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.
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".
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 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!"
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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'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.
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.
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!💪👏🙏
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🔥🔥🔥
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 :)
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Great video Great speaking points!! Butkus was the definition of linebacker play ! At 6 foot 3 250 lbs he hit with such a destructive force he left many ball carriers on the turf as well as his own teammates if they got in the way! He was unblockable extremely an excellent tackler could intercept and run the dam ball like a fullback!! Rip Dick Butkus
Wow, what a great channel! I can see I'm going to be spending a lot of time going through these. After looking at the titles, there's one in particular I'd like to see you react to, and that's Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers., who played middle linebacker.
Loved the NFL back then but the NHL has always been my favorite. But, back in the days of Butkus and Nitschke, If they were playing a game on TV, I could’t wait till it was on! If it was Green bay playing Chicago I’d watch that over the hockey! That was great football! Don’t watch it much at all now. Good reaction! Thanks for doing this one. If you haven’t already do Ray Nitschke or an NHL. If you did already sorry as this is my first here. Thanks.
Yes, Jim Calloway, Butkus is in the running for greatest player of all time at any position. He repeatedly dominated games from the middle linebacker position. He was in on nearly every play.
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.
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.
Here's the reason Butkus isn't Higher Up on the list. The Bears never made the Post Season in his 9 years in the NFL. Came close in '65 and '68. In Butkus' last 5 seasons, the Bears won a total of 20 games. Yet Butkus won D P of the Y in 2 of those seasons, '69 and '70.
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.
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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
Butkus was the most feared player ever .... no question.
LT
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.
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".
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 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.
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...
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.
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..
RIP to the most ferocious football player ever. A hometown legend here in Chicago, #51 Dick Butkus
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
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.
"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!
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.
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.
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.
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!!
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
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.
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.
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
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.
That is why the award for outstanding Linebacker is the Butkus Trophy. relentless.
Butkus and Decon Jones is what defense is all about!
Devastation carnage and destruction.
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.
I was privileged to see him play, he was unbelievable. My favourite ball player ever.
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!💪👏🙏
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!
Thanks for upload Kiwi Kicker. Ray Nitschke (66), was also a god one. Greetings NZ from Fort Myers Florida.
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!
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.
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.
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.
Dick Butkus is not just a great stage name, he is also a linebacking legend.
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
One of my favorite moments in my week is watching your vids, thanks man! you deserve more attention than you get
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
The word that describes Butkus' personal efforts on the field or on the game as a whole is : Impact.
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...
Butkus was the greatest defender of all time
And Butkus will always be so...
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!
Love that you enjoyed that! I figured you would. Check out some safeties like Ronnie Lott or Steve Atwater
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.
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.
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.
Some of the descriptions of Butkus are hilarious.
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.
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.
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.
Mike Singletary. Another Legend LB
Nobody nut nobody compared to Butkus
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.
thinking about you and everyone in new zealand, really hoping you all get through this. sending love
Thank you. 💔
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.
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.
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!
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 :)
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 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
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.
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.
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!
This was awesome, the comments from the players are hilarious
Mr. Burkina basically set the standard for a linebacker. He was intense, a monster of a middle linebacker.
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.
Do mean Joe green he is a crazy good defensive player
He is my favorite football player. Watched him every Sunday with my dad. He is the greatest. Hands down.
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.
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 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.
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.
Deacon Jones is one of the greats too.
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.
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.
Dude, NEVER apologize for the grainy film look of the old footage. The grain is what makes it golden.
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.
Great video Great speaking points!! Butkus was the definition of linebacker play ! At 6 foot 3 250 lbs he hit with such a destructive force he left many ball carriers on the turf as well as his own teammates if they got in the way! He was unblockable extremely an excellent tackler could intercept and run the dam ball like a fullback!! Rip Dick Butkus
If you want to go to cornerbacks and safties, you gotta check out Ronnie Lott from his 49er days.
Jack Tatum
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.
these were the days when NFL was for real men and these guys were dam tough
Wow, what a great channel! I can see I'm going to be spending a lot of time going through these. After looking at the titles, there's one in particular I'd like to see you react to, and that's Jack Lambert of the Pittsburgh Steelers., who played middle linebacker.
My favorite player! He was a monster. If you get a chance, check out Junior Seau, San Diego Chargers. He was good too.
Loved the NFL back then but the NHL has always been my favorite. But, back in the days of Butkus and Nitschke, If they were playing a game on TV, I could’t wait till it was on! If it was Green bay playing Chicago I’d watch that over the hockey! That was great football! Don’t watch it much at all now. Good reaction! Thanks for doing this one. If you haven’t already do Ray Nitschke or an NHL. If you did already sorry as this is my first here. Thanks.
Butkus, the best ever..
Yes, Jim Calloway, Butkus is in the running for greatest player of all time at any position. He repeatedly dominated games from the middle linebacker position. He was in on nearly every play.
I loved watching him when i was a kid. He was the GOAT as far as i am concerned. Hit so hard!
Greatest defensive player ever.
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.
Also became a pretty well known actor after football!!!!!
Yea - it wasn't because of his acting ability either! They put him in movies and shows because EVERYBODY knew who he was - a living legend!
I watched him play when I was a kid , all I played attention to , was Butkus and his buddy Buffone .... they were great .
Considering he played most of his career on bad knees since '69. And only 2 winning teams in a 8 career.
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.
Number 10 out of hundred? Who makes these lists? He ought to be number one on anybody's list, an I am a die hard Minnesota Vikings fan
Here's the reason Butkus isn't Higher Up on the list. The Bears never made the Post Season in his 9 years in the NFL. Came close in '65 and '68. In Butkus' last 5 seasons, the Bears won a total of 20 games. Yet Butkus won D P of the Y in 2 of those seasons, '69 and '70.
The University of Illinois football team has only two retired jerseys: Red Grange and Dick Butkus.
People never talk about Ray Nitschke as much as they should. If you want to see more classic linebackers, then please consider reacting to him.
eclectica1 Ray could play “A Baltimore Colts”!
Ray was another chicago kid.
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.
your eyes at 6:19--same reaction I had haha! That guy was a maniac!
Some sportscaster stated, "Butkus grabs the entire backfield and then throws the guys out that don't have the ball."