Six Bulldogs to be inducted into Hall of Fame
Six former Bulldog athletes will be inducted into the Whitefish High School Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Feb. 10 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
There are currently 33 names on the Hall of Fame list. Inductions began in 1998.
The 2007 inductees are Thatcher Szalay, Charles Abell, Ralph Tate, Emil Hinderman, Lloyd Muldown and Joel Rosenberg.
Thatcher Szalay
Thatcher Szalay was named All-Conference and All-State in football and tennis. He was captain of the Bulldog football team and won a football scholarship to the University of Montana-Missoula where he was a starter for three years.
As an offensive lineman, Szalay was named three times each to the All Big Sky Conference first team and the All-American first team. He was captain of the Grizzly team in his senior year and won Big Sky Conference Academic Honors.
At UM, he won the Golden Helmet Award in 2000, the Paul Weskamp Outstanding Offensive Lineman of the Year award in 2001, the American Football Coaches Association All-American Award in 2001, the Don Hansen National Football Gazette Offensive Lineman of the Year award in 2001, and the Walter Camp All-American Award in 2001. Szalay was also a member of the Division 1AA National Championship Team in 2001.
He went on to the NFL where he played with the Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens and Seattle Seahawks. He has participated in the Doug Better Classic.
Charles "Charlie" Abell
Charles "Charlie" Abell graduated from Whitefish High School in 1958. That year, he was named to the All Conference football team. He was the first president of high school's Key Club.
Abell has served on the School District 44 board for two terms, including as chairman. He has sponsored all levels of sporting events in Whitefish, and is considered one of Whitefish's most ardent sports supporters for more than 40 years. It's been said that "Charlie bleeds green and gold."
A fan for all sports, he was named Citizen of the Century in 2005.
Ralph Bruce Tate
Ralph Bruce Tate was hired by E.A. Hinderman in 1926 to teach history and coach basketball at Whitefish High School.
Under Tate, the Bulldogs won the district championships four years in a row, from 1927 to 1930. The team took fourth place at the state championships two of those years.
His legacy continued after he stepped down as basketball coach in 1930, as the Bulldogs began an 11-year consecutive run of district championships. He also coached the Whitefish High School track team to a Northwest Montana title in 1930.
Tate went on to become principal of the Whitefish junior and high schools from 1930 to 1953.
He returned to coaching basketball in 1943-1944 and led the team to a district championship. They were defeated by Dillon at the state.
Through Tate's career, the Bulldogs won the district championship each of the five years he coached. Several of his athletes went on to compete at the college level.
Emil Adolph "Hindy" Hinderman
Emil Adolph 'Hindy' Hinderman was superintendent of Whitefish Public Schools from 1923 to 1953. He also coached football, basketball and track.
Hinderman was the second football coach in Whitefish High School history when he took over a 0-77 team.
As coach from 1923 to 1943, he amassed a 68-37-7 record. At that time, all Montana schools competed equally — no classes had been established based on school size.
Hinderman was instrumental in developing the Whitefish High School gymnasium in 1928. He also played an influential part in the development of Bulldog basketball and track.
Hinderman was inducted in the Montana Coaches Association Hall of Fame in August 1985. The Emil A. Hinderman Memorial Scholarship was founded in his honor in 1975.
Lloyd A. Muldown
L.A. Muldown started coaching in Whitefish in 1928. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs won seven consecutive Divisional Championships in basketball. The Bulldogs took second place at state in 1931.
He was the Bulldog track coach for 25 years and coached numerous individual champions at state.
Muldown was also a ski coach, winning state titles in 1953 to 1956, a golf coach, winning the state title in 1960, and an assistant football coach in 1920s and 1930s. He coached Bulldog sports a total of 58 years.
Muldown also served as School District 44 superintendent during the 1960s and 1970s.
Joel Rosenberg
Joel Rosenberg was named to the All Conference and All State football and track teams. He was also the Western A Most Valuable Player for offense in football in 1997.
Rosenberg served as captain for the football and track teams. The Bulldogs were conference champions in football in 1995 and 1997 and track in 1997 and 1998.
The Bulldogs went on to win state in track in 1997 and 1998. Rosenberg won five individual events at 1997 state track meet. He went on to win six individual events at state in 1998.
Rosenberg played in the Montana/North Dakota All Star football game. He was awarded a football scholarship to the University of Montana-Missoula and played with the Division 1AA National Championship team in 2001.
He is currently volunteering as a high school football coach in Kalispell.