that’s not how he puts it. He says he’s from Butte and vacationing in Missoula.

Earlier today, I met with John inside the Vault at the Metals Sports Bar & Grill for a fun conversation. Listen in as John talks about playing for championship teams in Little League, high school and college.

Listen as he talks about many of his coaches and teammates and how he is still connected with so many of those great people. Listen as he talks about joining so many of them in the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.