Meet the Original Lead Butts

By Paul Billmeyer

(reprinted from December 1996 newsletter)

 

Upon moving to Eau Claire in 1986, I soon began hearing about the “Lead Butts”. Over the years, I learned of this wonderful group that ran together from the YMCA and formed the Lead Butt Racing Team. To learn more, I interviewed the original members. They are Mike “Bud“ Weiser, William “Billy“ Kaiser, William “Whine“ Gabler, Tom “Poopsie“ Clark, Bruce “PLP“ Freeland, and Ben “The Wimp“ Proctor. They were soon joined by the final member of the original team. Roger “Buckwheat“ Hubbard.

 

This adventure began in the winter of '81. Here were “six middle-aged, pudgy, humorless“ men who were joined together with a single purpose: “to run until you puked or otherwise had a good time.”

 

The team developed slowly. The first run was the old “ARKY Run“ in Arkansaw, WI. With Proctor and Kaiser coming in last, there was some thought that the team disband. However, the team ran other races and soon the chant was heard,  “Grandma's! Grandma's! Grandma's!“ With a common goal, the team needed an organization. The national head­quarters was set up at the Camaraderie Bar and memberships were sold.

 

In the winter of 82, team members decided a team name was needed. Many names were suggested and luckily rejected: Flying Eagles, Federal Express, Maidenhead Track Club, Iron Feet, Lead Feet and Lard Asses. Suddenly, a light went on in their heads—they remembered a so-called “varsity” runner referring to them as "Lead Butts. Their name was picked! Who came up with the original idea is up for debate. Ask the six original members and you get different responses.

 

With a name, an organization and a common purpose, the team quickly grew. By ’85, the Team had several hundred members, some as far away as Texas and Australia. There were t­shirts, pig roasts, 50's parties, and candy bars. Generally, a good time was had by all. To best get a feel for the camaraderie the members felt, listen to a quote from the “ODE TO THE LEAD BUTTS“ by Ben Proctor:

 

Will History be kind?

We'll never know

But it doesn't matter,

We've made our show

To be the best that we can be.

The "BEST"? We don't mean "Salazars"

Or even middle-aged running stars

The goal is not a laurel wreath

A nuclear treaty or world peace

The ultimate goal for which we strive

Is to make and keep good friends for life!

 

By now you have some idea of how close this group became. When asked what the Lead Butts meant to him, Bill Gabler responded “totally unimportant, absolutely of no significance.“ For Tom Clark, the team was reason "to show up to run." He credits the team with friendship and good feeling. Tom proudly declared that the "team is not dead as his membership does not expire until 10-31-98. When Ben Proctor was asked what the Lead Butts meant to him, he grabbed his picture of the original “Lead Butts” as if he were reaching back and touching memories. Ben explained, “being a Lead Butt meant you were on the ‘B Squad’.“ The varsity belonged to the “nooners“ like Van Es. The Butters were slower, but a “great group of people.”

 

Bruce may have explained it best. Being a Lead Butt allowed some middle-aged men, who normally had trouble showing affection “to be close and care for each other.” The reason the Team didn't continue is because the “kidneys and livers couldn't keep the pace,” said Bruce.

 

From a distance its obvious the “Lead Butts“ had something special--friendships that last a lifetime.