Ticket 2 Ride

Dick Butkus died of a stroke, in addition to various heart ailments. Many of Butkus’s opponents probably wondered if Butkus even had a heart, the way he mauled and brutalized opposing players, known to chase them out of bounds and even into the stands.

Butkus earned his place as one of the Monsters of the Midway, as Bears players were known. An award is given to the best college linebacker each year: The Dick Butkus Award.

A short feature of Butkus on the football field for those unfamiliar with his nine year NFL career.

Dick Butkus left his mark on pro football, that’s a given, but he will also be remembered for other things. This blog isn’t about Butkus’ Hall of Fame college or professional career, this is about what Butkus did off the field, after a knee injury forced him into retirement.

Butkus set up a foundation as a way of giving back to others, and he lent his name to The Dick Butkus Heart and Vascular Screening Center to detect and treat heart and vascular issues early, like the lifesaving treatment he received a decade earlier. Butkus had coronary bypass surgery due to hardening of his arteries. The Butkus Foundation encourages early cardiovascular screening and scans among American adults. Butkus also crusaded against performance enhancing drugs for athletes.

Butkus was a radio and football commentator, analyst and coach. He is best known for his television and film career as an actor and pitchman. Butkus often played against type, his size and demeanor channeled into bumbling, but good natured characters. Fellow football star Bubba Smith starred with Butkus many times and were featured together in a series of Miller Beer commercials.

“The end result is what people see. Working with Bubba, I was able to add things with facial gestures and stuff. … I could play off him and add something. It didn’t matter if I got the laugh,” Butkus said at the time.

He appeared in a number of television shows like Emergency!, McMillan & Wife, MacGyver, Murder, She Wrote, The Love Boat, Night Court and The Bernie Mac Show. He was a regular in Blue Thunder in 1984, then My Two Dads for two seasons (1987-89) and Hang Time for three seasons (1998-2000). In addition, he had roles in the films Necessary Roughness, The Last Boy Scout, Any Given Sunday and Brian’s Song.

He was another ex-jock wanting to cash in on his sports success. Not a leading man, but he carved out a string of successful character and feature roles, usually portraying an ex-jock or a lovable, but dim strongman type, who sometimes had just the right advice.

Rest in peace, #51.