In the fall of '63 a group of us junior high school kids were playing a pickup game of football outside Memorial Stadium after the Illini game ended, when Dick and another player walked out, and stood watching us play. We invited them to join us, so they said they could for a couple of plays. Dick joined the other team. I was maybe 5'2" and 120 pounds, but I was our RB (small and quick, lol.) I took the ball up the middle and ran right into him. He had an awful grimace on his face as he scooped me up and lifted me over his head. I knew it was my last day on earth. Then he gently laid me on the ground and chuckled. He's been my football idol ever since, and I'm happy I got to watch him on tv for most of his career.
That's awesome my grandfather went to college in Kansas with wilt Chamberlain. They were playing a pick up game one day and wilt showed up...he said he was the greatest basketball player he's ever saw. 😊
A True Natural Monster. At 6'3 and 245 he was hardly bigger than Lineman who were taller and weighed more, yet somehow through sheer will, he became bigger and stronger and threw them around.
The players today would eat the old timers for lunch. Unless the vets had the same training and sports medicine available. All of you are just fogeys - longing for the blurry ole days. It’s hilarious.
Though he only played for 9 years, he played ALOT of minutes, especially his last 5 seasons, and it wore him down. Not to mention the cheap shots by OLmen. But Butkus was out there giving 110% on Every Snap. The Greatest. IMMHMFO
As a Vikings fan since 1968, you were the only player from another team, that I loved to watch play in the NFL. RIP Dick. You were THE BEST in your position… 😢👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽❤️
I got to meet Mr Butkis in a restaurant in Omaha NE one night in the late 90s nicest most patient person you could imagine especially with all the people interrupting his dinner asking for autographs and pics. Never once lost his temper. Today's athletes could learn so much from him. Just pure class and talent
RIP to the most dominant defensive player of all time. There are a handful you can argue as who was the best including Dick but noone you can argue as more dominant. RIP Legend of the Midway.
Words of another #75 Los Angeles Rams DT Deaçon Jones and Hall of Famer a long with #75 Mean Joe Greene and Hall of Fame inductees. Both from Historical Black Colleges University. HBCU'S
I'm a life long Bengals fan. But to me, Dick Butkus means football. Always had immense respect for the man. The way the man conducted himself on and off the field.
Oh come on. When I was in high school I got knocked out during half-speed practice. I still don't know how it happened - nobody does. When I came to, I didn't know where I was, who all these guys around me were, and why I had been sleeping in a field next to a factory. The 'factory' was the school building. My point is that guys getting their bell rung is common in football, not 'legend'.
No other LB was more feared, smarter, or consistently hit harder, he was truly the best LB ever, but those aren't my words or those of sports journalists, that's what the players that played against him have said in print, radio, and TV interviews. He played every single play, in his whole career, giving all his effort and with all his heart. "I stand before you with deep humility and pride. I proud of Chicago, and I'm proud to tell you that when I played for you, I gave it the very best I could". Dick Butkus
Your famous NFL Films, your single-mindedness towards total devastation on the field helped put me in the right frame of mind a number of times in my life. Thanks, Mr. Butkus- you will be missed!
R.I.P. Dick Butkus. The most feared man in the NFL. What a player. Toughness personified. How do I know. I saw him play live many times since I am an old fart. Off the field? A very nice man.
Every Friday night of every home home, my college football team gathered for one final team meeting before the game the next day. 100 young men and 10 coaches crammed into a classroom. Offensive Line Coach Hogan-with a mustache that would make Tom Selleck proud-would roll out the cathode ray TV to the front and pop in an old dingy VHS tape. The volume would be maxed out and we'd all be getting hyped up watching Dick Butkus highlights. Your unmatched intensity was a huge inspiration. You are legend. "Heroes get remembered, but legends never die."
This is the best NFL Films piece on Butkus bar none. Best highlights, music, array of players/coaches/officials and to top it off -narrated by the incomparable John Facenda!
There is only one other that I thought equaled him in ferocious intensity during that time. And that was Rich "Tombstone" Jackson. The man actually intimidated Lyle Alzado!
