Do You Remember the Ferocious Dick Butkus?

When I was in forth or fifth grade, there was one sports name I gravitated to, and his name was Dick Butkus. Butkus was just one of the most intimidating athletes in the history of any sports. I absolutely thought Dick Butkus was the man.

Now, you have to remember I was pretty young back then. Dick Butkus put the fear of God into his opponents. Butkus attended Illinois University where he played both offense and defense. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears and played his entire career there. In that same draft, the Bears selected the “Kansas Comet” who was Gale Sayers. George Halas owned the Bears. His nickname was Papa Bear. To this day, the Chicago Bears are still owned by his family.

Dick Butkus took to professional football like a duck to water. Like I said, he just scared the life out of his opponents and even teammates. Richard Marvin Butkus played with the Bears as a middle linebacker from 1965 to 1973. He was twice named NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year. Butkus was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

I’m 60 years old and even to this day Dick Butkus number 51 is regarded as one of the roughest men to play in the NFL. When I was young, I just couldn’t believe how scary the guy was.

Years later, I’m a sports radio talk show host and I got an opportunity to interview him. So, we start the interview and I’m shaking. Yeah, that’s right I’m quivering. I said to myself get a grip. Then, I calmed down and the interview was solid. As a matter a fact, I spoke with him a couple of more times too. All I can say if you don’t know what kind of player he was, you should read about him. Dick Butkus number 51 was one tough cookie.