Richard Marvin Butkus was a former American football player, sports commentator and actor. He played football for the Chicago Bears and the national football league (NFL) from 1965 to 1973. He was invited to eight Pro Bowls and was cited as a first-team All-Pro five. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. and was twice recognized by his peers as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. He was also regarded as one of the greatest and most intimidating linebackers in professional football history.
Richard Marvin Butkus Early life and age
Richard Marvin Butkus was born on 9th December,1942 in Chicago. He was the lastborn in a family of eight children. His father was a Lithuanian immigrant to Ellis Island was an electrician and worked for the Pullman-Standard railroad car manufacturing company. His mother, Emma, worked 50 hours a week at a laundry. He played his whole career in his home state of Illinois. His football career began in Chicago vocational high school Butkus played both fullback and linebacker and as a middle linebacker He was honored by the Chicago Sun-Times as Chicago’s high school player of the year in 1959
Butkus attended the University of Illinois He played as a linebacker in the (1962–1964), He was a twice consensus All-American, and he led the Illini to a Rose Bowl victory in 1963 and was named the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. He was titled college football’s Lineman of the Year in 1964.
Butkus finished sixth in Heisman Trophy polling in 1963 and third in 1964, rare results both for a lineman and a defensive player. According to data kept by the university of Illinois, he finished his college career with 374 tackles: 97 in 1962, 145 in 1963, and 132 in 1964.
Richard Marvin Butkus professional career
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Butkus was selected by the Bears and by the Denver Broncos in the first round of the NFL and the American Football League draft, respectively. He settled for his hometown team, The Bears, and in his first year in the team (1965) he intercepted five passes and was selected for the first of eight consecutive Pro Bowls this was viewed as a major victory for the NFL.
He succeeded hall of famer Bill George in 1965 as middle linebacker. On a match against New York giants, he intercepted five passes and recovered six opponent fumbles and was thus named NFL defensive player of the week by AP for the first time in his career. Butkus led the Bears in tackles in each of its first eight seasons in the league, he was famous for his ability to strip the ball during a tackle. His career was shortened by injuries. He got a right knee injury in 1970 that didn’t respond completely to surgery. He was forced to retire in May 1974 at the age of 31yrs. he was considered to have intercepted 22 passes and recovered 27 fumbles while playing for the Bears from 1965 to 1973. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame 1979.
USA Today called Butkus the “gold standard by which other middle linebackers are measured. 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.In 2017, NFL senior analyst Gil Brandt ranked Butkus as the third greatest linebacker of all time.
Somebody give me some pads and a QB to tackle. @chicagobears pic.twitter.com/DWPq1L3yv1
— Dick Butkus (@thedickbutkus) September 10, 2023
Richard Marvin Butkus Film and Television career
Butkus ventured in acting after retiring from his football career. He was also a celebrity endorser and a broadcaster
In an interview with sports illustrated Butkus said that
“Football for me was never work. If you love something, it’s not work,”
Also In a 1998 in an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Butkus said that,
“I was worried about making a mistake, because people would say, ‘He’s just a football player,’ so I was harder on myself to do it right.”
He began his film career in 1971 when he featured in “Brian’s Song,” which showcased the relationship between Bears players Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers.
Butkus also featured in “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” with former All-Pro defensive end Bubba Smith. He’d also appeared in the 1991 crime drama “The Last Boy Scout” and the 2001 comedy “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” as himself.
Butkus remarkably appeared in the 1991 comedy “Necessary Roughness,” where he played on a prison football team alongside fellow NFL stars like Earl Campbell, Tony Dorsett, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jim Kelly, and Jerry Rice. That wasn’t Butkus’ only football-related acting experience as he also was in the football film “Any Given Sunday,” where he played a coach alongside Dennis Quaid, Al Pacino, and Cameron Diaz.
While he appeared in several feature films, Butkus also had even more credits in television.
The former Bears linebacker made his television entrance in 1974 in an episode of “Emergency!” and “McMillan & Wife.” Butkus also had recurring roles in “Police Story and “Joe Forrester.”
Butkus, who was born in Chicago, was most famous for his time on the NBC sitcom “Hang Time,” where he played a high school basketball coach named Mike Katowinski. He appeared in 52 episodes of the show from 1998 until 2000.
Richard Marvin Butkus personal life
Butkus married his high school girlfriend , Helen Essenberg, in 1963. They had three children: Ricky, Matt, and Nikki
Richard Marvin Butkus death
Butkus passed on on 5th October ,2023 in his sleep at the age of 80yrs. He was eulogized and honored for his great legacy.
“In Chicago, Dick Butkus was football,” Obama said on Friday. “Thinking of his family today, and all the Bears fans who loved watching one of the best to ever play the game.” Former US president Barrack Obama
Bill Belichick on the late, great Dick Butkus:
“The prototype middle linebacker. From his playing style, to the look, to the ads. He was a Chicago Bear if there ever was one.”@ABC6 #ForeverNE #NEvsNO @ruthiepolinsky #DaBears pic.twitter.com/bTPFQFtv8e
— Ian Steele (@IanSteeleABC6) October 6, 2023
“Dick Butkus was not only a Legend, he was my Idol. Loved his Frankness, Toughness, and the Inspiration he was for me! You set the Standard for the role of a MLB! Love you Dick.” Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher
