The Roosevelt Family posing outside their family estate—Sagamore Hill. From left to right: Kermit, Archie, TR, Ethel, Edith, Quentin, Theodore Jr.
Richard C. Reeve received the Club's first-ever Sagamore Hill Award medal in 1948. His bear—scoring 29-13/16—was recognized with a First Place Award at the Club's 1948 Competition. Reeve and several of his hunting companions traveled from Alaska to New York City for the award ceremony.
E.C. Haase received the second Sagamore Hill Award in 1949 as well as a First Place Award at the Award Competition and Banquet. Haase shot his award-winning goat—scoring 56-6/8 points—with a .30-06. The billy fell off a ledge and rolled down the mountain several hundred feet where it it lodged in a snowbank with its horns undamaged.
Dr. R.C. Bentzen received the Sagamore Hill Award for the wapiti he entered in the Club's 4th Competition. The bull, with a score of 441-6/8 points, was actually taken by an unknown hunter in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains in 1890. It still ranks as the Number 3 bull ever taken.
New York taxidermist George H. Lesser shot this Sagamore Hill Award winning woodland caribou on a 1951 hunt in Newfoundland. He noted in a letter to B&C member Samuel Webb, "The game wardens and guides, as well as others who saw this head up there pronounced it the largest they had ever saw [sic]. It has 45 points with massive antlers and double brow points which overlap and lock in the front." The bull scores 405-4/8 and ranks as the second largest woodland caribou in B&C Records Program.
The 1953 Sagamore Hill Award was given to Edison Pillmore's mule deer. Unfortunately, Pillmore died before entering the head which was submitted by his widow. The buck was reportedly taken in Jackson County, Colorado, in 1949. An unidentified man holds the two medals awarded to Pillmore's deer, which has a final score of 203-7/8 points.
Frank Cook was hunting with guide Frenchy Laboreaux when he harvested the new World's Record Dall's sheep in 1956. Cook, an Alaska resident, was hunting deep in the remote high pastures of the Chugach Range. The ram still ranks as the Number Two Dall's sheep with a score of 185-6/8 points.
Fred C. Mercer was working on his uncle's dairy ranch south of Twin Bridges, Montana, when the two took off for a few weeks to hunt in Ruby River country. He had a hunch he would find the bull of his dreams in that area. Mercer ended up tracking this award-winning bull for more than 12 miles before he was able to get a shot. His typical American elk scoring 419-4/8 points was recognized with a First Place Award and the Sagamore Hill Award at the Club's Ninth Competition.
Harry L. Swank, Jr., ended a seven-year quest for a record Dall's sheep with a single shot. Swank, an Anchorage resident who operated Van's Sporting Goods, was hunting in Alaska's Wrangell Mountains with Perley Jones and Jack E. Wilson. The ram—recognized with a Sagamore Hill Award and First Place Award at the Club's 10th Competition—still holds the top spot for category with a score of 189-6/8 points. Click here to read a full account of the hunt.
Norman Blank was awarded the Sagamore Hill honor in 1963 for his tremendous Stone's sheep scoring 190 points. The ram holds the Number Two spot, second only to the legendary Chadwick Ram taken in 1936. Blank had traveled to British Columbia from California for the hunt.
Melvin J. Johnson's typical whitetail deer is legendary. Johnson was hunting with a bow and arrow when he harvested the extraordinary buck in 1965. With a score of 204-4/8 points, the buck still ranks as the Number 4 whitetail of All-time with B&C and is the current Pope and Young Club World's Record. Johnson received the Club's Sagamore Hill Award as well as Pope and Young Club's Ishi Award.
Doug Burris, Jr. traveled from Texas to hunt mule deer in Colorado during the 1972 season. This would be his fourth year hunting in Dolores County. On the third day of his hunt, he harvested what is now the World's Record typical mule deer scoring 226-4/8 points. The buck was recognized with a First Place Award and the Sagamore Hill Award at the Club's 15th Big Game Competition. Click here to read the full account of the hunt.
Gary Beaubien was hunting with his father and two of his children near Turnagain River in British Columbia during the 1976 season. They were hunting by horseback and had just moved camp farther into the area when Beaubien spotted the bull. Beaubien's mountain caribou was recognized in 1977 at the 16th Big Game Awards (Jack Reneau is pictured above with the bull at the Judges Panel) with a First Place Award as well as the Sagamore Hill Award.
