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Dan Rambo

Kicked Off the Team Twice in One Hour

“Football didn’t start until I was 15 because there just was no place to play it,” Rambo added. He played at Libby High School, coached by former Dillon and Oregon State football great, Frank Little. Coach Little made it commonplace winning state championships in Montana garnering titles in Glendive, Livingston, and Kalispell. In 1967, Rambo’s sophomore year, the Libby Loggers would add another to Coach Little’s resume by defeating the Glasgow Scotties for the Class A State Championship, 26-7.

1971 would also be the dawn of a new era for the Saints football program, when Bob Petrino, formerly of Butte Central, took over as head coach. From time-to-time Coach Petrino and Rambo didn’t see eye-to-eye on matters.

“After my freshman year, I decided that I wanted to play running back. So, I went in to see the coach.” Rambo recalled with a chuckle. “The coach said, ‘what are you doing in here?’ I said, ‘Well, coach, I’ve been thinking about my position.’ ‘Get out of here.’ He said, ‘I’ve already moved you to running back, so get out.’ He already figured that out, I guess.’”

“He was one heck of a motivator for me,” Rambo added. “He was just telling it like it was, and you either did it his way or not. One time he kicked me off the team twice in about an hour.” The incident happened when Rambo went to practice with laryngitis. “Well, Coach Petrino was a raw, raw guy…so he was upset that I wasn’t cheering, yelling, whatever he wanted,” Rambo recalled. “So he said, ‘Get your ass out of here…hit the showers.’”

“So I went down into the showers and came back about 20 minutes later,” Rambo continued. “I figured he’d cooled off and I was out on the field for about five minutes (before) he sent me off again.”

Being kicked off the practice field was not new to Rambo. In high school, assistant coach Kevin Calnan did the honors. Rambo admitted that Calnan was his favorite coach from his playing days and concluded “There must be something I like about coaches who kick me off the field.”

Read full bio on pages 34-37 in our 2023 Hall of Fame Ceremony Book (PDF).