He is still considered one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history.
Chicago Bears great Dick Butkus watches from the sideline during the first half of the team's NFL football game against the Houston Texans on Sept. 25, 2022, in Chicago.CHICAGO — A photo of Dick Butkus sneering behind his face mask filled the cover of Sports Illustrated’s 1970 NFL preview, topped by the headline, “The Most Feared Man in the Game.” Opponents who wound up on the business end of his bone-rattling hits could testify that wasn’t an exaggeration.
“I wouldn’t ever go out to hurt anybody deliberately,” Mr. Butkus replied tongue-in-cheek when asked about his on-field reputation. “Unless it was, you know, important ... like a league game or something.” Mr. Butkus inherited the middle linebacker job from Bill George, a Hall of Famer credited with popularizing the position in the NFL. In 1954, George abandoned his three-point stance in the middle of the defensive line and started each play several paces removed, a vantage point that allowed him to watch plays unfold and then race to the ball.
And he didn’t always stop there. Several times Mr. Butkus crashed into ballcarriers well past the sidelines. More than once he pursued them onto running tracks surrounding the field and even into the stands.Despite those efforts, the Bears lost plenty more games during his tenure than they won, going 48-74-4. Dealing with tendon problems that began in high school, Butkus suffered a serious injury to his right knee during the 1970 season and had preventive surgery before the next one.
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