Watching Ndamukong Suh play when he was younger, reminded me of Butkis highlights. The rules today prevent the absolute assassinations that happened in the early 70s, but I think Suh mad ehis mark for a couple of years.
I loved watching Butkus play because he was a beast. True story. My step dad went to CVS High School in Chicago. Butkus was a sophomore and My Step dad was a senior - who was often bullied because he was tall and skinny. One day he was being bullied at his locker when Butkus suddenly ran up and knocked both of the guys about 10 feet away from him. They got up and ran, and that was that. My Step Dad said he never saw either of them again, but he knew who Butkus was, and so did those bullies. LOL.
October 5 2023. We will miss you greatly, thank you for all the Great memories, Lord Jesus please Bless his Soul and comfort his family, friends and Fans. RIP
Love Dick Butkus! His fundmentals were outstanding in the way he read the plays and squard up to tackle and wrapped up the opponent. Many young players today would benefit from watching his techniques.
RIP, Dick. We will miss you. My 11 year old sons both play football. At the start of this season, they were asked if they had a preference for the number on their jersey. One of my boys said "51!." They both love this video.😢😢
I've run into Dick Butkus a couple times in the area of Naperville, Illinois. Once in his car (an Audi sedan, I think) and once at a grocery store. On neither occasion did he try to send me to the hospital or cemetery. He's a legitimately low-key dude who seems content to live that HOF lifestyle.
I played football from 67 to 77, I was a middle linebacker, he was my hero and showed me every week how to hit and scare quarterbacks ....GOD BLESS him
My favorite middle linebacker of all-time!!! I was 16 years-old when Butkus premiered for the Bears in 1965 and I couldn't believe this guy!!! He made watching football even more fun!!
I never got to watch him play but my dad and grandfather told me stories about him which turned me into a bears fan which in turn is why i choose to play mlb and my number from little league to semi pro was 51
Of course the Bears went on to season after season of disappointment. But watching those guys play in their prime was truly something I’ll never forget!
Baseball diamonds doubled as football fields. The Bears and Cubs both played games at Wrigley Field until Soldier Field was built and became the Bears’ home. The Lions played at Tiger Stadium, the Giants played at Yankee Stadium, etc.
@@smokesletsgo2374 Me too. It was sad when Oakland had the last real field, then in an instant, it was gone. The NFL today is honestly pretty hard to watch.
Butkus was my hero growing up. When I started high school football my freshman year, I was 4' 8" and weighed 62 lbs, so there's no way I was ever going to match him. However, I just gave it all and hit everybody as hard as I could. I put a fullback on his keester one time after I somehow slipped past three blockers. The official was laughing when he took the ball. I was never all that good, but I had a blast playing.
I'm struck- if I may use such a word- at how high Butkus hit. He tackled men at the shoulders and twisted them down, which is not a technique he was taught. Coaches don't like it. But his physical strength must have been extraordinary to utilise that method successfully. I also notice that because he tackled high, he could slug a ball carrier with a downsweep of his forearm. If he didn't dislodge the ball, he caused the player to concentrate on maintaining possession, which is a major distraction to a ball carrier. An altogether devastating style of play and one you see in linebackers who followed in his wake. But he's the daddy.
Brian Bosworth liked to tackle really high in the same kind of way. People often criticize him for it, but it seems to have been very effective for him as well. Maybe there's something to it!
Don't put that roid monster Bosworth in the same sentence as Butkus. You're talking about the guy who got Mack trucked by Bo Jackson and was out of football not long after. Oh, and if I remember correctly he tried to take Bo on high.
Tackling high is a great way to limit head damage because you're not lowering your head into the guy you're tackling. It takes a lot of strength to do that especially upper body strength. Jack Ham and Jack Lambert also tackled like this, no CTE according to Jack Ham.
With the discovery and verification of CTE things had to change. I'll bet so many of those players from this era were so messed up when they retired. I have such mixed feelings as I love those crazy semi-dirty hits.
