Post by KotO on Oct 5, 2023 22:56:43 GMT
sports.yahoo.com/dick-butkus-one-of-the-greatest-linebackers-in-nfl-history-dies-at-80-223149911.html
NFL Network ranked the most feared tacklers in league history in 2009. No. 1 on the list was Dick Butkus. There could have been no other choice for the top spot.
Butkus’ name has become synonymous with the violent side of football: fear and intimidation. Butkus was also synonymous with greatness at middle linebacker, and in many ways the NFL itself.
Butkus, the longtime Chicago Bears star, died at age 80. Butkus' death was confirmed in a statement from his family, via the Chicago Bears. TMZ reported that paramedics responded to a medical emergency call at Butkus' home in Malibu, California on Thursday afternoon and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. It was an easy pick, because it’s hard to imagine writing the history of the game without Butkus.
Dick Butkus was a star at every level
Butkus started to become a household name at the University of Illinois. Playing center and linebacker, he led the Illini to a 17-7 win over Washington in the 1964 Rose Bowl. That is Illinois’ last Rose Bowl win. The Dick Butkus Award is now given to the top linebacker in college football each year.
Butkus was a high draft pick of the AFL’s Denver Broncos (ninth overall) and the NFL’s Chicago Bears (third overall), but the allure of playing for his hometown Bears was strong. He signed with the Bears, and was a star from the start.
Butkus was a first-team All-Pro as a rookie in 1965, as was teammate Gale Sayers. Butkus and Sayers were the first rookie teammates in NFL history to both be named All-Pro, and that record wasn’t matched until 2018.
Butkus was the epitome of violence in football
Butkus was more than just a fierce hitter. He had five interceptions as a rookie and finished with 22 picks in his career. He was a fantastic all-around player.
But everyone remembers him as a vicious tackler.
By the time Sports Illustrated put Butkus on the cover of the 1970 NFL preview, and touted him as “The Most Feared Man In The Game,” his reputation was set. In a 1971 feature, Playboy described Butkus thusly: “To a fan, the story on Butkus is very simple. He's the meanest, angriest, toughest, dirtiest son of a bitch in football. An animal, a savage, subhuman.”
Butkus had a long acting career after football, with 53 credits according to IMDB. He became a popular pitchman for commercials, too.
Despite success off the field and the decades that passed after he played for the Bears, Butkus’ football legend continued to grow. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 1960s and 1970s. Butkus was an obvious choice for the NFL’s 75th anniversary all-time team. In 2001, Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman named Butkus the greatest middle linebacker in NFL history. When NFL Network ranked the 100 greatest players ever in 2010, Butkus was No. 10. He and Jim Brown were the only players in the top 20 who played fewer than 10 NFL seasons.
Decades after his retirement, Butkus was still remembered reverentially by NFL fans. His legend will last forever.
NFL Network ranked the most feared tacklers in league history in 2009. No. 1 on the list was Dick Butkus. There could have been no other choice for the top spot.
Butkus’ name has become synonymous with the violent side of football: fear and intimidation. Butkus was also synonymous with greatness at middle linebacker, and in many ways the NFL itself.
Butkus, the longtime Chicago Bears star, died at age 80. Butkus' death was confirmed in a statement from his family, via the Chicago Bears. TMZ reported that paramedics responded to a medical emergency call at Butkus' home in Malibu, California on Thursday afternoon and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. It was an easy pick, because it’s hard to imagine writing the history of the game without Butkus.
Dick Butkus was a star at every level
Butkus started to become a household name at the University of Illinois. Playing center and linebacker, he led the Illini to a 17-7 win over Washington in the 1964 Rose Bowl. That is Illinois’ last Rose Bowl win. The Dick Butkus Award is now given to the top linebacker in college football each year.
Butkus was a high draft pick of the AFL’s Denver Broncos (ninth overall) and the NFL’s Chicago Bears (third overall), but the allure of playing for his hometown Bears was strong. He signed with the Bears, and was a star from the start.
Butkus was a first-team All-Pro as a rookie in 1965, as was teammate Gale Sayers. Butkus and Sayers were the first rookie teammates in NFL history to both be named All-Pro, and that record wasn’t matched until 2018.
Butkus was the epitome of violence in football
Butkus was more than just a fierce hitter. He had five interceptions as a rookie and finished with 22 picks in his career. He was a fantastic all-around player.
But everyone remembers him as a vicious tackler.
By the time Sports Illustrated put Butkus on the cover of the 1970 NFL preview, and touted him as “The Most Feared Man In The Game,” his reputation was set. In a 1971 feature, Playboy described Butkus thusly: “To a fan, the story on Butkus is very simple. He's the meanest, angriest, toughest, dirtiest son of a bitch in football. An animal, a savage, subhuman.”
Butkus had a long acting career after football, with 53 credits according to IMDB. He became a popular pitchman for commercials, too.
Despite success off the field and the decades that passed after he played for the Bears, Butkus’ football legend continued to grow. He was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 1960s and 1970s. Butkus was an obvious choice for the NFL’s 75th anniversary all-time team. In 2001, Sports Illustrated’s Paul Zimmerman named Butkus the greatest middle linebacker in NFL history. When NFL Network ranked the 100 greatest players ever in 2010, Butkus was No. 10. He and Jim Brown were the only players in the top 20 who played fewer than 10 NFL seasons.
Decades after his retirement, Butkus was still remembered reverentially by NFL fans. His legend will last forever.