The 50 Greatest Players in Chicago Bears History. Robert W. Cohen

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СКАЧАТЬ Hall of Fame halfback Paul Hornung said of his frequent foe, “He was the meanest S.O.B. I’ve ever seen in my life who played professional football. He didn’t like anybody with a different jersey. I mean, he really disliked you. He went after you like he hated you from his old neighborhood.”

      Rams All-Pro defensive end Deacon Jones added, “He [Butkus] was an animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery.”

      Meanwhile, longtime Bears teammate Doug Buffone stated, “I always say to play professional football you have to have a Neanderthal gene. Dick had two.”

      Butkus, who led the Bears in tackles eight straight times, employed an unconventional tackling style that proved to be extremely successful. Instead of targeting his opponents’ legs, he typically engulfed them in his viselike grip, picked them up, and slammed them to the ground, resulting in an inordinate number of fumbles. In discussing his technique, Butkus said, “When you are in a bearhug, it’s hard to get your arms out to break your fall. And sometimes, you’re going to be trying to break your fall with an arm that happens to be carrying the ball, and the ball pops out.”

      Commenting on the unusual manner with which Butkus brought down opposing ball-carriers, Colts Hall of Fame wide receiver Raymond Berry stated, “He was the most unique defensive player I ever saw come into professional football. The first year that he began to play, he began to do things to runners that no one had ever done before, in that he was tackling these guys with one hand and stripping them of the ball with the other. I’d never seen any linebacker in professional football, before or since, who did this.”

Claiming that Butkus inflicted a considerable amount of punishment anytime he contacted someone in possession of the football, former Baltimore Colts general manager Ernie Accorsi said, “When he hit you, you stayed hit. He hit with violence. . . . There were more people in the training room after we played the Bears than any other opponent—everybody was bleeding, bruised, marked up. I remember looking at one of our assistant trainers and saying, ‘Was it that tough out there?’ And he looked at me and he said, ‘Butkus.’”

      Former Cardinals and Packers running back MacArthur Lane described what it was like being tackled by Butkus, stating, “If I had a choice, I’d sooner go one on one with a grizzly bear. I pray that I can get up every time Butkus hits me.”

      Paul Hornung noted, “Dick didn’t just tackle you. He made just textbook tackles, but he didn’t just tackle you. He engulfed you.”

      Saints wide receiver Dan Abramowicz added, “Dick was not satisfied with just an ordinary tackle. He had to hit you, pick you up, drive you, and grind you into the ground.”

      Yet, Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame head coach Bud Grant suggested that Butkus depended on more than just brute force to establish himself as the premier defender of his time, saying, “Even though he had an intimidating way about him, he also had a way of being in the right place at the right time. He was there many times before the blockers were ready and did a lot of what he did not only because of the physical attributes, but I think he had great instincts. He was one of the most instinctive football players I think I’ve seen on the other side.”

      Although Butkus failed to gain All-Pro recognition for the first time in his career in 1967, he had another great year, recording 146 tackles (111 solo) and an unofficial total of 18 quarterback sacks. He followed that up by making First-Team All-Pro in each of the next two seasons, also earning NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1969. Butkus continued to wreak havoc on opposing offenses in 1970, recording 132 solo tackles, 84 assists, and three interceptions, with his fabulous performance earning him NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors for the second straight time. Meanwhile, a poll taken of NFL coaches that year identified Butkus as the player with whom they would most like to start if they were building a new team from scratch.

Nevertheless, Butkus’s aggressive style of play finally began to take its toll on him in 1970, with Detroit Lions tight end Charlie Sanders suggesting that the linebacker’s reputation led to his eventual downfall when he said, “It was known around the league that no one wanted to take on Dick directly, so there was a lot of chop-blocking and hits below the knees on him, which contributed to his demise.”

      Butkus suffered his first serious knee injury during a 24–16 win over the Giants in the opening game of the 1970 regular season, with New York quarterback Fran Tarkenton marveling afterwards, “Butkus has the most concentration of any man in the game. He’s fantastic. After he was hurt, he dragged that leg around the whole field. He was better after the injury than before—better on that one damn leg than with two.”

      After undergoing reconstructive surgery on his right knee during the subsequent offseason, Butkus played in pain in each of the next two seasons when the ligaments failed to heal properly. Still, he led the Bears in tackles both years, performing particularly well in 1971, when, in addition to making 117 stops and assisting on 68 others, he intercepted four passes and recovered three fumbles.

      However, the pain became too severe for even Butkus to tolerate in 1973. After taking himself out of a game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, Butkus limped off the field for the last time a few weeks later, failing to make an appearance in any of the Bears’ final five contests. Announcing his retirement following the conclusion of the campaign, Butkus finished with unofficial totals of 1,020 solo tackles and 489 assists, giving him more total stops (1,509) than anyone else in franchise history. He also recorded 22 interceptions, amassed 166 interception-return yards, scored one touchdown, and recovered 25 fumbles on defense.

      Following his playing days, Butkus began a career in acting and broadcasting, appearing in several commercials, movies, and television shows, while also serving as a color analyst on Bears games from 1985 to 1987, before replacing Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder on CBS’s pregame show The NFL Today in 1988. He later retired to Malibu, California, where he remains an avid fan and frequent media image for the Bears.

      Unfortunately, the injuries that Butkus sustained during his playing career have compounded with time, forcing him to undergo knee replacement surgery and an osteotomy that left him with one leg one-and-a-half inches shorter than the other, which has affected his hips, back, and neck. He has also lost much of the strength in his hands and undergone quintuple bypass surgery to remove blockages in his arteries. Still, Butkus maintains that football had a largely positive impact on his life, with longtime friend Ed O’Bradovich saying, “His whole damn life was football. Forget about it. It wasn’t driving a pretty car. It wasn’t going to the local bar and pounding your chest ‘I’m the greatest.’ It was the opposite.”

Butkus once drew the following words of praise from former Rams head coach Tommy Prothro: “He is a legendary football player. I never thought any player could play as well as writers write that he can, but Butkus comes as close as any I’ve ever seen.”

      And, long after he retired from the game, Butkus continued to draw praise from those who saw him perform on the football field, with Ted Marchibroda, who spent 35 years coaching in the NFL, saying, “I think Dick, without question, in my mind, was probably the greatest linebacker that I ever saw.”

      Gale Sayers perhaps put it best when he said, “There was no one better than Dick Butkus.”

      CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

      Best Season

      Butkus performed brilliantly for the Bears as a rookie in 1965, leading the team in tackles, interceptions, and fumble recoveries, with his magnificent play helping them limit their opponents to 104 fewer points than they scored the previous season. Butkus also had a huge year in 1967, recording unofficial totals of 111 solo tackles, 35 assists, and 18 quarterback sacks, with Chicago statisticians СКАЧАТЬ