One of my top 10 heroes of all time, Butkus was a caring, loving human until he hit the playing field. Truly dominating both sides of the field, he was a warrior and a soldier making sure that you do NOT cross his line without punishment. He and Larry Csonka were my inspirations in high school and college. I WILL hurt you more than you can hurt me was the lesson. Love him to death and thank you for showing me that we can all be more than we ever imagined.
I remember the first time of hearing of Larry Csonka, it was on a football card, (I was never a Dolphins fan) and I remember thinking to myself, "How the heck do I even pronounce that?" but what I remember most is flipping the card over and seeing his numbers and saying, "Holy crap, who is this guy?"
I understand why you are saying what you have said. However please do not call him a soldier or a warrior. He never picked up a weapon and stood at a posting,he never fired a weapon at any enemy soldier and was never shot at by an enemy. Sports figures are not heroes or warriors, what they do on a field is a joke compared to what a soldier does in combat.
@@eac1235 You have proven yourself as a disgrace and a liar regarding our armed forces. I was a 6-year US Navy E-6 throttleman, Main Engine #3 aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea for 5 years. Not once did I have a weapon in my hand and never was I "shot at" by any enemy that I'm aware. My Grandfathers were both military officers, my Dad was an E-9 Atomic Demolitions Munitions (ADM) expert and my brother was E-9 of the Air Force twice. IF you were actually an active soldier/sailor, I applaud and thank you for your service. However, the flag that I fly in front of my home signifies that I am an American and a US citizen with ALL of the rights and benefits due. My opinion of Butkus stands and I'll meet you anywhere and any time to defend it.
@@eac1235 Your comment is what's disgraceful! You do not have a clue about what being an American or a serviceman is. Part of it is to ensure Freedoms, like the right to have sports heroes and call them as such! Warriors too, especially football players. I come from a military family. My father was a Pearl Harbor survivor and Navy Corpsman with the Marines in the Pacific in WWII. Both my older brothers earned Vietnam ribbons; I barely missed going there myself. Your comment IS AN EMBARRASSMENT and a DUSGRACE! You obviously learned not one whit of respect or common sense while serving. Shameful attitude, sir. [I used a small case on "Sir" intentionally.]
I wholeheartedly idolized him playing Pop Warner to high school football. Even had his #51 while starting defensive end and tight end. He was slightly before my time but I wish that I could've watched him play in person. He, Deacon Jones, Derrick Thomas, Reggie White, Mike (Mad Dog) Curtis and Ray Nitschke are my all time forever favorite defenders.
"He was an animal, and he was a well-conditioned animal. And every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital." Deacon Jones
I did some work for Butkus’ best friend from childhood to now. He had some great stories to tell of a young Butkus. Said his mom often fed him as a child, ate everything in sight 😂Awesome pics on his walls of them as kids, Dick was always a foot taller 😂
Every defensive football coach on the planet. At every level, high school college and pro. Should show this highlight reel to their players. This is how you finish a tackle. None of this bump the guy and hope he falls down. Butkius was still tackling you two seconds after the play it ended. You’re not getting away from him.
It's so interesting to watch how Butkus tackled. For the most part, he seemed to lead with his shoulder and blocked with his forearms, keeping the other guy away. In his 70s and no signs of CTE? Maybe current football coaches could learn from this.
99% of all his tackles were textbook examples of tackling that need to be revisited with today's players of all levels. The other 1% is just shoving the crap out of his opponents out of bounds.
Watching him (his whole career), and in practice, was how I learned. Hat in the chest (hips and shoulders move, chest doesn't), slide to side, wrap and drive. I've seen comments, about Butkus (other pages), saying he'd be penalized, today. I just figure those making the comment are too conditioned to today's football, and didn't see, or understand, yesterday's football. They don't know the proper technique. It seems, after ESPN showed up, technique went out the window...because it didn't fit the highlight reel.Just a guess, because it didn't take long to stop watching ESPN; didn't need their so called experts.
@@billj8148 they'd change the rules to stop him from hitting people. Could you see Brady taking a hit from Dick? Yea right! Ray Lewis is the closest thing to Dick in modern Football. Like Dick the fundamentals were there and that's the proper way to tackle somebody.
