He won the same award the next year on a 6-8 team. Anyone can win that award on a 14-2 team or a 12-4 team. But back to back losing seasons? Utterly remarkable. Butkus was The Best.
Very hard to do. Cortez Kennedy managed it on a 2-14 team; you have to be the best defensive player in the game by a wide margin so people can't question it at all.
The rival Packers had a great fullback, Jim Taylor, who had a tough reputation, and fame for running over tacklers. In Butkus' rookie year, in his first game vs. the Pack. The announcers were pondering what will happen when those two meet for the first time. Well, Butkus, the rookie, met Taylor in the hole one on one. Butkus knocked him out cold, and was still standing.
I saw an interview with Butkus once and one of the questions was, "You play like you try to rip peoples' heads off; how do you think you'd feel if you actually did decapitate someone?" Dick thought for a second and replied, "That's a good question; nobody's ever asked me that before. I'd feel sorry for his family of course, but I'd feel really good that I'd done my job the absolute best I could."
I believe it was Jerry Kramer who said in his book, "Farewell to Football", worst thing about retiring was that he would never play for the Packers again, the best thing was that he would never get hit by Dick Butkus again.
As a ten year old kid I was a Packer fan and a Nitchski fan , my Dad sat me down to watch the Bears . After watching Dick Butkus , I was never the same again and I have bled Orange and navy ever since. NO player before him or after him had made such an impact on football and to this day he is the Greatest linebacker ever to play the GAME !!!!
I always loved the story of the trainer (can't remember what team?) who after the game walked into the locker room after playing the Bears and saw players laid out everywhere, hurt, bleeding, in pain... He turned to the other trainer and asked "was it that bad out there?" The trainer turned to him and simply said "Butkus".
According to legend, the Baltimore Colts were heading to Wrigley Field to play the Bears. Upon arriving in Chicago, someone rear ended their bus. The Colts looked at each other and said "Butkus". .. . .
You need to read his autobiography. He missed 7 games in 9 seasons. It is said that because of all the injuries he got during his career that during his last season Butkus would start going to the trainers on Thursday to receive shots of numbing agents for a Sunday game. He played an entire season with both thumbs broken. Butkus was a beast..
I grew up as a Detroit Lions fan and as a kid when the Lions would play the Bears my dad and uncle would say, on average ten times a game, "That damn Butkus!"
I had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful man several times. In one conversation I told him my HS had a huge poster of him on a wall in the weight room. The pic was black & white but you knew the streaks on his pants were blood. He nodded, leaned in close and said, with a grin, "none of it was mine." If you can find it, he had co-written his auto biography. Very interesting read. His winning lawsuit against the Bears was the reason it took so long for them to retire his number. He was a fierce player and a sweet man.
He used to do a series of very popular beer commercials for Miller Lite with another football great, Bubba Smith. It was some of the best comedy on TV.
In the original "Rocky" movie...Rocky's dog is named Butkus. Now you know who the dog was named after. Also...the college LB of the year is given the Butkus Award.
5:15 - Best tackle ever, period, and not just for the hit itself, but because it may be the first example of specifically acknowledged targeting for a hit. Just a few plays before, that Lions wide receiver he hit had done a dirty hit on one of the Bears' cornerbacks, injuring him, and Butkus saw it; it filled him with seething rage, his most effective football emotion. Verifying from the injured teammate which one it was just to be sure, he then looked for the opportunity to get a running start at him, to aim for his skull. After the play, they had to carry him off on a stretcher. For his part, Butkus regretted not being able to hit him again.
That is an absolutely brutal tackle for sure. I didn’t see it much in this video, but really the most distinctive thing about Butkus’ tackles was how high on the opposing player’s torso he would hit.
Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers were in the same draft class of the Bears. They instantly made the Bears a sensation to watch and cheer for like crazy on both sides of the ball.
Both with too short of careers, sadly. I didn’t get to see them play. But watch a ton of NFL Films on VHS as a kid. Wore those tapes out. I was too small and too slow to be any good, but when I played peewee football I was MLB and thought I was Butkus, but maybe Butkus with 2 broken legs. Lol
I can remember watching Dick play on TV. He was a stud. He played back when football was football. These men hit each other. His knee was a mess at the end of career. He was fun to watch.
Chicago Bears' games were all telecast on a local South Bend Station. Almost all of Dick Butkus' tackles were highlight reel worthy. When he hit people, they were either stopped cold, or knocked backward. That even happened to the best running backs who ran into him full bore.
If you take the time to watch "The Making of the NFL 100 Commercial" (about a 20 min vid), you'll hear one of the producers mention having all of the legends of the game from different eras together, and there was one man that they all wanted to be around, and get a chance to talk to....it was Dick Butkus
The man who made me wanna play gridiron when I first moved to the states. Truly a class act that you also flat didn't wanna fuck with. And I was a Packers fan ffs.
I'm shocked you think modern players use performance enhancing drugs! It's perfectly normal for a 300 lb man to run a 4.4 time in the forty and bench press a Sherman tank. Repent, you hater!
Come on Steve, you don’t think those guys weren’t taking shit back then for pain? Gimmie a break man, of course they were, it just wasn’t publicized. A lot of those guys had addictions because of pain. Your just sour because DB is in line with everyone else behind LT.
My Dad got to play against Butkus in high school. He was both a fullback and linebacker then. He was just as devastating a fullback as linebacker. He was so vicious on the field, that he wasn't even allowed to practice with his team, he just ran laps and lifted weights during practice, because he would hurt to many of his teammates. I remember seeing a video of an interview of him my freshman year in high school football. He was asked about what his favorite movie was, and he told them and they asked why. He said you remember the scene when the character's head gets chopped off and rolls down the stairs. The reporter looked mortified, but he continued by saying "It reminds me of how I want to play football, I want to hit a guy so hard his separates from the rest of his body. That was the way Butkus played the game.
Dick was the " the blueprint for NFL middle linebackers, ever". I can remember when Dick played. He was a stud! He was so tough. I can only imagine what he would have been like if his knees were still good. When I think about "bad-ass" linebackers, I think of Dick Butkus.
Falcons running back, Billy Harris (#35) ran some 50 yards for a touchdown vs Steelers in 1968, but he's best known as the guy with the continually driving legs that Butkus waylayed, running up the middle of the Bears' treacherous defensive line (seen here at 4:02 and at 4:19 ) that same year. Butkus absolutely pancaked those runners. I think the way he carried on out there stirred up the entire Chicago defense. They were no party to go up against.
I remember reading a piece about Dick Butkus where a quarterback said he told his center to ket him know who was coming for him. He said if it was Butkus, to notify his next of kin.
So fun watching your reaction to these legends. Like a lot of US Southern women, I was raised on SEC football as our Saturday religion, then followed the draft picks to the NFL. Brings back great memories of watching games with my daddy.
SUPER job, guy!! Love your reactions! Yeah, was just a tike when Butkus played, but these videos exhibit just what a MADMAN he was....& a helluva football player!! Keep up the great work, bro!💪👏🙏
There's are reason WHY the top Linebacker in College Football wins the Butkus Award. He is the reason why. When you are ranked the 1 MOST FEARED TACKLER OF ALL TIME in NFL history more than 50 years after you have retired. That says a lot about how much you were feared in the NFL.
I spent a day with Butkus back in the mid-70s when I worked in the Dept. of Orthopedics at the University of Florida at Shand's Hospital. I was doing research there and he walked up behind me and I saw this HUGE shadow. I looked up and said "You're Dick Butkus!" He said "Yea!" like a grunting Neanderthal. He liked me and took me to lunch and later that day I set him up with this pretty blond who worked on my floor. Butkus was a nice man...but I KNEW that I'd better not say anything to piss him off! He was a monster - but a really nice guy off the field! There will NEVER be another Butkus...he broke more bones and knocked more football players out cold, than any other player, before or since...absolutely NO FEAR!
Everything from that Era is illegal now. Lawrence Taylor would've been fined and suspended over and over again if he played in todays league. The NFL is now over protective.
Butkus and Gale Sayers were rookies for the Bears the same year and they also drafted Dick Gordon that year who went to two pro bowls and is the Bears #3 all-time receiver. What a haul! I was going to Soldier Field with my Dad to see them play.
He won 2 defensive player of the year awards in '69 and '70 and that was after his knee was completely wrecked. Those 2 teams I think won a total of 7 games. They didn't keep stats for QB sacks back then but someone went back and looked at the films and he had 18 sacks in '67 or '68. No stats for forced fumbles back then either, but they said he would've been the all-time leader at the time he retired. Obviously, he was the most dominant defensive player of his era.
At Albany state in the late 60s we had one black and white TV in the day room. We would turn it on and someone would yell "butkus is on". Not Chicago is on, " butkus is on!!" Then we would pack that room full.
I remember watching him in a game when I was a kid. He took a pass away from a wide receiver in the end zone and knelt down to down it in the end zone then turned and handed it back to the receiver who slapped it out of his hand. I laughed about that for days.
RIP Dick Butkus, one of my childhood heroes. I was so sad when I saw the news of his passing, he was one of those guys we all loved to watch, even when he was crushing our team :)
The story of the rams player looking out the ear hole. I watched that happen. The play before the RB had Juked Dick Butkus to the point Butkus fell down on the field the RB stood over Butkus and laughed. The next play. Butkus shot over the line grabbed the RB's facemask and spun him around until the RB fell on the ground with the ear hole covering part of his face. Theres a old 20/20 or 60 minutes interview of Butkus. Years into his retirement. They stated at that time Butkus has 14 knee operations. And now that he was retired it would take him 15 to 20 minutes to put on a pair of pants. The reporter asked "If you knew of the pain and damage you would have to live with now. Would you still play football? Butkus responded "In a heartbeat...I love the game."
LOL!!! One of the undefeated '72 Dolphins' linemen--Langer, the center, I think--said they had lined up and he felt a drop of water hit his hand. He thought it was rain but then realized Butkus had spit on him. Speaking of the '72 Dolphins, I highly recommend you check out Larry Csonka. One of the greatest power running backs ever. When he and Butkus met, it was the proverbial unbreakable wall meeting the unstoppable force. They hit and fell sideways, with neither one giving ground.
Been here since around 500 subs, when u did the rugby player reacts to biggest football hits vid. The growth of your channel is crazy and I love to see the progress you have made throughout the past few months. Please keep the hard work up and continue the grind my guy🔥🔥🔥
Butkus is the second Monster of the Midway. Bill George was the first but really had nothing on Butkus. Butkus was known to bite an opponent in a pile up. I would say there was one player for the Bears that was tougher. Bronko Nagurski. Some say that once he either ran into a goal post or in to Wrigley Fields brick wall after trashing through the Washington Redskins. When he came back to the huddle, he said that last guy hit me hard. Not much body protection in the 1930s. One inch shorter and maybe 20 pounds lighter than Butkus. They would be like two buffalo hitting each other head on.
And for all you Taylor and Lewis fans. Butkus had 29 more career Takeaways than Taylor, but played 4 fewer seasons. Lewis had 2 more Takeaways than Butkus, but played 8 more seasons.
The only LB I would put in the same breath as Butkus is , Mike Singletary. Samurai Mike was just as intense as Butkus but wasn't able to hit like Butkus due to rule changes in the game.
@@merlball8520 No he wasn't, but he made up for it with speed and intensity. I remember those eyes being as wide as Silver Dollars just before a play starting.
Yep, at the 8:26 mark, one can see the great Bears defensive player Richie Petitbon inadvertently was hit by Butkus as Butkus was making a tackle and also Petitbon lost his helmet in the process.
Even today, when Dick Butkus walks into a football stadium before a gam, every defensive player there stops and stares at him. One of them, in a reverent whisper, will say what every defensive player already knows. "That's Dick Butkus! The greatest linebacker to ever play the game." It's almost like having the Pope walk into a small Catholic church without warning. Butkus is not in the discussion of who the best linebacker of all time is. Butkus is it. Period. Fans of this player or that player may disagree, but they do so out of ignorance. There isn't a defensive player out there who doesn't think he was the best, who doesn't hold him in awe. Lawrence Taylor was a great player, and I loved watching him. But he doesn't hesitate a second when someone asks him who the greatest of all time was. He says "Butkus" almost before the question is out of a reporter's mouth.
There are generally 3 linebackers in pro football, Middle LB, Right outside LB, and Left outside LB. Butkus was in the Middle. So he's the greatest Middle LB of all time. But really he was all over the field.
He was the "strong side" linebacker and the quarterbacks ALWAYS called the plays for the "weak side" for the halfbacks and fullbacks because Butkus would put you OUT of the game! They ran their plays (hopefully) around him, but he was all over the backfield anyway - he was fast! Butkus intercepted a BUNCH of passes in his time and literally ran over anyone in his way.
Maybe you should get a life then lol, Sports fans are fine, but you sports fanatics are just ridiculous, put your passion into something that matters in this world.
Well done!! What a monster was Butkis. What do rugby players thing of NFL football? I know that when the NFL plays in London about 60,000 fans show up. I don't know how our football and yours compare. The World Cup draws as many fans as the Super Bowl.
One of the reasons Butkus destroyed ball carriers was he hit like a mack truck, then wrapped you up and drove into the ground. The spoiled assholes that play today can't tackle worth a damn. Can you imagine Butkus's reaction to a touchdown dance or any of the other silly ass crap they do celebrate doing their jobs?
He was a 270 lb. monster (he could run fast, too!) in a position where all other linebackers were 225-230 lbs. He knocked over 300+ Offensive linemen like they were children.
Not sure how i came across this video but i enjoyed it. I ran into Dick Butkus and another absolute monster named Steve McMichael during a bears game back in 1994. They shook my hand and signed my Bears hat. I still have it today. Legends.
Butkus was so dominant, great choice to see what🏈is supposed to be. If u can check out highlights of him running with the ball(he played TE in college a bunch) it was just a street fight
Butkus was interviewed 2 days before he was facing Buffalo , the reporter asked " how do ya think the game will go " ? Butkus answered I don't care how it goes , all I know number 32 won't finish it . OJ was number 32 , next morning he was pulled from the game with an undisclosed " injury " . I think it's called cowardice.
I’ve been watching your family’s videos for almost 2 years. You’ve spoken of this channel but this is my first watch, just in time to witness your exposure to a great from my high school days. Dick was a year ahead of me at a different high school in my neighborhood where he had already been a legend. From there he went to our University of Illinois where the 1963 Fighting Illini won the Rose Bowl. Upon graduation, Butkus was drafted and signed with my beloved Chicago Bears. Now you’ve seen the devastation created by Dick Butkus.
It's great to see someone from so far away interested in US football, rugby is a tough game and you guys are tops in that so it's cool you have the interest. Sorry to hear about the sad news from NZ.
When you look at Defensive Ends, you may be interested in Dick Butkus' team mate for 2 years, NFL Hall of Fame DE #81 Doug Atkins. This man is the reason I'm A. Bearsfan4lyf. I was 6 years old, I don't remember who the Bears beat that day. I just remember #81 was Huge and Fast, on one play I remember Atkins blew past the tackle, then he THREW the blocking back at the Quarterback!! BOOM!!! New Hero!! This happened before Butkus joined the team in 1963. Give Atkins a look and you will better understand why the '63 Bears were the NFL Champions that year. New Sub, a great, fun video!
They talked to OB in that clip ( Ed obranivich) who was also a very large man. Well this story,came from Doug buffone who was on that team as a rookie or second year player. They just got done with the second practice of the day, and the bears used to train in plattville Wisconsin. It was hot in the summer, and they had been on the field for like 8 hours that day (hallas was crazy) Anyway…. Like 10pm OB comes into buffone and Butkus’s room and says we need to go get a drink. Well the only pave they found was a bikers bar that met and exceeded every dingy stereotype you think of. And Doug being the rookie is like “going in there isn’t a good idea” and the the r two were like “you’re with us rookie you’ll be fine” Well they walked in and the place just went silent, and Doug said they walked in and the tough leather clad clad bikers were tripping over each other pouring out of the bar. That’s how intimidating they were
I styled my play from Dick Butkus. I played safety so it let to a lot of penalties and a lot of guys looking for me instead of the ball. Dick Butkus is what football is supposed to be.
You should definitely do a reaction video of John Riggins, He played running back for the Redskins and was a big, tough, great player and he was a very funny guy. Also I enjoy your reaction videos!
David Jennings, Riggins was 2 huge thighs and a brutal running back, I am an Aussie but spent time in the US and I saw him a number of times. Fantastic player
YES HE DID! I saw a video of Riggins run for a touchdown and three men hit him at the same time near the goal line...Riggins floored all three men...I'll never forget that play!
You'll love this on Besrs fan. We're mobilizing soldiers out of Stewart GA in 2003 and I pull into the back gate and this guy has a trailer he's living out of painted up in blue and orange with a gigantic Bear painted on the side. DA BEARS.
I was at the game at the far endzone toward the lake. All you could see were shadows. Quite the experience. The endzone are the cheap seats. One game we were so cold my brothers feet were freezing and I took off my arctic army issue mittens and put them. On his feet.
I am old enough to remember when he was playing. The man was awesome. He gave it everything he had, as you will see. He knock people into another universe. Check out Lawrence Taylor. As for fullbacks, look up Larry Csonka. When he ran, he really leaned forward and he loved contact. He once got flagged for roughness because he knocked some guy out for trying to tackle him. As far as linebackers, look up Jack Lambert. He played for the Steelers. He was a monster of a player.... Another for Pittsburgh was Joe Greene. He was a good defensive lineman.
My cousin was the center for the Bears at that time. He had to block him in scrimmage. I was named after him his name was Mike Pyle and he was tough as hell also. A bunch of primadonnas these days.
Butkus = GRIZZLY BEAR. Great tackler, really good at reading the play, reacting to it w precision timing so he could beat the blocker and then absolutely mangle the RB before they could square their shoulders. The ball carrier would be so rocked by that initial hit, Butkus would get those big bear paws on the ball and strip it as he was tackling them. He created A LOT of turnovers.
This guy won a Defensive Player of the Year on a team that went 1-13 for the season. That's how dominant he was.
He won the same award the next year on a 6-8 team. Anyone can win that award on a 14-2 team or a 12-4 team. But back to back losing seasons? Utterly remarkable. Butkus was The Best.
Very hard to do. Cortez Kennedy managed it on a 2-14 team; you have to be the best defensive player in the game by a wide margin so people can't question it at all.
one of my childhood hero's, in midget football the coach taped the word ANIMAL to my helmet because i use to growl like Butkus when i hit some one.
Dude was a monster
Like Bird did in Basketball Butkus would make your team that much better
Rest in peace Dick! You're the GOAT!
I met him when I was a little kid. Such a nice guy who was an absolute monster on the field.
The rival Packers had a great fullback, Jim Taylor, who had a tough reputation, and fame for running over tacklers. In Butkus' rookie year, in his first game vs. the Pack. The announcers were pondering what will happen when those two meet for the first time. Well, Butkus, the rookie, met Taylor in the hole one on one. Butkus knocked him out cold, and was still standing.
Given that would have been in '65, and that Jim retired the next year ... and was giving up about 35 pounds ... who cares?
@@Matt_237Chicago. Chicago cares. Butkus hit him so hard he knocked out Taylor’s career
I saw an interview with Butkus once and one of the questions was, "You play like you try to rip peoples' heads off; how do you think you'd feel if you actually did decapitate someone?" Dick thought for a second and replied, "That's a good question; nobody's ever asked me that before. I'd feel sorry for his family of course, but I'd feel really good that I'd done my job the absolute best I could."
😂😂
lol!
Just brutal.
"He wanted to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital." - Deacon Jones
bobobobinalong Remember when he said he enjoyed seeing a head roll down the stairs in a movie?
I believe it was Jerry Kramer who said in his book, "Farewell to Football", worst thing about retiring was that he would never play for the Packers again, the best thing was that he would never get hit by Dick Butkus again.
Butkus was the most feared player ever .... no question.
LT
As a ten year old kid I was a Packer fan and a Nitchski fan , my Dad sat me down to watch the Bears . After watching Dick Butkus , I was never the same again and I have bled Orange and navy ever since. NO player before him or after him had made such an impact on football and to this day he is the Greatest linebacker ever to play the GAME !!!!
Absolutely
I always loved the story of the trainer (can't remember what team?) who after the game walked into the locker room after playing the Bears and saw players laid out everywhere, hurt, bleeding, in pain... He turned to the other trainer and asked "was it that bad out there?" The trainer turned to him and simply said "Butkus".
RIP to the most ferocious football player ever. A hometown legend here in Chicago, #51 Dick Butkus
According to legend, the Baltimore Colts were heading to Wrigley Field to play the Bears. Upon arriving in Chicago, someone rear ended their bus. The Colts looked at each other and said "Butkus". .. . .
Thats epic !!!! Butkus...
You need to read his autobiography. He missed 7 games in 9 seasons. It is said that because of all the injuries he got during his career that during his last season Butkus would start going to the trainers on Thursday to receive shots of numbing agents for a Sunday game. He played an entire season with both thumbs broken. Butkus was a beast..
I grew up as a Detroit Lions fan and as a kid when the Lions would play the Bears my dad and uncle would say, on average ten times a game, "That damn Butkus!"
Brian O'Neil, What did Bears fans say about the Lion's Night Train Lane?
That’s what I said about Barry Sanders as a kid. When these elite players player for your rival, you can’t help but tip your cap.
As a Packers fan this guy gave me nightmares but honestly one of the greatest defensive players of all time. Very good choice of reaction
THE greatest defensive player of all time...on every single defensive player lists, he's always number one.
@Fuck You he won dpoty on a 1-13 team enough said.
I had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful man several times. In one conversation I told him my HS had a huge poster of him on a wall in the weight room. The pic was black & white but you knew the streaks on his pants were blood. He nodded, leaned in close and said, with a grin, "none of it was mine." If you can find it, he had co-written his auto biography. Very interesting read. His winning lawsuit against the Bears was the reason it took so long for them to retire his number. He was a fierce player and a sweet man.
Deacon Jones was badass too. One of my favorites from back in the day. CORNERBACK, Ronnie Lott was a safety but hit like a linebacker.
Jack Tatum closet player to Buckus
He used to do a series of very popular beer commercials for Miller Lite with another football great, Bubba Smith. It was some of the best comedy on TV.
In the original "Rocky" movie...Rocky's dog is named Butkus. Now you know who the dog was named after.
Also...the college LB of the year is given the Butkus Award.
God Damn right!!!!
No need to say GD
Not just college but high school and the nfl give it the Butkus award as well.
5:15 - Best tackle ever, period, and not just for the hit itself, but because it may be the first example of specifically acknowledged targeting for a hit. Just a few plays before, that Lions wide receiver he hit had done a dirty hit on one of the Bears' cornerbacks, injuring him, and Butkus saw it; it filled him with seething rage, his most effective football emotion. Verifying from the injured teammate which one it was just to be sure, he then looked for the opportunity to get a running start at him, to aim for his skull. After the play, they had to carry him off on a stretcher.
For his part, Butkus regretted not being able to hit him again.
That is an absolutely brutal tackle for sure. I didn’t see it much in this video, but really the most distinctive thing about Butkus’ tackles was how high on the opposing player’s torso he would hit.
The quote I have remembered for 30 years was a guy that played against him said "Butkus went after you like he hated you from his old neighborhood".
Paul hornung
Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers were in the same draft class of the Bears. They instantly made the Bears a sensation to watch and cheer for like crazy on both sides of the ball.
The Bears started 1965 0-3. They finished 9-5. I remember it clearly.
And Sayers was just as good on the offensive side as Butkus was to the D.
Both with too short of careers, sadly. I didn’t get to see them play. But watch a ton of NFL Films on VHS as a kid. Wore those tapes out. I was too small and too slow to be any good, but when I played peewee football I was MLB and thought I was Butkus, but maybe Butkus with 2 broken legs. Lol
I can remember watching Dick play on TV. He was a stud. He played back when football was football. These men hit each other. His knee was a mess at the end of career. He was fun to watch.
"When I played, I never set out to hurt anyone deliberately. Unless it was, you know, important, like a league game or something."-- Dick Butkus
lol! Unless it was a game...period!
Chicago Bears' games were all telecast on a local South Bend Station. Almost all of Dick Butkus' tackles were highlight reel worthy. When he hit people, they were either stopped cold, or knocked backward. That even happened to the best running backs who ran into him full bore.
R.I.P Dick Butkus. He was my dads favorite player growing up and the reason I wore the #51 when I played football in junior high and high school.
If you take the time to watch "The Making of the NFL 100 Commercial" (about a 20 min vid), you'll hear one of the producers mention having all of the legends of the game from different eras together, and there was one man that they all wanted to be around, and get a chance to talk to....it was Dick Butkus
Legend among legends
For Decon Jones to call him a maniac, sums it all up.
jason wiggins how about that!!!
jason wiggins deacon is one of the best old school interview guys ever.
That is why the award for outstanding Linebacker is the Butkus Trophy. relentless.
I was privileged to see him play, he was unbelievable. My favourite ball player ever.
In 1969, the Chicago Bears won only one game. ONE GAME... Yet, Dick Butkus was named Defensive Player of the Year.
Butkus won the same award in 1970. Bears only won 6 games that season.
That is why He is the Best. Giving his All but in a losing effort.
The man who made me wanna play gridiron when I first moved to the states. Truly a class act that you also flat didn't wanna fuck with. And I was a Packers fan ffs.
Butkus and Decon Jones is what defense is all about!
Devastation carnage and destruction.
And he did it without drugs like LT. Butkus was raw death.
I don't think the crack made LT better
I'm shocked you think modern players use performance enhancing drugs! It's perfectly normal for a 300 lb man to run a 4.4 time in the forty and bench press a Sherman tank. Repent, you hater!
Come on Steve, you don’t think those guys weren’t taking shit back then for pain? Gimmie a break man, of course they were, it just wasn’t publicized. A lot of those guys had addictions because of pain. Your just sour because DB is in line with everyone else behind LT.
Yah it was coke and a ton of it he did, But no Steroids ....
imagine if he had been on drugs, he would have taken "roid rage" to a new level.
On the field he was a straight up beast. I met him many years ago and he is one of the nicest people.
Fried lobster my ass!
My Dad got to play against Butkus in high school. He was both a fullback and linebacker then. He was just as devastating a fullback as linebacker. He was so vicious on the field, that he wasn't even allowed to practice with his team, he just ran laps and lifted weights during practice, because he would hurt to many of his teammates.
I remember seeing a video of an interview of him my freshman year in high school football. He was asked about what his favorite movie was, and he told them and they asked why. He said you remember the scene when the character's head gets chopped off and rolls down the stairs. The reporter looked mortified, but he continued by saying "It reminds me of how I want to play football, I want to hit a guy so hard his separates from the rest of his body. That was the way Butkus played the game.
holy ship...
Dick was the " the blueprint for NFL middle linebackers, ever". I can remember when Dick played. He was a stud! He was so tough. I can only imagine what he would have been like if his knees were still good. When I think about "bad-ass" linebackers, I think of Dick Butkus.
Falcons running back, Billy Harris (#35) ran some 50 yards for a touchdown vs Steelers in 1968, but he's best known as the guy with the continually driving legs that Butkus waylayed, running up the middle of the Bears' treacherous defensive line (seen here at 4:02 and at 4:19 ) that same year. Butkus absolutely pancaked those runners. I think the way he carried on out there stirred up the entire Chicago defense. They were no party to go up against.
Dick Butkus is not just a great stage name, he is also a linebacking legend.
I remember reading a piece about Dick Butkus where a quarterback said he told his center to ket him know who was coming for him. He said if it was Butkus, to notify his next of kin.
So fun watching your reaction to these legends. Like a lot of US Southern women, I was raised on SEC football as our Saturday religion, then followed the draft picks to the NFL. Brings back great memories of watching games with my daddy.
SUPER job, guy!! Love your reactions! Yeah, was just a tike when Butkus played, but these videos exhibit just what a MADMAN he was....& a helluva football player!! Keep up the great work, bro!💪👏🙏
Thanks for upload Kiwi Kicker. Ray Nitschke (66), was also a god one. Greetings NZ from Fort Myers Florida.
There's are reason WHY the top Linebacker in College Football wins the Butkus Award. He is the reason why. When you are ranked the 1 MOST FEARED TACKLER OF ALL TIME in NFL history more than 50 years after you have retired. That says a lot about how much you were feared in the NFL.
The word that describes Butkus' personal efforts on the field or on the game as a whole is : Impact.
I spent a day with Butkus back in the mid-70s when I worked in the Dept. of Orthopedics at the University of Florida at Shand's Hospital. I was doing research there and he walked up behind me and I saw this HUGE shadow. I looked up and said "You're Dick Butkus!" He said "Yea!" like a grunting Neanderthal. He liked me and took me to lunch and later that day I set him up with this pretty blond who worked on my floor. Butkus was a nice man...but I KNEW that I'd better not say anything to piss him off! He was a monster - but a really nice guy off the field! There will NEVER be another Butkus...he broke more bones and knocked more football players out cold, than any other player, before or since...absolutely NO FEAR!
I think everything Butkus did then, is illegal now. 😄
Not everything...
just like 95% of it.
Including everything that came out of his mouth lmao unsportsmanlike conduct times 10000
and just think it's all illegal now because of how dangerous it is to the player making the tackle.
Everything from that Era is illegal now. Lawrence Taylor would've been fined and suspended over and over again if he played in todays league. The NFL is now over protective.
Noooooooo.......just a couple things. Lol!!
Butkus and Gale Sayers were rookies for the Bears the same year and they also drafted Dick Gordon that year who went to two pro bowls and is the Bears #3 all-time receiver. What a haul! I was going to Soldier Field with my Dad to see them play.
And they drafted a pretty good DE named Steve DeLong at number 6. He went to the AFL.
And they had a shot at Namath but Papa Bear wasn't gonna give him $400000
He won 2 defensive player of the year awards in '69 and '70 and that was after his knee was completely wrecked. Those 2 teams I think won a total of 7 games. They didn't keep stats for QB sacks back then but someone went back and looked at the films and he had 18 sacks in '67 or '68. No stats for forced fumbles back then either, but they said he would've been the all-time leader at the time he retired. Obviously, he was the most dominant defensive player of his era.
IIRC that was in a 12 game season.
At Albany state in the late 60s we had one black and white TV in the day room. We would turn it on and someone would yell "butkus is on". Not Chicago is on, " butkus is on!!" Then we would pack that room full.
I remember watching him in a game when I was a kid. He took a pass away from a wide receiver in the end zone and knelt down to down it in the end zone then turned and handed it back to the receiver who slapped it out of his hand. I laughed about that for days.
RIP Dick Butkus, one of my childhood heroes. I was so sad when I saw the news of his passing, he was one of those guys we all loved to watch, even when he was crushing our team :)
One of my favorite moments in my week is watching your vids, thanks man! you deserve more attention than you get
The story of the rams player looking out the ear hole. I watched that happen.
The play before the RB had Juked Dick Butkus to the point Butkus fell down on the field the RB stood over Butkus and laughed.
The next play. Butkus shot over the line grabbed the RB's facemask and spun him around until the RB fell on the ground with the ear hole covering part of his face.
Theres a old 20/20 or 60 minutes interview of Butkus. Years into his retirement. They stated at that time Butkus has 14 knee operations. And now that he was retired it would take him 15 to 20 minutes to put on a pair of pants.
The reporter asked "If you knew of the pain and damage you would have to live with now. Would you still play football?
Butkus responded "In a heartbeat...I love the game."
This man Dick Butkus was and will be remembered as Chicago's great player as a defensive player .
LOL!!! One of the undefeated '72 Dolphins' linemen--Langer, the center, I think--said they had lined up and he felt a drop of water hit his hand. He thought it was rain but then realized Butkus had spit on him.
Speaking of the '72 Dolphins, I highly recommend you check out Larry Csonka. One of the greatest power running backs ever. When he and Butkus met, it was the proverbial unbreakable wall meeting the unstoppable force. They hit and fell sideways, with neither one giving ground.
Been here since around 500 subs, when u did the rugby player reacts to biggest football hits vid. The growth of your channel is crazy and I love to see the progress you have made throughout the past few months. Please keep the hard work up and continue the grind my guy🔥🔥🔥
I've been here about the same amount of time, you feel pride almost watching him achieve his dreams! Gonna see Kiwi crack a million one day!
He set a standard for middle linebackers. It is why Chicago has had so many great ones over the years. They all wanted to play where Butkus did.
Butkus is the second Monster of the Midway. Bill George was the first but really had nothing on Butkus. Butkus was known to bite an opponent in a pile up. I would say there was one player for the Bears that was tougher. Bronko Nagurski. Some say that once he either ran into a goal post or in to Wrigley Fields brick wall after trashing through the Washington Redskins. When he came back to the huddle, he said that last guy hit me hard. Not much body protection in the 1930s. One inch shorter and maybe 20 pounds lighter than Butkus. They would be like two buffalo hitting each other head on.
I love this! As an American that loves football, I enjoy watching rugby and it warms my heart to see people enjoying my favorite sport! Great video!
More than 40 years after he last played, coaches are still showing Butkus reels to their players. You start rating linebackers with #2, after Butkus!
You are EXACTLY right 1 Tomrider!
And for all you Taylor and Lewis fans. Butkus had 29 more career Takeaways than Taylor, but played 4 fewer seasons. Lewis had 2 more Takeaways than Butkus, but played 8 more seasons.
The only LB I would put in the same breath as Butkus is , Mike Singletary. Samurai Mike was just as intense as Butkus but wasn't able to hit like Butkus due to rule changes in the game.
@@yankee_tango He wasn't nearly as big, either.
@@merlball8520 No he wasn't, but he made up for it with speed and intensity. I remember those eyes being as wide as Silver Dollars just before a play starting.
Yep, at the 8:26 mark, one can see the great Bears defensive player Richie Petitbon inadvertently was hit by Butkus as Butkus was making a tackle and also Petitbon lost his helmet in the process.
Butkus was the greatest defender of all time
And Butkus will always be so...
Dude, NEVER apologize for the grainy film look of the old footage. The grain is what makes it golden.
Mike Singletary. Another Legend LB
Nobody nut nobody compared to Butkus
Even today, when Dick Butkus walks into a football stadium before a gam, every defensive player there stops and stares at him. One of them, in a reverent whisper, will say what every defensive player already knows. "That's Dick Butkus! The greatest linebacker to ever play the game." It's almost like having the Pope walk into a small Catholic church without warning.
Butkus is not in the discussion of who the best linebacker of all time is. Butkus is it. Period. Fans of this player or that player may disagree, but they do so out of ignorance. There isn't a defensive player out there who doesn't think he was the best, who doesn't hold him in awe.
Lawrence Taylor was a great player, and I loved watching him. But he doesn't hesitate a second when someone asks him who the greatest of all time was. He says "Butkus" almost before the question is out of a reporter's mouth.
There are generally 3 linebackers in pro football, Middle LB, Right outside LB, and Left outside LB. Butkus was in the Middle. So he's the greatest Middle LB of all time. But really he was all over the field.
He was the "strong side" linebacker and the quarterbacks ALWAYS called the plays for the "weak side" for the halfbacks and fullbacks because Butkus would put you OUT of the game! They ran their plays (hopefully) around him, but he was all over the backfield anyway - he was fast! Butkus intercepted a BUNCH of passes in his time and literally ran over anyone in his way.
I loved watching him when i was a kid. He was the GOAT as far as i am concerned. Hit so hard!
Some of the descriptions of Butkus are hilarious.
He is my favorite football player. Watched him every Sunday with my dad. He is the greatest. Hands down.
He never played on a winning team but stuck with the Bears. Check out Gail Sayers too.
And half of his career was on bad knees.
Gale Sayers was Barry Sanders on steroids.
In 1965, Butkus's rookie season, the Bears were 9-5.
I loved Butkus's era of pro football. Given how hard he pushed his body to do his job I was a bit surprised he made it to 80 years old. RIP.
I love my BEARS, BEAR'S fan for life
Maybe you should get a life then lol, Sports fans are fine, but you sports fanatics are just ridiculous, put your passion into something that matters in this world.
BEAR DOWN!!!!!!!!!
Vatsyayana you sound like the kid that was picked last on the playground
Y’all are trash and always will be🧀🧀🧀
Bears suck go packers
Well done!! What a monster was Butkis. What do rugby players thing of NFL football? I know that when the NFL plays in London about 60,000 fans show up. I don't know how our football and yours compare. The World Cup draws as many fans as the Super Bowl.
Love that you enjoyed that! I figured you would. Check out some safeties like Ronnie Lott or Steve Atwater
Some sportscaster stated, "Butkus grabs the entire backfield and then throws the guys out that don't have the ball."
I gotta say one more thing, if you notice just about every hit the other players forward progress stops right then and there.
One of the reasons Butkus destroyed ball carriers was he hit like a mack truck, then wrapped you up and drove into the ground. The spoiled assholes that play today can't tackle worth a damn. Can you imagine Butkus's reaction to a touchdown dance or any of the other silly ass crap they do celebrate doing their jobs?
Yes; and if Butkus had the angle, they were knocked backward as if run over by a freight train.
He was a 270 lb. monster (he could run fast, too!) in a position where all other linebackers were 225-230 lbs. He knocked over 300+ Offensive linemen like they were children.
Not sure how i came across this video but i enjoyed it. I ran into Dick Butkus and another absolute monster named Steve McMichael during a bears game back in 1994. They shook my hand and signed my Bears hat. I still have it today. Legends.
Butkus was so dominant, great choice to see what🏈is supposed to be. If u can check out highlights of him running with the ball(he played TE in college a bunch) it was just a street fight
The University of Illinois football team has only two retired jerseys: Red Grange and Dick Butkus.
Butkus was interviewed 2 days before he was facing Buffalo , the reporter asked " how do ya think the game will go " ? Butkus answered I don't care how it goes , all I know number 32 won't finish it . OJ was number 32 , next morning he was pulled from the game with an undisclosed " injury " . I think it's called cowardice.
