CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago Bears and all-around NFL legend Dick Butkus has died, the team confirmed Thursday.
“The Butkus family confirms that football and entertainment legend Dick Butkus passed away peacefully in his sleep overnight at home in Malibu, California.
“The Butkus family meets with Dick’s wife Helen. Thank you for your prayers and support.”
“Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.”
Richard Marvin Butkus, who played for the Bears from 1965 to 1973 and was an iconic representative of the team for generations, turned 80. Known as the “Maestro of Chaos,” Butkus was quintessentially Chicago and starred on and off the field.
He died overnight in his sleep in Malibu, California.
Butkus was born on December 9, 1942, to a Lithuanian-American family in the Fernwood neighborhood on Chicago’s Far South Side. He was the youngest of nine children.
Butkus’ website says he knew he was going to be a professional football player as early as fifth grade.
“I have worked hard to become one, as society dictates,” Butkus was quoted as saying on his website. “Society said you had to be tough. I was hard. Hard. I was hard.”
Butkus became a star football player at Chicago Vocational High School and the University of Illinois – where he enrolled in 1961. By his junior year in 1963, he had already made 145 tackles and forced 10 fumbles, according to his website.
He led the Fighting Illini to the Big Ten championship that year – and they finished the season ranked third nationally, his website said. The Illini beat Washington 17-7 in the Rose Bowl that year.
Butkus was named a unanimous All-American in 1964 — he played on both sides of the ball as a center on offense and as a linebacker on defense, his website says. He later retired his No. 50 University of Illinois jersey – and is only one of two players there to receive such an honor, his website said.
Such was his influence that the Dick Butkus Award is now given annually to the nation’s best college linebacker.
Butkus was drafted into the NFL by the Bears in 1965 wearing jersey number 51. In his first game, he had 11 solo tackles, his website reported.
CHICAGO, IL – CIRCA 1960: Dick Butkus #51 of the Chicago Bears before an NFL football game at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois circa mid-1960s. / Getty Images
Butkus was a top contender for NFL Rookie of the Year this year, but was edged out by his Bears teammate and fellow first-round draft pick Gale Sayers, his website says.
Butkus’ website states that the 6-foot, 250-pound powerhouse “terrorized opposing ball carriers and quarterbacks. His aggressive tackling style was worthy of a grizzly bear.”
In his nine-year NFL career, Butkus managed to recover 27 fumbles and record 22 interceptions, according to his website.
Butkus was quoted on his website as saying that his ferocity on the field was a major factor in his success.
“When I went on the field to warm up, I would make up things that made me angry,” he was quoted as saying. “If someone on the other team laughed, I would pretend they were laughing at me or the Bears. It always worked for me.”
Injuries began to take their toll on Butkus’ knees in 1970, but he continued for three more years – with 117 tackles and 68 assists, three fumble recoveries and four pass interceptions in 1971, according to his website.
By the time he retired in 1973, Butkus had been named All-NFL first team for six years and had appeared in eight consecutive Pro Bowls, his website said.
Butkus was named the NFL’s 10th best player as the league celebrated its 100th anniversary.
After retiring from the NFL, Butkus turned to acting, appearing in a popular series of Miller Lite commercials in which he played “a gentleman tennis player who cheerfully discusses the virtues of playing with fellow NFL defensive star Bubba Smith.” Beers debated,” it said on its website.
He also starred in the films “Necessary Roughness” and “Any Given Sunday” and appeared on the TV shows “My Two Dads” and “Hang Time,” his website said.
Just last year, Butkus took over the Bears’ Twitter feed and posted a few videos reminiscing about his most memorable moments on the field.
He said his favorite game he ever played was a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Wrigley Field – which the Bears shared with the Cubs before moving to Soldier Field in 1971.
“It’s the day Gale Sayers scored six touchdowns and did it in a lot of different ways – and you know, I was on all the kicking teams at that point except the kickoff team, but you know, we got him defeated on a punt return.” I don’t know if he had a kickoff return or not. But he had six,” Butkus said.
Butkus added that coach George Halas took Sayers out of the game and replaced him with Jon Arnett. If that hadn’t happened, Butkus said, Sayers could have scored seven or more touchdowns.
This game was played on December 12, 1965. Sayers noted it was a rainy day, similar to the Bears’ home opener this year.
Future head coach Mike Ditka was also on the field for that game – a contemporary Chicago Tribune report reported that he picked off 49ers defensive lineman Roland Lakes to pave the way for Sayers’ fourth of six touchdowns.
The contemporary Tribune also noted that Johnny Morris picked off a 49ers left linebacker to clear a path on the same play. You may remember Morris as a legendary Chicago sports broadcaster and particularly as sports director of CBS 2 Chicago from 1975 to 1992.
The Bears won that game 61-20.
A few years earlier, in 2019, Butkus was honored with a 12-foot-tall, 1,000-pound bronze statue in front of the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.
The Hall of Famer was on hand to receive the unveiling. He was unfiltered, honest and in typical Dick Butkus fashion, there were absolutely no empty phrases.
“I earn it?” Butkus asked. “Maybe the kids would say it today, but it’s a very humiliating deal and you wonder why, man? I did what I was supposed to do and shit, I enjoyed beating people to death.”
Butkus attended the Bears’ regular season opener against the Green Bay Packers on September 10 at Soldier Field.
“Butkus, never one to mince his words, mocked the Lions on social media two days earlier after Detroit’s season-opening win over the Kansas City Chiefs,” CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo wrote.
Bears chairman George H. McCaskey released a statement Thursday calling Butkus “the ultimate Bear.”
“He was Chicago’s icon. “He exuded what defines our great city and, not coincidentally, what George Halas looked for in a player: toughness, smarts, instincts, passion and leadership,” McCaskey wrote. “He refused to accept anything less than the best from himself or his teammates.”
The NFL also honored Butkus on Thursday evening.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell released this statement:
“Dick Butkus was a fierce and passionate competitor who helped define the linebacker position as one of the NFL’s all-time greats. Dick’s intuition, toughness and athleticism made him an exemplary linebacker whose name will forever be associated with this position and the Chicago Bears.”
“We also remember Dick as a long-time advocate for former players and players at all levels of the game. The Dick Butkus Award and its foundation recognize on-field performance and community service among high school, college and NFL linebackers.” Dick was an advocate for clean sports as his “I Play Clean” campaign contributed to it , to raise awareness of the dangers of steroid use among high school athletes.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the Butkus family, the Bears organization and the many fans and people he influenced throughout his life.”
The Bears were scheduled to play the Washington Commanders on Thursday night. The game will undoubtedly be a tribute to one of the greatest players of all time.