Ten full years passed before the Boone and Crockett Club awarded Sagamore Hill honors again. This time, for a new World's Record pronghorn taken by Michael J. O'Haco, Jr. He received his permit after applying for 20 years. He and his hunting partner Phil Donnelly had scouted the area weeks before season. They located this buck the night before their hunt was to begin. After a restless night, the two were able to locate the buck in the morning and crawled to within 200 yards where O'Haco took him down with one shot. The buck, scoring 93-4/8 points, reigned in the top spot for 15 years. It now ranks sixth All-time.
The Boone and Crockett Club awarded its highest honor the Sagamore Hill Award to Gene C. Alford for his cougar scoring 16-3/16 inches. Each February Alford would hire a local pilot to fly him with his dogs and gear deep into Idaho's Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness where he would spends weeks hunting cougar. Alford was 66 years old the year he harvested this tremendous cat, which he later donated to the Boone and Crockett Club's National Collection of Heads and Horns. The skull is still the second largest cougar in the records book.
Charles E. Erickson, Jr., spotted this tremendous non-typical Coues' whitetail buck on the fourth day of the 1988 season. He found the deer again the next day and was able to stalk within shooting distance. The buck has a final B&C score of 155 points and was honored with the Sagamore Hill Award at the Club's 21st Big Game Awards Banquet. It currently holds the fifth spot All-time.
Gernot Wober joined his friend and long-time hunting partner Lawrence Michalchuck on short notice to hunt Rocky Mountain goats in the Bella Coola region of British Columbia. Wober missed a goat—which they had named Mr. Big—early on in the hunt. They had a second chance after the two hunters pushed through difficult terrain to access the valley the goat was in. Michalchuck attempted to harvest the billy with his bow but was never able to get a shot. Wober harvested the award-winning got with his .270. It was recognized as a new World's Record with a score of 56-6/8 points and received the Sagamore Hill Award at the 24th Big Game Awards Program.
Paul T. Deuling harvested the World's Record mountain caribou in 1988 while on solo hunt for Dall's sheep in the Pelly Mountains of Yukon Territory. It took him five days, three round trips—a total of 36 miles—to pack out his trophy and his camp. It was more than 20 years later that he sent the bull in to be verified by a B&C Judges Panel at the 27th Big Game Awards. Deuling was on hand to receive his First Place Award as well as Sagamore Hill honors. Click here to read the full account of his hunt.
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The Sagamore Hill Award originated on a Vermont grouse hunt in 1947, when several Club members, including Archibald Roosevelt, discussed the idea of a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. The Club President at the time, Karl Frederick, suggested that they create an award for the outstanding trophy in the Big Game Competitions, recognizing hunting skills, conservation awareness, and fair chase—and honoring Theodore Roosevelt’s vision for the Club. The medal, first awarded in 1949, has always been given by the Boone and Crockett Club and the Roosevelt family in memory of Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and Kermit Roosevelt. The first recipient was Robert C. Reeve, a pioneering Alaskan aviator. His award-winning trophy was a huge Alaska brown bear that was entered in the 1948 Annual Competition.
1948 – Robert C. Reeve – Alaska brown bear
1949 – E.C. Haase – Rocky Mountain goat
1950 – Dr. R.C. Bentzen – American elk – typical antlers
1951 – George H. Lesser – woodland caribou
1953 – Edison A. Pillmore – mule deer – typical antlers
1955 – J. A. Columbus – polar bear
1957 – Frank Cook – Dall’s sheep
1959 – Fred C. Mercer – American elk – typical antlers
1961 – Harry L. Swank, Jr. – Dall’s sheep (click here to read the story of Swank's hunt)
1963 – Norman Blank – Stone’s sheep
1965 – Melvin J. Johnson – whitetail deer – typical antlers
1973 – Doug Burris, Jr. – mule deer – typical antlers (click here to read the story of Burris' hunt)
1976 – Garry Beaubien – mountain caribou
1986 – Michael J. O’Haco, Jr. – pronghorn
1989 – Gene C. Alford – cougar
1992 – Charles E. Erickson, Jr. – Coues’ whitetail – non-typical antlers
2001 – Gernot Wober – Rocky Mountain goat
2010 – Paul T. Deuling – mountain caribou (click here to read the story of Deuling's hunt)
Special Recognition
Sagamore Hill Awards may also be presented as a special recognition to Club members who demonstrate outstanding devotion to Club ideals and objectives. The first such recipient was DeForest Grant in 1952. Click here to see the full list of recipients of this special award.
