Dick Butkus wrecked havoc on the St. Louis Cardinals even as a rookie in the NFL. The Chicago Bears middle linebacker, playing against them for the first time in the regular season, intercepted a ball and became physical.
Butkus, who played nine seasons (1965–1973) with the Bears and was chosen for the Pro Bowl eight times, prowled the football pitch “like a hungry grizzly,” according to the Dallas Morning News. The middle linebacker position became linked with suffering because of his brutal smashes and aggressive demeanour.
During his stint in the NFL, the Associated Press referred to him as “the most devastating middle linebacker in pro football.”
Butkus faced the Cardinals in five regular-season games, albeit one of those he departed early due to injury. He was 80 when he passed away on October 5, 2023. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
modest beginning
The eighth Butkus child but the first to be delivered in a hospital, Richard Marvin Butkus weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, according to the Chicago Tribune. He required a week of incubation because the lack of oxygen in his blood caused his skin to become blue.
The Tribune said that John, his father, was a Lithuanian immigrant who worked as an electrician. In a laundry, mother Emma put in 50 hours every week.
According to the Tribune, Butkus shared an 8 by 10 room with four brothers in their four-room house on the South Side of Chicago.
Butkus, a 230-pound fullback and linebacker who played football at Chicago’s Vocational High School, was a fullback. He decided to attend Illinois University for his undergraduate studies.
He played both centre and linebacker for Illinois head coach Pete Elliott. Butkus played in seven games as a sophomore in 1962, recording 97 tackles. Butkus had 145 tackles in 10 games during his junior season, when the Illini won the Big Ten Conference, including 23 against Ohio State.
He was dubbed “a savage tackler whose body slams led to six fumble recoveries for Illinois” by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1963.
Butkus excelled as a centre for the offence, “with his blocks gouging holes in the enemy line for key short yardage plays.”
being at home
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