RIP Dick Butkus

I do recall when I started watching "This Is the NFL" with Summerall and Brookshier, the opening credits featured a brief clip of Butkis steamrolling a ref who was in the way, an agonized look on the ref's face like he'd been hit by a truck. Horrifying stuff for a young boy but...

 

Respect

 

Love that clip. I can only imagine what he said to Bill Bradley. Something along the lines of "here, shove it up your ass" would be my guess.

I don't know if Butkus actually ran his Twitter account or not, but I did enjoy the Packers shit talking he would do. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Way before my time, and I'm sure I would have had beef had I watched him play, but what a legend. RIP.

 

Another great clip ...

 

Watch Butkus get on ESPN after the game.
“Is announcing me croaking all it takes for you morons to start playing some FUCKING FOOTBALL?!?!?’”

 

Ray Nitschke played linebacker at Illinois and nobody remembers it. That’s how much Dick Butkus utterly defined the position.

 

Butkus, Lambert, Nitschke, Mills, Gradishar, Bergey, Singletary, Huff, Reynolds, Curtis, Wagner in order is about how I would rate the MLBs I saw play all on television. Schmidt, natch, would be on the list but I maybe saw him play 3 games on TV and there weren’t any instant replay in those days. Lanier was an all timer, too, but KC games only showed in Canada very rarely.
Most underrated was Jack Reynolds, he made a ton of plays.
Butkus was #1, no question.

 

If I read another RIP thread about someone who is a few years younger than my father, I will go fucking nuts.

 

St. Peter must have needed someone not afraid to try to tackle Jim Brown.

 

That whole thing is so great. Butkus talking shit. Bradley swatting the ball into the damn stands in frustration, yet with a fluid motion of nonchalance. And then both of them go their separate ways and get on with the game.
Nowadays that would draw at least two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and probably trigger a brawl.