Butch was a three-sport star at Pecatonica High School, excelling in football, basketball and baseball. While at Pecatonica, he was an all-conference quarterback in 1986, team captain and all-conference basketball center in 1987 and was named to the all-conference baseball team in 1986 and 1987. He was selected to play in the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association All Star game in 1987, a great honor.
Butch began his collegiate baseball career at the University of Wisconsin. He transferred to MATC in 1988 and left a lasting legacy for all the pitchers to come. A strike-out pitcher extra-ordinaire with his split-finger pitch, Butch fanned a school record 102 batters in 67 innings pitched, ranking him 5th in the nation in strikeouts in what was then, Division I. McKeon recorded 28 and a third consecutive scoreless innings during the season and finished with three shutouts. His 1.47 ERA ranked him among the elite nationally.
The scouts took notice of the Blanchardville and MATC ace. In June of 1989, he was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 14th round and played for minor league teams in Spokane, Washington; Scottsdale, Arizona; Riverside, California; and Waterloo, Iowa. He helped his teams to championships while a member of the High Desert Mavericks in 1991 and Stockton in 1992. He was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1992 and played with the Beloit Brewers and Stockton Ports, before being released in 1993 after developing carpal tunnel syndrome.
Butch stayed in baseball, coaching and playing for the Blanchardville Bullets Home Talent Team in 1994. He enrolled at UW-La Crosse and was the pitching coach for the baseball program. He graduated from UW-La Crosse in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise/Sports Fitness. He interned at the Pinnacle Health Club in Madison and in the Fall of 1997 became the freshman football coach for the successful Pec-Argyle High School Team.
His coach at MATC, Bill Hebl, said of Butch, “He was a very likeable guy and a very hard worker. Butch was the type of individual who would do anything to help the team win; whether it be hitting fungoes, pitching batting practice, or coaching the bases–he wanted to help. At the UW, he was used as a closing pitcher and with his split-finger fastball. At first, I didn’t want to change what a good pitcher was already doing. But when we got home from Spring training I realized he was the best pitcher that we had. I wish we would have had a better team, so more people would have seen him, but we had scouts at almost every ball game to watch him pitch.”
His baseball coach in high school, Jim Strommen (also an MATC alum), said of Butch, “Butch was truly a special person who touched many people’s lives. His presence during his time here made us all better people.” Friend and teammate, Gary McKenzie, the Editor of the Blade-Atlas Newspaper in Blanchardville said, “Butch McKeon didn’t come away with a victory every time he went to the mound, but if a man’s life is measured by the number of admiring friends and meaningful relationships he leaves behind, then Butch was truly a big-time winner in the game of life.”
Lyle Hanson said, “Butch McKeon epitomized what a coach wishes for in an athlete. He was a rather quiet individual with a burning competitive fire. You never worried about anything less than a full effort with Butch. His love and dedication to the sport of baseball was a joy to behold.”
Brian “Butch” McKeon was killed in an farming accident in September 1998. Butch was a wonderful and talented person who will be remembered always. We are thankful for Butch’s contributions to the MATC family.
