Dick Butkus was arguably the best linebacker to ever play the game of football. Butkus was the best until constant injuries made him retire from the game of football. Although Butkus retired rather early, he is still very involved in the National Football League and the game he has loved so dearly. Although he left the game quickly, he has left an everlasting effect on the game of professional football.
Richard Marvin Butkus, born December 9th, 1942 immigrated to Chicago from Lithuania (Bio.com) Butkus spent his early football years playing at Chicago Vocational High School. In high school, Butkus was selected as the Associated Press Prep-Football player of the year (Pro Football HOF). Although Butkus had a good high school career, he
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Dick Butkus had received a way better offer from Denver, but he was born and raised in Illinois so he wanted to play for his home team. Dick Butkus was soon known as the best linebacker in the NFL. Although Butkus was a superb athlete, getting his starting spot on the Chicago defense was not going to be easy. Butkus had to work his tail off against a fourteen year veteran linebacker Bill George. It was hard, but he prevailed. In Butkus’s debut, he had already racked up an impressive eleven tackles (Sports Reference). Butkus was the new leader of the entire defense. He could cover up big tight ends and move sideline to sideline very quickly …show more content…
He was big and broad and could lay huge hits on the opposing teams. He was known as the “enforcer” because of the way he laid hits and ran the defense. Butkus was very football smart, considering he played on one of the hardest defenses in the NFL (Bears in the Hall). Butkus was always in the right place at the right time. Butkus also played a little bit of offense and special teams. He caught two extra point conversion passes. Butkus was so good, he was selected to play in the Pro Bowl eight times which adds up to every year he was in the NFL (Pro Football HOF). He was also announced to be a part of the 75th anniversary All Time team, and he was even named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice (Pro Football Reference). In Dick Butkus’s eight seasons with the Chicago Bears, he racked up an impressive twenty-five fumble recoveries, twenty-two interceptions, and 1,020 tackles with less than half of them being assisted tackles (Pro Football