I’ve been watching your family’s videos for almost 2 years. You’ve spoken of this channel but this is my first watch, just in time to witness your exposure to a great from my high school days. Dick was a year ahead of me at a different high school in my neighborhood where he had already been a legend. From there he went to our University of Illinois where the 1963 Fighting Illini won the Rose Bowl. Upon graduation, Butkus was drafted and signed with my beloved Chicago Bears. Now you’ve seen the devastation created by Dick Butkus.
these were the days when NFL was for real men and these guys were dam tough
It's great to see someone from so far away interested in US football, rugby is a tough game and you guys are tops in that so it's cool you have the interest. Sorry to hear about the sad news from NZ.
Butkus once said he wants to hit a QB so hard that his helmet would roll down the field with his head still in it
When you look at Defensive Ends, you may be interested in Dick Butkus' team mate for 2 years, NFL Hall of Fame DE #81 Doug Atkins. This man is the reason I'm A. Bearsfan4lyf. I was 6 years old, I don't remember who the Bears beat that day. I just remember #81 was Huge and Fast, on one play I remember Atkins blew past the tackle, then he THREW the blocking back at the Quarterback!! BOOM!!! New Hero!! This happened before Butkus joined the team in 1963. Give Atkins a look and you will better understand why the '63 Bears were the NFL Champions that year. New Sub, a great, fun video!
Mr. Burkina basically set the standard for a linebacker. He was intense, a monster of a middle linebacker.
They talked to OB in that clip ( Ed obranivich) who was also a very large man.
Well this story,came from Doug buffone who was on that team as a rookie or second year player. They just got done with the second practice of the day, and the bears used to train in plattville Wisconsin. It was hot in the summer, and they had been on the field for like 8 hours that day (hallas was crazy)
Anyway…. Like 10pm OB comes into buffone and Butkus’s room and says we need to go get a drink. Well the only pave they found was a bikers bar that met and exceeded every dingy stereotype you think of. And Doug being the rookie is like “going in there isn’t a good idea” and the the r two were like “you’re with us rookie you’ll be fine”
Well they walked in and the place just went silent, and Doug said they walked in and the tough leather clad clad bikers were tripping over each other pouring out of the bar.
That’s how intimidating they were
I styled my play from Dick Butkus. I played safety so it let to a lot of penalties and a lot of guys looking for me instead of the ball. Dick Butkus is what football is supposed to be.
To hear Deacon Jones, who was an absolute monster in his own right, talk so highly about Butkus really shows the other level Butkus was on.
No.5I Dick Butkus is the best LB ever played the game
Lawrence Taylor
I think a Rugby player is an excellent example of an athlete that is capable of judging how tough a player is.
You should definitely do a reaction video of John Riggins, He played running back for the Redskins and was a big, tough, great player and he was a very funny guy. Also I enjoy your reaction videos!
David Jennings, Riggins was 2 huge thighs and a brutal running back, I am an Aussie but spent time in the US and I saw him a number of times. Fantastic player
YES HE DID! I saw a video of Riggins run for a touchdown and three men hit him at the same time near the goal line...Riggins floored all three men...I'll never forget that play!
I’ve been a Bears fan since 1989 and went to college at the University of Illinois. RIP to a great Bear and Fighting Illini.
Proud Bears linebacker lineage.
Butkus, Singletary, Erlacher, Mack!
Three Hall of Famers and one future Hall of Famer.
Mack is really a defensive end. I don't consider him a linebacker.
George, Morris, Fortunato, Butkus, Buffone, Singletary, Wilson, Urlacher, Briggs. Maybe someday Smith.
Well so long, Smith. We got Sanborn now.
Heard somewhere that off the field he was a consummate gentleman. On the field though he was a beast
Love my Bears...DA Bears.
Great Video Sir.. Fog Bowl
You'll love this on Besrs fan. We're mobilizing soldiers out of Stewart GA in 2003 and I pull into the back gate and this guy has a trailer he's living out of painted up in blue and orange with a gigantic Bear painted on the side. DA BEARS.
I remember watching the Fog Bowl as a little kid. Payton is still one of the best Running Backs I’ve ever seen play.
I was at the game at the far endzone toward the lake. All you could see were shadows. Quite the experience. The endzone are the cheap seats. One game we were so cold my brothers feet were freezing and I took off my arctic army issue mittens and put them. On his feet.
Da Bearsss, da Bullsss! LOL!
I am old enough to remember when he was playing. The man was awesome. He gave it everything he had, as you will see. He knock people into another universe. Check out Lawrence Taylor. As for fullbacks, look up Larry Csonka. When he ran, he really leaned forward and he loved contact. He once got flagged for roughness because he knocked some guy out for trying to tackle him. As far as linebackers, look up Jack Lambert. He played for the Steelers. He was a monster of a player.... Another for Pittsburgh was Joe Greene. He was a good defensive lineman.
Another great linebacker that most were afraid of was Jack Lambert!!
One of greatest NFL linebackers of the Pittsburgh Steelers, awesome memories of him playing.
Yea he was! He wasn't very big either...but he hit you to kill you!
And Ray Nitchke too.
My cousin was the center for the Bears at that time. He had to block him in scrimmage. I was named after him his name was Mike Pyle and he was tough as hell also. A bunch of primadonnas these days.
'63 Championship. I think Pyle was a Team Captain. #50.
your eyes at 6:19--same reaction I had haha! That guy was a maniac!
Butkus = GRIZZLY BEAR. Great tackler, really good at reading the play, reacting to it w precision timing so he could beat the blocker and then absolutely mangle the RB before they could square their shoulders. The ball carrier would be so rocked by that initial hit, Butkus would get those big bear paws on the ball and strip it as he was tackling them. He created A LOT of turnovers.