@@SGTJDerek, I began talking, about the lack of tackling, long before Madden. My wife used to tell me she didn't care; she didn't realize I was talking to myself (still happens LOL). I drove limo, in Las Vegas, before retiring. 2018 (?) I had University of Minnesota's head coach (Fleck), and I mentioned the lack of a correct tackle, and he said they didn't really teach it, today.
@@billj8148 Yep Especially Stupid People Network has helped ruin football. They helped the NFL cover up Spygate and every other thing that cheating franchise has done. They are not sports reporters, they are sports supporters. I gave up on their BS 5 years ago.
Don Woodyard - LT wasn't a pimple on Butkus' behind. He also played a different style than Butkus, never in the middle, always standing up on the wing.
I have played and watched football all my life. Dick Butkus was a warrior and a champion, perhaps the greatest linebacker who ever lived. My highest degree of respect.
Has a kid I grew up the Steelers fan and Dick Butkus was the most brutal and dangerous linebacker to play the game. Jack Lambert was great but I have to give the nod to Dick Butkus, the man was in the business of hurting people and business was very very good to him. I really don't think in today's football they would let him play. He did what he did and never apologize for. And no matter who you was he was going to get you sooner or later if you had the ball in your hand.
Probably one of nicest guys I ever met. We first met in 6th grade and from day one ,I met my older brother from a different Mother.We had some of the best and funniest times of our lives.Stories that would light a bar room and sad times that could bring a choir to tears . Thanks Dick for all the great times we had . Congoman
He gets the most press, but middle linebackers back then were all monsters and DB were equally physically violent. In today's sissy game, all these plays would be unsportsman like conduct penalties.
@@fnulnu5297 No. Lambert was very good, however. Jack Tatum wrote about Lambert years ago, saying that his great play (Lambert's) was in part the result of having good/great players around him, i.e., Greene, Greenwood, Ham, etc. I'd tend to agree.
Butkus went to my high school, graduated 2 years before me. He was from my neighborhood, Fernwood. I didn't know him he lived south of 103rd and I loved north. What is rarely mentioned is Butkus was a fullback in HS and when he went to Illinois, he set a rushing record for freshman. The Illinois coach however had other plans. Seemed to have worked out.
I read his book, 'Stop Action', when it came out in the early 1970's. He was fearsome looking, even in high school, and I believe he had 3 or 4 brothers. One of a few players to play high school, college and NFL football all in the same state.
@@jamesanthony5681 Funny thing that in our neighborhood he was almost taken for granted. I think he had 3 brothers and 2 or more were Chicago Cops. Don't know if that is true, but that's what we heard. His cousin went to my grammar school.
@@sludge4125 they also had a large picture of him when you went in the front door. He could have went to Fenger because he lived south of 103rd street but CVS had a legendary coach named Bernie Q'Brien and a better football program than Fenger's. i believe they were co-city champs in 60. We had good teams in my years, 62-66, and I believe we were Public League champs at least 3 years but we got killed every year by the Catholic League champs. The Catholic League had organized football starting in 4th grade with playoffs and championships. they had a 4 year start on us.
I saw the last few years of Butkus career. He is the guy who really symbolized the saying that the Bears were the Monsters of the Midway. Some of his hits were insane. He was like a Lion stalking his prey.
I personally liked Deacon Jones. He was one that often said if he had a clear shot at a player, there was no reason he shouldn't end up in the hospital
Actually, I played on a highschool football team in Kansas with a teammate of that nature. We were ranked in the state in our class when we played our final game with another ranked team. Teammates of that nature are so fun to play with, they make you better than what you are.
When I heard of Dick's passing, I immediately thought of this segment I remember watching as a kid on a video called "Crunchtime" that had other greats featured like Pat Fischer, Mike Curtis, Randy White and Howie Long. This segment always scared the crap out of me because of how ferocious he was as a player and how with every hit he wanted to end their career. What a quote by Ed O'Bradovich.
