The sports world was hit with sad news with the passing last week of NFL and Chicago Bears legend Dick Butkus at age 80.
Butkus is widely regarded as the greatest middle linebacker in NFL history. He played with a ferocity that struck fear into opponents and is unparalleled to this day. NFL Films produced iconic footage of him lifting ball carriers off their feet and throwing them backward.
In his nine-year career, Butkus played in eight Pro Bowls and was a five-time first-team All-Pro. None other than George Allen drafted Butkus in 1965 in one of the greatest drafts for a single team in NFL history. Allen, the Bears’ head talent scout and defensive coordinator at the time, picked Butkus with Chicago’s No. 3 pick and electrifying running back Gale Sayers at No. 4. After star-studded careers, both players were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on their first ballot. Not surprisingly, both were selected for the NFL Films 100 greatest all-time team. Plus, their Hall of Fame induction marks the only time that two players from the same team who were selected with back-to-back picks would be enshrined—both on their first ballot, no less.
In the 1965 draft, the Bears were determined to nab Butkus, a Chicago native of Lithuanian ancestry who was as Chicago hard-nosed and old school as they come. At Illinois, he amassed tackles, fumble recoveries, and interceptions to become the best linebacker in the nation. He was named to many All-American teams and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting as a junior, a remarkable feat for a defensive player. Today, the Butkus Award goes annually to the best linebacker in the country.
Butkus and his defensive coach, George Allen, developed an immediate chemistry after Butkus arrived as a rookie. He believes Allen prepared him for the NFL better than anybody else, helping fuel an inner passion for the game. Allen also gave Butkus a leadership role in just his first season.
“He was just an amazing guy,” Butkus told me in an interview for my book, George Allen: A Football Life. “I think we hit it off because he was nothing but football. We had lunch together my rookie year every Friday. We’d go to this German joint in Chicago called Golden Ox. It was just amazing, talking football all the time. He also had that ability to find talent. He really liked veteran players who wouldn’t make any mistakes. That was the key with George Allen. My rookie year we’d go over and over and over stuff. The idea was to never make a mistake twice. He was really good at picking veteran players. He had a lot of older players on his teams, but they got the job done.
“As a defensive player, I thought I’m playing for a guy who really knows what the heck’s going on. That’s why I paid attention and hit it off with him. He just lived and died football. He studied all the time and figured out ways to capitalize on mistakes by other teams.”
After his nine-year career, Butkus nearly reunited with Allen when Allen was the head coach at Long Beach State. After Allen’s first season at Long Beach State in 1990, he was prepared to hire Butkus as the team’s linebackers coach. But Allen died on New Year’s Eve 1990, and Butkus never joined the 49ers’ staff.
Rest in peace, Dick Butkus.
