But Jerry Austin, 62, of St. Michael, who died Wednesday in Anchorage of liver disease, may have been the kindest and savviest Iditarod racer to ever mount a pair of sled runners. One of the toughest too.

Austin's best finish in the 1,000-mile race was third in 1982. But his three sportsmanship awards -- in 1987, 1989 and 1993 -- meant more. That recognition, and his humanitarian award in 1982, catapulted Austin into the inaugural class of the Anchorage Daily News Iditarod Hall of Fame, where his career is commemorated along with 18 other giants of the sport.

"He was notorious for doing whatever he could for whomever he could," said four-time champion Jeff King, a fellow member of the Hall who early in his career raced against Austin. "The race always came second to helping people for Jerry.

"As the years went by, I raced him many times. I never saw the guy angry; never saw him mad or rude."

Born in Seattle in 1947, Austin moved to Alaska in 1969 and entered his first Iditarod seven years later.

A hunting and fishing guide, Austin met Clara Lockwood in St. Michael, where they married and raised four children. The family spent much time at its Golsovia River Lodge, about 40 miles up the coast from St. Michael.

The 1982 Iditarod was Austin's best shot at victory, but his friend Rick Swenson beat him to the finish line by 12 minutes. The late Susan Butcher finished second, less than four minutes behind Swenson.

But Austin did much more than race. In 1993, he led a procession of 17 mushers trapped by a ground blizzard in White Mountain the final 77 miles to Nome.

In 1980 and 1995, he dispatched moose charging his team, the first with a bullet and the second with a explosive fired from a flare pistol.

But perhaps Austin is best remembered for helping save North Pole musher Mike Madden along the desolate 90-mile stretch between the ghost towns of Ophir and Iditarod in 1989.

On a March night when temperatures dipped below minus-20, Madden slumped off his sled and fell to the snow, shaking and mumbling incoherently. His temperature was 103.

Along with rookies Mitch Brazin, Kathy Halverson, Linwood Fiedler and Jamie Nelson, Austin helped feed and care for Madden for about 18 hours until a helicopter could airlift him to Anchorage for treatment. Austin and Fiedler mushed hard to the next checkpoint to summon help.

"It's the kind of spirit you see when you're really living in Western Alaska like Jerry," said DeeDee Jonrowe, a fellow Hall of Fame member who called Bethel home for 15 years before moving to Willow. "You just don't leave anybody in a distressful situation."

A master guide, Austin opened Austin's Alaska Adventures in 1976, hunting bear, moose, caribou and other animals near Norton Sound. He led such personalities as NFL Hall of Fame running back Larry Csonka and rock star Ted Nugent on hunts that were later televised.

"He had eyes like an eagle," said Bill Crawford, 72, of Anchorage, who said he knew Austin for 33 years and worked with him as an assistant guide. "He was a throwback to the mountain men of 150 years ago in the Rocky Mountains -- a fur trapper who married a Native woman and knew the Western Alaska wilderness like the back of his hand."

Duane Halverson of Homer also hunted with Austin -- and frequently raced near him during Halverson's nine Iditarods, which included a runner-up finish in 1985. They quickly became friends.

At a hunting camp in the fall of 1986, the two men shared a bottle of whiskey and hatched a plan that would forever change how the Iditarod was raced.

" 'You know what,' '' Halverson said he told Austin. 'We ought to just rabbit out in front of everybody. We can make it to Rohn in 48 hours and make everybody play catch-up.

" 'If we race Butcher or Swenson on the coast, we're never going to win. We just don't have the depth in our teams, and they have us outfinanced so much it isn't even funny.' "

Austin, the cautious one, wasn't convinced.

Halverson kept after him, calling every few weeks from Ambler, where he lived at the time, to lobby his friend.

"Nah, I don't see that," Austin told him on the eve of the race.

The Sunday before the Iditarod start, the Daily News published an assessment of the top contenders, fitting them into such categories as Top Dogs, Young Turks, Top Women.

Then came the All But Forgotten category, which included Levon Barve, John Copper, Austin and Halverson.

That night Halverson called Austin to see if he'd read it.

" 'Those sons of bitches, I don't care if we run those dogs into the ground, we're not going to be forgotten,' " Austin told his friend.

Sure enough, Austin and Halverson powered into Rohn, some 270 miles into the race, with a six-hour lead.

It wasn't enough to upend Butcher, who won, or Swenson, who was second. But Halverson ended up third and Austin was fifth. The field took note.

By the next year, the top 30 mushers were into Rohn within 48 hours.

Austin died surrounded by family and friends at Alaska Regional Hospital. He will be buried next week near his home in St. Michael.

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Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.