How a Tiny Montana Town Changed Its Name to ‘Joe, Montana’ and Raised a Fortune

When I was in fourth grade, Joe Montana was the man. He played for the San Francisco 49ers then, and my teacher was head over heels for him. She even had a cardboard cutout of Joe in our classroom.

Every morning, when we walked in, she made us wave hello. Maybe that’s where my love of football started. She made the game sound exciting, and I wanted in. Nobody tell her, but the 49ers wouldn’t end up being the team I rooted for as an adult.

My teacher wasn't the only one caught up in Joe Montana fever back then. In 1993, the small eastern Montana town of Ismay, a little more than 200 miles east of Billings, temporarily took the name “Joe, Montana” to honor the quarterback.

How Ismay, Montana Became Joe, Montana in 1993

A Kansas City radio station approached Ismay with an unusual idea: change the town’s name to Joe, Montana, to celebrate quarterback Joe Montana joining the Kansas City Chiefs. The town agreed to use the name for the football season, turning a local publicity stunt into a story that reached far beyond Montana.

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Ismay had been a railroad town since 1907. In 1993, it had just 22 residents, according to Montana’s tourism office. The town clerk said the town voted 21-0 for the change, hoping to raise money for the volunteer fire department.

On July 3, residents celebrated with a parade, a ranch rodeo and an evening show. The Deseret News reported that about 1,000 people braved heavy rain to attend. For a town of 22, that’s a crowd.

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How the Joe, Montana Name Change Helped Ismay Raise Nearly $70,000

The name was temporary, but the fundraising had a lasting effect. While local leaders never publicly disclosed an exact final dollar total, regional history profiles note that the campaign generated approximately $70,000 in fundraising by early 1994.

The total proceeds far exceeded the initial goal: rather than simply patching up their old equipment, the community raised enough capital to build a new fire hall, purchase a brand-new fire truck, and construct a dedicated community center. A Montana Historical Society marker also credits the campaign with helping restore Ismay’s historic jail.

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Ismay Mayor Still Remembers Meeting Joe Montana

The story did not end when the fundraising quieted down. Ismay Mayor Gene Nemitz, who led the town during the original 1993 promotion, recalled to KTVQ that 21 local residents traveled to Arrowhead Stadium to meet Joe Montana in person. Rather than talking about football, the group spent their time chatting about family life and living in Montana.

While the community eventually returned to its official name of Ismay, the temporary shift to "Joe, Montana" remains an iconic chapter in Montana history.