Frank G. Higgins

Francis Grant Higgins (December 28, 1864 – October 15, 1905) was an American football player, lawyer and politician. He played college football at the University of Michigan. He was the first native-born person from Montana to become a member of the state's bar and of the state's legislature. He served in the Montana House of Representatives and was elected as the mayor of Missoula, Montana in 1892. He was the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1901 to 1905.

Early years Higgins was born in 1864 at Hell Gate, Montana, near the site of what would become Missoula, Montana. He was the son of Julia Grant and Christopher Powers Higgins (1830–1889), an early Montana pioneer and the founder of the city of Missoula. He attended the public schools of Missoula and graduated in 1881 from the military school in Faribault, Minnesota. He was sent east to attend the Phillips Exeter Academy at Exeter, New Hampshire.

Higgins subsequently enrolled at the University of Michigan where he studied law and played college football as a forward for the undefeated 1885 Michigan Wolverines football team.

Legal and political career After graduating from Michigan in 1886, Higgins returned to Missoula where he practiced law. He was the first person born in Montana to be admitted to the Montana state bar. He served in both the first and second sessions of the Montana legislature. He was also a delegate from Montana to 1892 Democratic National Convention.

Family and death Higgins married Barbara Hayes from Ontario, Canada in September 1892. They had one son, Grant Higgins.

Higgins died in November 1905 at St. Vincent's hospital in Portland, Oregon. He died from complications of diseases contracted while serving in the Spanish–American War. After suffering a relapse, he was taken to Portland in the hope that "the climatic conditions would help to remove the severe strain to his nervous system."