60 Facts About Dick Butkus

Richard Marvin Butkus was born on December 9,1942 and is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, and actor.

Dick Butkus played football as a middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League from 1965 to 1973.

Dick Butkus was invited to eight Pro Bowls, named a first-team All-Pro six times, and was twice recognized by his peers as the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.

Dick Butkus was renowned as a fierce tackler and for the relentless effort with which he played and is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most intimidating linebackers in pro football history.

Dick Butkus was born in Chicago and played his entire football career in his home state of Illinois, which began at Chicago Vocational High School.

Dick Butkus was a linebacker and a center at the University of Illinois.

Dick Butkus was a two-time consensus All-American, and he led the Illini to a Rose Bowl victory in 1963 and was deemed the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference.

Dick Butkus was named college football's Lineman of the Year in 1964 by United Press International.

Dick Butkus was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dick Butkus was drafted by the Bears as the third overall pick in the 1965 NFL Draft.

Dick Butkus soon established himself as a ball hawk with his penchant for forcing turnovers.

Dick Butkus's tackling ability earned him both admiration and trepidation from opposing players.

Dick Butkus is active in philanthropy through the Butkus Foundation, which manages various charitable causes.

Dick Butkus's father John, a Lithuanian immigrant to Ellis Island who spoke broken English, was an electrician and worked for the Pullman-Standard railroad car manufacturing company.

Dick Butkus grew up in the Roseland neighborhood on Chicago's South Side.

Dick Butkus was a fan of the NFL's Chicago Cardinals and attended their games at Comiskey Park.

Dick Butkus played high school football as a fullback, linebacker, punter, and placekicker for coach Bernie O'Brien at Chicago Vocational High School.

Dick Butkus averaged five yards per carry as a fullback, but preferred playing linebacker, where he made 70 percent of his team's tackles.

Dick Butkus chose to attend the University of Illinois, and played center and linebacker from 1962 through 1964 for the Illinois Fighting Illini football team.

Dick Butkus was named the team's most valuable player for the season, and was awarded the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player.

Dick Butkus was a unanimous choice as a center for the 1963 College Football All-America Team, earning first-team honors from all seven major selectors.

Dick Butkus was chosen for the 1964 All-America team by five of the six major selectors.

Dick Butkus was drafted in the first round of the 1965 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and in the second round of the 1965 AFL draft by the Denver Broncos of the American Football League.

Dick Butkus established himself as a ball hawk by intercepting five passes and recovering six opponents' fumbles, and he was credited unofficially with having forced six fumbles.

Dick Butkus finished third in balloting for the AP's rookie of the year award, behind Sayers and Ken Willard of the San Francisco 49ers, with AP sportswriter Jack Hand remarking that Butkus would have certainly won if there was a separate award for defenders.

Dick Butkus was named a first-team All-Pro by the AP and was invited to his first of eight straight Pro Bowls.

Dick Butkus reclaimed the first-team spot on the UPI and NEA teams in 1967, the AP team in 1968, and the Daily News team in 1969, all of which he occupied through the 1970 season.

Dick Butkus recorded 25 tackles in the game, and for his efforts was recognized as the NFL Defensive Player of the Week by the AP.

Dick Butkus appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in September 1970 with the caption, "The Most Feared Man in the Game".

Dick Butkus did intercept a pass from Bradshaw a third time but was called back by a penalty against the Bears.

Dick Butkus, who was playing as a blocking back, ran into the end zone and leapt to receive the pass for the winning score.

Dick Butkus later called the play his favorite of his career.

Dick Butkus sparked controversy in 1972 with the release of Stop-Action, a memoir describing the final week of the 1971 season.

Dick Butkus's retirement came with four years remaining on a five-year contract with the Bears, which was to pay him $115,000 per year through 1977, came with a no-cut, no-trade clause, and was payable even if surgery was needed.

Dick Butkus filed suit against the Bears' team doctor in May 1974 asking for $600,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.

Dick Butkus was a well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital.

Dick Butkus was known to snarl at the opposition prior to plays.

Dick Butkus once intercepted a pass from Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton near the goal line, and instead of taking the ball into the end zone for an easy touchdown, he took aim at Tarkenton to run him over.

Dick Butkus played angry, often "manufacturing" things to make him mad, because he felt it gave him a competitive edge.

Dick Butkus became most noted for his tackling ability, and the ferocity with which he tackled opponents.

Dick Butkus was named the most feared tackler of all time by the NFL Network in 2009.

Dick Butkus recovered 27 fumbles in his career, an NFL record at the time of his retirement.

Dick Butkus is recognized for having set the benchmark for the success of Bears middle linebackers, which continued with Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher.

Dick Butkus was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983.

Dick Butkus's No 50 jersey is one of only two retired by the Illinois Fighting Illini football program, the other being the No 77 of Red Grange, and he was an inaugural inductee into the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

Dick Butkus was named to the Walter Camp Football Foundation's All-Century Team in 1999, compiled to honor the best college players of the 20th century.

Dick Butkus was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.

Dick Butkus has been repeatedly ranked among the top players in NFL history, being named the ninth-best player in NFL history by The Sporting News in 1999, the tenth-best by the NFL Network in its The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players series in 2010, and the eighth-best by the New York Daily News in 2014.

Dick Butkus was selected the 70th greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN.

Dick Butkus sued the Downtown Athletic Club for rights to the award in 2007, which it relinquished after a yearlong court battle.

Dick Butkus decided to name him after "possibly the fiercest football player in history".

Dick Butkus portrayed himself in both the critically acclaimed TV movie Brian's Song and the 2002 comedy Teddy Bears' Picnic.

Dick Butkus portrayed Officer Alan Dimsky in Cass Malloy, the 1982 CBS pilot for what later became the syndicated situation comedy She's the Sheriff, and has made cameo appearances in episodes of several television shows.

Dick Butkus returned to the Bears as a color analyst on radio broadcasts in 1985, teaming with first-year play-by-play man Wayne Larrivee and former St Louis Cardinals quarterback Jim Hart.

Dick Butkus was hired as the replacement for Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder on CBS's pregame show The NFL Today in 1988, serving as an analyst through 1989.

Dick Butkus was named as head coach of the XFL's Chicago Enforcers franchise, but was replaced by coach Ron Meyer for the league's only season in 2001.

Dick Butkus married his high school sweetheart, Helen Essenberg, in 1963 while they were students at the University of Illinois.

Dick Butkus remains an avid fan and frequent media image for the Bears.

Dick Butkus had his knee replaced with a metal unit.

Dick Butkus lost strength in his hands, needing both to lift a coffee cup.